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VOL XXII, NO. 1, FALL 2016 Physicians for Global Survival (Canada) Médecins pour la Survie Mondiale I N S I D E The Shadow Project 2 Raising the Banner in Victoria 3 NDP Statement re: Canada’s Vote on Nuclear Disarmament 3 Gordon Edwards Goes to Greenland 4 PEGASUS Conference 5 } Radioactive Contamination of Seafood 5 } Peaceful Childhoods 6 } Insite Safe Injection Facility 6 } The Forgotten Victims 7 } Short-Term Medical Service Trips 7 } Undergrad Knowledge of and Interest in the Risks of Nuclear Weapons 8 The Shadow World: Book Review 8 Three Minutes to Midnight – 3MtM 9 START Again 10 PGS Student Research Scholarship 11 PGS Membership/Support Form 11 PGS 101: An Introduction to the Quest for Global Survival: Nuclear Weapons 12

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V O L X X I I , N O. 1 , FA L L 2 0 1 6

Physicians for Global Survival (Canada) Médecins pour la Survie Mondiale

I N S I D EThe Shadow Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Raising the Banner in Victoria . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

NDP Statement re: Canada’s Vote on Nuclear Disarmament . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Gordon Edwards Goes to Greenland . . . . . . . . 4

PEGASUS Conference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

} Radioactive Contamination of Seafood . . 5

} Peaceful Childhoods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

} Insite Safe Injection Facility . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

} The Forgotten Victims . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

} Short-Term Medical Service Trips . . . . . . . 7

} Undergrad Knowledge of and Interest in the Risks of Nuclear Weapons . . . . . . . . . . 8

The Shadow World: Book Review . . . . . . . . . . 8

Three Minutes to Midnight – 3MtM . . . . . . . . 9

START Again . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

PGS Student Research Scholarship . . . . . . . . 11

PGS Membership/Support Form . . . . . . . . . . 11

PGS 101: An Introduction to the Quest for Global Survival: Nuclear Weapons . . . . . . 12

This issue of Turning Point is printed on 100% recycled, Processed Chlorine Free,

FSC Certified paper.

Cover Photo Nuclear radiation changes the colour of surfaces.

When something blocks the radiation, the surface behind it does not change, leaving a ‘shadow’.

Shown is the nuclear shadow of a person who was standing at the stone stairs of the Sumitomo Bank in Hiroshima when the bomb detonated on August 6, 1945.

PGS National Office30 Cleary Avenue, Ottawa, ON K2A 4A1

Tel. (613) 233-1982E-mail: [email protected]

Website: www.pgs.ca

Administrative Officer: Andrea Levy Bookkeeper: Carol Harrison

Executive Committee:Secretary and International Coundillor: Dr. Richard DentonTreasurer: Dr. Vinay Jindal

Board Members:Dr. Nancy Covington, Dr. Richard Denton, Dr. Jonathan Down, Dr. Michael Dworkind, Dr. Vinay Jindal, Dr. Jeannie Rosenberg

Turning Point Design: Miriam MacPhail, CGD/SGDC Editor: Andrea Levy

Turning Point is the newsletter of Physicians for Global Survival (Canada), a non-profit organization. To receive Turning Point and support our work we invite you to join PGS.Any items for publication, such as articles, cartoons, photos or advertisements, should be submitted to the National Office for consideration (in English or French). Manuscripts should be relevant to the Mission Statement, but do not have to conform strictly to present PGS policy. They must be transmitted via e-mail to: [email protected].

“Because of our concern for global health, we are committed to the abolition of nuclear weapons, the prevention of war, and the promotion of non-violent means of conflict resolution and social justice in a sustainable world.”

“En raison de notre préoccupation pour la santé mondiale, nous sommes déterminés à faire interdire les armes nucléares, à prévenir la guerre, à promouvoir des moyens pacifiques de résolution de conflit et à instaurer la justice sociale dans un monde viable.”

