Today I did a pre-taped interview with 'X'Zone Radio on the use of Canadian uranium in weapons of mass destruction (being webcast on www.xzone-radio.com across Canada and the U.S.A. on Wednesday June 13 between 7:30-8:00 pm PST). I am incredibly grateful to the host, Dr. Alfred Webre, for getting information out about this horror story. Canadians have the right to know.
About 60 percent of Canada's uranium is exported to the U.S.A. Mostly it is enriched for use in nuclear power plants. One of the waste products is depleted uranium (DU), which the US military uses in the shells of conventional weapons. DU weapons have been used in Iraq, the Balkans and Afghanistan. They have radioactively polluted air, water and soil. Troops and civilians alike have been contaminated. An estimated 115,000 US vets have been diagnosed with "Gulf War Syndrome".
How can this be? How can Canada have strayed so far from peacekeeper? We have a supposed ban on the use of our uranium in weapons, spelled out in the Canada-US Nuclear Cooperation Agreement. Why has Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay not been on top of this issue? I can hardly wait for our leader, Elizabeth May (running in the same riding as MacKay) to hold his nose to this!
If there is a loophole (e.g., DU weapons are not nuclear weapons) then Parliament should close the loophole. In March of this year, Belgium adopted legislation abolishing the use of DU in weapons. Canada should follow suit.
This totally confirms in my mind our party's position against war, against the opening up of uranium mining in BC and our support for the phase-out of nuclear power plants in Canada.
If you want more information on this issue, contact our Shadow Cabinet Critic on International Trade, Janet Eaton, who studied the use of DU weapons in Yugoslavia (janet.eaton@greenparty.ca).
For more information about my campaign in Vancouver Centre visit http://votecarr.ca