Canada must withdraw from NATO, stop the wars, and work cooperatively with all countries

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the U.S.-led, nuclear-armed military alliance that was founded by twelve countries including Canada in 1949, is marking its 75^th year summit in Washington, DC, from July 9-11. In the last 35 years, NATO has left a trail of death and destruction from its interventions in the former Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Libya and now Ukraine. These interventions have led to failed states, environmental and climate damage, violence against women, and humanity’s largest refugee crisis. NATO allies have also wasted trillions of dollars on wars and weapons that have enriched the arms industry and exacerbated conflict around the world.

NATO DRIVES MILITARY SPENDING IMPOVERISHING CANADIANS

NATO drives Canada’s rising military spending. In 2014, NATO allies pledged to increase their military spending to 2% of gross domestic product (GDP). According to NATO’s latest Defence Expenditures report, over the past ten years, Canada’s military spending has increased 100% from $20 billion in 2014 to over $40 billion in 2024, which is 1.4% of GDP. By 2030, Canada’s military spending will increase to $50 billion as shown in the federal budget. Military spending diverts crucial resources away from public needs putting more Canadians in poverty.

NATO PROLONGS WARS

NATO weapons are prolonging the war in Ukraine and the genocide in Gaza. Since 2022, Canada has sent $4 billion in so-called “military aid” to Ukraine to prolong a NATO proxy war against Russia, while rejecting negotiations to end that war. NATO calls Israel “its vital ally in the Middle East” and allies continue to send weapons to Israel, a nuclear-armed state, despite it conducting a genocide against the Palestinian people. Last year, Canada exported over $30 million of “military aid” to Israel for an apartheid occupation and a genocide against Palestinians. A recent survey by the Institute for Global Affairs found that a majority of people want negotiations to end the war in Ukraine and a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.

NATO’S RECKLESS NUCLEAR GAMBLE IN UKRAINE

Humanity today is facing its most perilous nuclear threat since the Cuban missile crisis of 1962, because NATO has recklessly escalated the stakes in its proxy war with Russia over Ukraine and refused to join the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). Four NATO countries – the US, UK, France, and Germany – have announced that they have given Ukraine long-range missiles capable of striking deep into Russia, plus the green light to use them. The targeting for these missile launches is done by the U.S. and NATO allies and should be considered acts of war against Russia’s sovereign territory using Ukraine as the launching pad. Russia has threatened to retaliate, which may take the form of attacks on western satellites, aircraft, or on targets deep inside NATO countries. NATO leaders are gambling – with our lives – that the Russian government is bluffing. However, if Russia does retaliate, NATO will immediately invoke Article 5 for a collective reprisal, which puts the world at the brink of nuclear war. The stakes could not be higher!

We are poorly served by the Trudeau government, the opposition parties, and mainstream media, none of whom has adequately warned Canadians of the existential danger of NATO’s game of nuclear brinkmanship in Ukraine. Prime Minister Trudeau himself has never called President Putin to find out what it would take to end the war. Instead, Trudeau attended President Zelensky’s “peace conference” recently in Switzerland, which excluded Russia and was derided internationally as a failure to create a genuine path toward peace in Ukraine. As well, it is because our membership in NATO, a nuclear-armed alliance, that Canada will not join the TPNW.

WE NEED PEACEBUILDING AND INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION NOT NATO

Canada can pull back from the nuclear brinkmanship by not sending weapons to Ukraine, supporting negotiations to end the war and joining the nuclear ban treaty. As well, Canada must also have a two-way arms embargo against Israel and support a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, an end to the occupation and talks for a lasting political solution between Palestine and Israel. Canada must cooperate and peacebuild with all countries, so we can tackle the climate crisis and achieve the Paris Agreement and United Nations Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. Only 32 Western countries are part of NATO. Most of the world, 161 countries, are not members of the U.S.-led alliance. We can build peace and trust through diplomacy, international law, conflict prevention and disarmament. It’s time for Canada to withdraw from NATO, join the treaty to ban nuclear weapons, end the wars and work cooperatively with all countries.

WE SUPPORT THE NO TO NATO, YES TO PEACE PEOPLE’S SUMMIT, JULY 5-7, 2024!

We support the No to NATO, Yes to Peace people’s summit and rally that are taking place on July 6 and 7 in Washington D.C. Activists from around the world will be converging in the U.S. capital to call for an end to the wars and an end to NATO. We call on all Canadians to organize local anti-NATO rallies for the Canada-Wide No to NATO Week of Action, July 5-11, and to contact their elected officials to oppose NATO. Share and sign our parliamentary petition #4979 calling on Canada to withdraw from NATO: http://t.ly/t4noF

Yes to Peace, No to War, No To NATO! Canada Out of NATO! Nature not NATO!

Canadian Wide Peace & Justice Network: peaceandjusticenetwork.ca @CanPeaceJustice

Sources:

Government of Canada, Canadian Donations and Military Aid to Ukraine: https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/campaigns/canadian-military-support-to-ukraine.html

No to NATO, Yes to Peace: https://nonatoyespeace.org/

NATO Defence Expenditures report (2014-2024): https://www.nato.int/nato_static_fl2014/assets/pdf/2024/6/pdf/240617-def-exp-2024-en.pdf

Survey published by the Institute for Global Affairs June 5, 2024: https://instituteforglobalaffairs.org/2024/06/modeling-democracy-the-new-atlanticism/#full-report