NDP statement on Setsuko Thurlow and ICAN’s Nobel Peace Prize

The NDP Critic for Foreign Affairs, Hélène Laverdière, made the following statement:

I am delighted that Canadian Setsuko Thurlow will accept the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize, alongside Beatrice Fihn, on behalf of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN).

Setsuko Thurlow is a great Canadian. As a survivor of the nuclear bombings of Hiroshima, she has been a leading global advocate for nuclear disarmament. Along with my colleague MP Linda Duncan, I had the pleasure of hosting Setsuko at Parliament this past June.

I cannot help but express how the actions of the Liberal Party on this issue have been entirely disappointing. It is astonishing that the Canadian government has not yet congratulated ICAN on its Nobel Peace Prize, when so many Canadians like Setsuko were involved in the campaign for a Nuclear Ban Treaty. Canada continues to boycott the treaty, while 122 other countries voted in favour of the treaty this past July.

Perhaps now that a Canadian is accepting the Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, the Trudeau government will wake up to the reality of this global threat to humanity, and join the Nuclear Ban Treaty. The Liberals cannot continue to pretend they believe in nuclear disarmament so long as they stay outside of this treaty, and they cannot pretend to celebrate Canadian achievement on the international stage so long as they do not congratulate ICAN on their Nobel Peace Prize.

The New Democratic Party is committed to a world without nuclear weapons. On behalf of New Democrats across Canada, I offer my warmest congratulations to Setsuko Thurlow and all ICAN members on this great achievement. I will be watching the ceremony on December 10^th. I hope Justin Trudeau will be too.