Eliminate nucular weapons, says CCCB

By ART BABYCH
Canadian Catholic News
Ottawa

And while Canada condemns any reliance on nuclear weapons by non-allied countries, it still treats those same weapons as a useful, and even necessary, element of Canada's defences and those of its (NATO) allies, the commission adds.

In a submission to the Dialogue on Foreign Policy, launched by Foreign Affairs Minister Bill Graham, the commission said Canada should "reinvigorate its efforts to eliminate all nuclear weapons."

In outlining its concerns about poverty in the world, the social affairs commission said "It would be a contradiction in terms to think that Canadians could 'prosper' at the same time as 2.8 billion persons live on under $2 a day.

Quoting from Pope John Paul, the submission said the fact that humanity, called to form a single family, is still tragically split in two by poverty means that there is urgent need to "reconsider the models, which inspire development policies."

Among the recommendations of the commission: Canada should increase its overseas development assistance (ODA); increase its commitment to address the HIV-AIDS pandemic; renew its "leadership" in cancelling the debt burdens of countries in the global South; and increase its support for NGOs and governments focused on poverty alleviation and environmental sustainability.

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