Sept. 28, 2024: Winnipeggers Walk Against War at Nuit Blanche Winnipeg. Photo: I. Pankratz
by Peace Alliance Winnipeg
Never has the world been closer to global nuclear war. So close that the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists has set its Doomsday Clock at 90 seconds to midnight “because humanity continues to face an unprecedented level of danger.”
According to the Global Peace Index, published by the Institute for Economics and Peace, there are 56 armed conflicts, involving 92 countries, underway in 2024. The war-related death toll in 2024 is likely to exceed the 2023 total of 238,000, with many more saddled with life-altering injuries. According to the United Nations, 117.3 million people are either refugees or internally displaced due to violent conflicts.
Israel seems to be intent on expanding its genocide in Palestine into a wider regional conflict. The war between Russia and Ukraine is threatening to boil over into the rest of Europe. These conflicts have the potential to become world wars involving the use of nuclear weapons. Moreover, the United States’ aggressive posture towards China could result in war possibly this decade, if the predictions of senior US officials are to be believed. These include US Air Force General Mike Minihan and Michael McCaul, chair of the House Foreign Relations Committee, both of whom have said that war could begin in 2025.
Nine countries are currently known to possess nuclear weapons: United States, Russia, China, France, United Kingdom, Pakistan, India, Israel and North Korea. Under a policy known as “nuclear sharing,” some member states of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) that do not have their own nukes may store and use American nuclear devices.
While a majority of members of the United Nations approved the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in 2017, none of the countries that currently possess nuclear weapons have signed on. Neither have members of NATO, who are bound by their alliance to act in lockstep, including Canada.
A nuclear war, even on a small scale, would be disastrous for the world. The smoke from thousands of fires would darken the sky, blocking the sun, cooling the planet and causing widespread crop failures. Millions far removed from the conflict would face starvation and death.
Even without nuclear war, military operations are deadly for our climate and environment. An estimated 20% of all environmental degradation globally is due to military related activities; the combined militaries of the world cause an estimated 6% of global carbon emissions. The US military alone is the largest institutional producer of greenhouse gasses in the world.
The Global Peace Index reports that 108 countries have become more militarized in the past year. Canada, unfortunately, does not want to be left out. Canada’s federal budget for 2024 includes plans to increase spending to $44.2 billion in the next fiscal year (about a 30% increase). The government has committed to spending $8.1 billion over the next five years and $73 billion over the next 20 years to support various defense initiatives. Military spending will amount to 1.76% of Canada’s Gross Domestic Product by 2029-30, just a sliver away from the 2% of GDP demanded by NATO.
With the world moving ever closer to a civilization ending war, Canada must become a voice for peace and cooperation. It cannot do so at the same time as it increases military spending. Peace Alliance Winnipeg is committed to developing a broad movement for peace in our city. We organize actions and educational events to promote an understanding of the events which are shaping our world. We’re part of a cross Canada network of organizations that are working to convince our government to change its foreign policy and actively work for a peaceful world. Will you join us?
The foregoing is the text of the statement distributed by Peace Alliance Winnipeg at Nuit Blanche Winnipeg on Sept. 28, 2024.