PQCB RELEASES ‘MODEL CITIZENS’ ASSEMBLY’

On September 21 – UN International Day of Peace – Peace Quest Cape Breton released a ‘Model Canadian Citizens’ Assembly on Nuclear Disarmament,’ detailing how such an Assembly might function and be structured. The ‘Model’ was produced in response to numerous requests, from supporters and sceptics of the proposal, following the release of our Concept Paper on August 6 (Hiroshima Day). In his Foreword, PQCB Campaign Coordinator Sean Howard stresses that “the Model is intended and offered as a work-in-progress, and we welcome the opportunity to engage with others to further develop the proposal.”  Its release forms part of the public launch of PQCB’s Citizens’ Assembly campaign, inaugurated by an event at Cape Breton University co-sponsored by CBU’s Global Social Justice Project.

The Model proposes a simple, tripartite structure, in which the Assembly would examine in turn:

·    the past – Canada’s remarkably complex, globally significant, and frequently dramatic nuclear history;

·    the present – Canada’s current nuclear-policy balancing act as a member of both a nuclear-armed alliance, NATO, and the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), committed to achieving a Nuclear-Weapon-Free World;  and

·    the future – options for revising, renewing – or, alternatively, reaffirming – Canadian policy with regard to nuclear weapons and nuclear disarmament.

For the full text of the Model, please see HERE.