Notes

By Valerie Osborne, Martin Zeilig, Deborah Ferens | 1987-12-01 12:00:00

Atlantic

LAWYERS FOR SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY IN Halifax conducted a series of five discussions on the Defence White Paper during September. At the time of writing two sessions have already been held but although presentations by different speakers have been of high calibre, they have been poorly attended. One of the reasons may be that Halifax offers such a wide selection of public lectures and courses that it is difficult for people to choose. A particularly interesting development this year has been a course on Contemporary World Issues run by Halifax Continuing Education, including a session on Militarism and Development conducted by two members of Halifax peace and development groups. Two or three years ago, such an event would have been considered unthinkable by the City's Education Department: Peace and justice issues are apparently becoming sufficiently respectable to merit serious consideration under official public auspices.

CORNER BROOK, NEWFOUNDLAND PROJECT

Ploughshares and the Canadian Institute for International Peace and Security sponsored an ambitious three-day Ecumenical Peace Symposium, Atlantic Canada and the Nuclear Arms Race, Oct. 30-Nov. 1. Speakers included Geoffrey Pearson, The Very Rev. Lois Wilson, Giff Gifford, Ernle Regehr and the Most Rev. Ted Scott:

Marion Mathieson, of Sydney, Nova Scotia, has prepared a program on war toys for presentation throughout Cape Breton under the auspices of the peace community of the Maritime Conference of the United Church.

Manitoba

ON NOVEMBER 20 AND 21 Project Peacemakers held their fourth annual Festival of Peace at Winnipeg's First Mennonite Church. The theme of the conference was "Christians Responding to the Peacemaking Call." Speakers included Ron Sider, Director of Evangelicals for Social Action from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Ernie Regehr, Research Director of Project Ploughshares, Bill Blaikie, NDP MP.

BEN LINDER, THE YOUNG AMERICAN SLAIN by Contra bandits in Nicaragua earlier this year, has become a hero to those who cherish freedom for Nicaraguans. His mother and sister spoke at the University of Winnipeg on November 4. They were on a cross country tour sponsored by Tools for Peace.

THE WINNIPEG COORDINATING COMMITTEE for Disarmament (WCCD) sponsored a public meeting on November 2 with Larry Ross, an activist from New Zealand. Mr. Ross was on a cross- Canada Canadian Peace Alliance speaking tour. He was instrumental in making his country a Nuclear Weapons Free Zone.

B.C.

WHEN A SUB ARRIVES IN either Nanoose Bay or Esquimalt, the Vancouver Island Network for Disarmament (VIND) phone tree lights up to activate our nuclear alert action. Up and down the island highways, the travelling public is warned that a nuclear powered or nuclear capable ship has entered local waters. The signs are three-and-a-half feet square and are painted bright yellow. They read "Nuclear Ship Now in Port" where the ship is, and how many kilometres away. Volunteers stand along the highways holding the signs, waving to passersby and acknowledging the honking horns. Vancouver Islanders are letting the world know that they do not want warships and subs in their harbors.

IN THE SAME VEIN, A SITE-SPECIFIC ANALYSIS OF the risks and results of a nuclear accident in the Greater Victoria area has been commissioned by five private organizations, the Greater Victoria Disarmament Group, the Victoria Chapter of Canadian Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, Greenpeace Canada, Greenpeace International, and Operation Dismantle. The analysis is being carried out by Dr. Jackson Davis of Santa Cruz, California, a biologist and founding member of the Adlai Stevenson Nuclear Policy Program at the University of California: Results of the Victoria site-specific nuclear accident analysis were released in early November.

VANCOUVER ISLANDERS ARE DEEPLY INVOLVED in the Peace Pledge Campaign. VIND groups have a variety of activities for the campaign distribution from booths at fairs, door-to-door canvassing, and political lobbying. Islanders seem determined to "Vote Canada Out of the Arms Race."

MALASPINA COLLEGE IN NANAIMO, IN cooperation with the Gabriola Island Peace Association, is offering a community education course called "Issues in the Peace Movement: Changing Our Ways of Thinking." It will be offered again in the Spring Session '88.

LIKE MANY OTHER PEACE GROUPS ACROSS CANADA, Island peace groups are very concerned and dismayed by the government White Paper. Plans are underway for a coordinated island-wide effort to mount an effective educational campaign against the White Paper.

Peace Magazine Dec 1987-Jan 1988

Peace Magazine Dec 1987-Jan 1988, page 31. Some rights reserved.

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