Nuclear Weapons Free Zones in Canada
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In international law, Nuclear Weapons Free Zones are areas in which a group of states has prohibited the presence of nuclear weapons, according to criteria set and recognized by the United Nations.[1] On the international level, Canada is not a part of any Nuclear Weapon Free Zone as defined by the United Nations. Canada is a signatory of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation on Nuclear Weapons,[2] a statute that has similar aims to those of NWFZs and even encourages the establishment of multinational NWFZs,[3] but is not directly comparable. However, certain areas within Canada have voluntarily designated themselves as Nuclear Free Zones (NFZs) or Nuclear Weapons Free Zones (NWFZs). Generally, these nuclear weapons free zones and nuclear free zones are codified within Municipal and Provincial jurisdictions.
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Nuclear Weapons Free Zones typically ban the transport, storage, and deployment of nuclear weapons within the zone. Nuclear Free Zones are similar to Nuclear Weapon Free Zones, except that they ban the presence of Civilian nuclear infrastructure as well as nuclear arms. The history of Nuclear Weapons Free Zones is closely tied to that of the Canadian Peace Movement, and much of the support for proposed Nuclear Weapons Free Zones was in response to the placement of American nuclear weapons on Canadian bases during the Cold War.[4] The Liberal Government of Lester B. Pearson equipped Canadian forces with nuclear weapons, though the warheads themselves were property of the United States and remained in the custody of American personnel.[5] All US nuclear weapons were withdrawn from Canadian bases by 1984.[6]
Proposals to declare all of Canada as a Nuclear Weapon Free Zone have existed since the days of the Cold War and have been debated in the House of Commons, but have never passed into law.[7] Nuclear Weapons Free Zones continue to be relevant in Canadian Politics in the post Cold War. US testing of nuclear-capable systems in the waters of British Columbia has stirred controversy, as the Parliament of British Columbia has voted to declare itself a NWFZ.[8] Additionally, activists have proposed the creation of an Arctic Nuclear Free Zone, a proposal that has received increased attention due to the ongoing discourse around anthropogenic climate change.[9]