Page 6

The Other Press

 

February 4th to 18th 1982

 

 

 

a G

      

Canada Fuels Nuclear Race

VANCOUVER (CUP)--The
Canadian government is pursuing
a policy that encourages and
accelerates the arms race, a UBC
arms race specialist said Thurs-

day. .
Canada’s passive acquiescence to
current American _ strategic

doctrine and our exports of nuclear
technology both contribute to the
‘arms race, . political science
professor Micheal Wallace told 50
people in Angus 412.

“‘Despite Trudeau’s rhetoric of
‘suffocating’ the arms race by pre-
venting testing of all nuclear

ACE or NUCLEAR RACE.....

delivery vehicles, which was ap-
plauded at the first United Nations
special session on disarmament in
1978, the matter has never been

brought up in Canadian-American .

bilateral talks,’’ said Wallace, who
is vice-president of the United
Nations Association in Vancouver.

‘‘Furthermore, Canada _ has
refused to recognise or respond to
the change in U.S.strategic doc-
trine from Mutual Assured
Destruction (MAD) to Presidential
Directive 59.”

This directive, issued by Presi-
dent Carter in 1980 after the twin

shocks of Iran and Afghanistan,
states that it is necessary to
initiate nuclear war under some
circumstances. Instead of challen
ging this dangerous doctrine, the

Canadian government has adopted
the traditional national gesture,
described by Peter C. Newman as
‘the cringe,’ Wallace said.

“lf Helmut Schmidt, Francois
Mitterand, and the Iron Lady can
raise issues of nuclear strategy,
why can’t we?’’ asked Wallace.

In addition to passively encourag-
ing the Americans by ‘cosying up,’
Canada has actively parti-

~

cipated in the arms race by contri-

buting to nuclear proliferation,
said Wallace.‘’Canada is the only
country in the world that has

created a nuclear power, namely
India. The export of nuclear tech-

nology almost certainly leads to
the creation of nuclear powers,

due to the ease with which atomic

bombs can be built,’’ he said.

Wallace said the sale of CANDU
reactors to ‘‘such peace-loving
regimes’’ as Argentina, Romania,
and South Korea provide them
with the necessary plutonium and
expertise for making nuclear
weapons.

With the sale of German reactors
to Brazil, it is conceivable that a
nuclear arms race could develop in
South America between Brazil and
its historical opponent Argentina,
he added. :

Agreements to use the reactor
byproducts for peaceful purposes
only are of little relevance, he
claimed. ‘‘What are you going to
do when the Indians start building
a reprocessing plant to extract plu-
tonium--send in the Mounties?’

Since it is easier to influence our
own government than the Reagan
and Brezhnev administrations, the
first step in limiting the arms race
should be to ‘unlock’ the economic
interests and political careers at
stake in the CANDU programme.

 

 

 

 

prospective

Attention
All Douglas College Students

The Other Publications Society

is accepting nominations for

board members.

Would you be interested in

becoming part of our team ??

 

KkKkK*

DOUGLAS COLLEGE
STUDENT SOCIETY

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
Friday, February 26th, 1982

10:00a.m. McBride Site Cafeteria

 

 

 

Nominations will close
on February 18, 1982.

‘Support your student newspaper’

 

 

 

 

 

 

OF CONCERN TO ALL
REGISTERED STUDENTS:

Proposed membership in the

CANADIAN FEDERATION OF STUDENTS

Constitution Package Presentation

YOUR VOTE COUNTS:::::::- BE THERE