Gwynne Dyer paints a gloomy picture of the current nuclear weapons threat, assuring us that President Trump does have the power and authority to order the use of nuclear weapons (Shuswap Market News, Dec. 1).
He then quotes Bill Blair, who served in the US Air Force as a missile launch control officer during the Cold War. Blair says that profound reflection on the part of many of his colleagues resulted in the formation of Global Zero, a group that advocates eliminating nuclear weapons entirely.
What Gwynne Dyer fails to mention is that an International Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons has recently been negotiated by 122 member countries of the United Nations.
Existing treaties have outlawed chemical and biological weapons, leading to their elimination. But nuclear weapons have never been prohibited, and all nine nuclear weapons countries are currently modernizing their nuclear arsenals, claiming they are essential to their security.
Prime Minister Trudeau has so far refused to sign the Prohibition Treaty. We need to change his mind. Canadians are invited to endorse the ‘Call on Canada to Sign the Prohibition Treaty’, already endorsed by many organizations, including the national United and Anglican Churches, and by nearly 2,000 individuals.
Anne Morris