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Toronto, where Paul Martin will be elected as the next Liberal Party
Leader and Prime Minister in waiting. Please help us send a message to
Paul Martin and the Liberal Party that we do not support Canada's
participation in the American Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD)/National
Missile Defense (NMD) Program. We are asking Canadians to write, phone
or fax Paul Martin's office and the National Liberal Party Office from
Nov. 12 to Nov. 15. In this email, you will find s background
information about the BMD/NMD, contact information, and a sample letter.
This action is part of a national campaign in conjunction with the
Canadian Peace Alliance. Please circulate this action among your friends
and family.

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Thank you very much for your support,

Halifax Peace Coalition (HPC) 
http://hfxpeace.chebucto.org/wwa/whoweare.htm

***

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

The BMD/NMD is a unilateral initiative of the United States, which plans
to dominate space by "integrating Space Forces into warfighting
capabilities" (as outlined in United States Space Command document
"Vision for 2020") that no other major country supports. Canada has not
decided if it will participate or not and is now negotiating with the
US. However, Paul Martin has stated publicly on numerous occasions that
he supports Canada's involvement in BMD/NMD and he is soon to be
Canada's next prime minister. 

However, there are many reasons for us to oppose Canada's participation.
First, the BMD/NMD would be a step towards the deployment of weapons in
space and lead to a new arms race. Second, the BMD/NMD would violate the
1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty, and run counter to Canada's
commitment as a signatory of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) to
promote complete nuclear disarmament. These Treaties are cornerstones of
the international non-proliferation, arms control and disarmament
regimes long supported by Canada. Third, many analysts have suggested
that BMD/NMD will not bring about more security, but will in fact bring
about more instability and insecurity. Further, many physicists claim
that BMD/NMD will not work as evidenced by the failure of the majority
of tests run in the US. Fourth, there has been no concrete evidence
provided from the Department Foreign Affairs and International Trade
(DFAIT) that there is a threat to Canadian security that warrants our
participation in this program. Finally, every Canadian tax dollar spent
toward the BMD/NMD program would mean one less dollar for environmental,
health, education, children's and senior's programs and foreign aid. 

For more information, please visit the following web sites:

Canadian Peace Alliance 
http://www.acp-cpa.ca/CPAmainEnglish.htm

Canada and Ballistic Missile Defense 
http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca/department/focus/bmd-en.asp

U.S. Missile Defence Agency 
http://www.acq.osd.mil/bmdo/bmdolink/html/

U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command 
http://www.smdc.army.mil/

***

CONTACT INFORMATION

Please email, fax or phone Paul Martin's office at: 

Honourable Paul Martin, 
Minister of Finance,
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0A6 
Email: Martin.P@parl.gc.ca

*Please also do the survey on BMD/NMD on Paul Martin's web site:
http://www.paulmartin.ca/home/default_e.asp

Telephone:
(613) 992-4284 
Fax:
(613) 992-4291

AND please email, fax or phone the National Liberal Party office at:

National Office
81 Metcalfe Street, Suite 400
Ottawa, Ontario K1P 6M8
Phone: 613-237-0740
Fax: 613-235-7208


***

SAMPLE LETTER

Dear Honourable Paul Martin,

I/We object to the US Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) program and
am/are/is disturbed that the Government of Canada has not yet spoken out
clearly and unequivocally against it.

I am /We are convinced that:

BMD is a step towards the basing of weapons in space (plans for which
can be found on the US Space Command web site:
http://www.gsinstitute.org/resources/extras/vision_2020.pdf 

BMD violates the intent of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of
Nuclear Weapons (NPT) 

BMD will provoke new conventional and nuclear arms races both on Earth
and in space 

BMD will undermine arms control and disarmament 

BMD will make Canada and the world less secure 

I/We therefore conclude that BMD runs counter to Canada's traditional
multilateral approach to security and its long-standing support for
international non-proliferation, arms control and disarmament
agreements. 

I/We urge the Government of Canada to say a resounding "NO!" to missile
defence, and to work with other middle powers for an international
agreement to end the development of missile technology. 

Yours sincerely,

Your name

Your address

cc: Hon. Bill Graham, Minister of Foreign Affairs; fax: 613-996-3443;
Graham.B@parl.gc.ca

Hon. John McCallum, Minister of National Defence; fax: 613-995-8189;
McCallum.J@parl.gc.ca

Your Member of Parliament

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