Affiliate of / Filiale de:International Physicians

for the Prevention of Nuclear War

The Shadow Project: Commemoration of the Bombing of Hiroshima

I t was the summer of 1985 and IPPNW had won

the Nobel Prize for Peace. Our Canadian physician peace group was very invigorated. There were chapters of the Canadian Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (CPPNW) in every major city across Canada. In

those dark days of the cold war we felt compelled to speak out about the ever present danger, the escalation of a nuclear Armageddon.

Our Montreal chapter of the CPPNW was planning an event for Hiroshima Remembrance Day. The theme has always been Never Again, No More Hiroshimas. Organizations from around the world, were recommending a novel idea called The Shadow Project, which was to be coordinated in a growing number of the major cities interested in commemorating the event. CPPNW, along with other groups planned a similar event in Montreal.

Many knew the famous photograph of the running man who had been vaporized in a microsecond into the rock of a collapsing building that fateful morning in Hiroshima. It was one of the most horrible reminders of the tremendous heat and destruction created by the Hydrogen bomb .This could be reproduced by painting washable clay, as in the chalk used for writing on black boards, onto the sidewalks around the city of Montreal. An exact replica of the shape was cut out as a stencil in cardboard and a dozen or more were prepared for the event. We planned to spread out over the city in the cover of

night and spontaneously create our memorial images on the morning of August 6th.

My wife Lesley was four months pregnant with our first child, Danielle, but we were all keen on getting involved with the dozen or so peace activists for this event. We did not feel this was an act of civil disobedience but rather a creative way of reminding our fellow Montrealers that Hiroshima could happen again and that as a major city in Canada we were certainly targeted.

It was felt that the white shadows over the dirty grey sidewalks in strategic areas of town would bring a lot of media attention to our cause. With the shadow project being international, the power of the people could make the message even stronger. If the people lead, the leaders would follow. That was what we felt as young idealistic peace activists empowered with our glorious Nobel Peace prize.

Little did we know that our meetings were being infiltrated by police informers, and on the night of August 6, when our teams hit the streets with our stencils, brushes and white chalk, the police were waiting for us. Some had barely completed the vaporized figure when the police were upon us and dragged us into Station 14 in the heart of downtown Montreal. We were being held overnight for the offense of public mischief; what a disappointment. However, our spirits were still high as we spent the night boldly singing peace and social justice songs at the top of our lungs and in solidarity with activists in the other cells.

We shall overcome, we shall overcome, we shall overcome one day.

Yes, with peace in our hearts, we shall overcome one day.

Better active than radioactive was one of the slogans of the day – and it still holds true today.

PGS Board and Founding Member Dr. Michael Dworkind

2 Turning Point Vol XXII, No.1 | Fall 2016

Raising the Banner in Victoria

NDP Statement Regarding Canada’s Vote on Nuclear Disarmament

In June 2016, a new Physicians for Global Survival (PGS) banner was raised at the University of

Victoria by former Co-President of the International Physicians for Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW, Dr. Mary-Wynne Ashford, and current PGS Board member Dr. Jonathan Down.

The banner represents PGS membership in the newly established Victoria chapter of the Canadian Network to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (CNANW). CNANW was established in 1996 by nineteen national organizations, such as PGS, with each group sharing the firm conviction that nuclear weapons are immoral and must be abolished. Over the years PGS Board members have participated in Ottawa based CNANW meetings and

our medical voice is always welcomed. More importantly, we are able to give PGS endorsement to calls for the Government of Canada to take action on the abolition of nuclear weapons.

The Victoria chapter emerged from a visit to Victoria by Murray Thomson, a Canadian icon of anti- nuclear activism. Murray participated in a public forum at UVic and spoke about his recent book Minutes to Midnight. Since many in the audience were also involved with CNANW member organizations it seemed like a good chance for kindred spirits to work together.

PGS members and supporters who would like to “step up the ante” are welcome to email Dr. Down at [email protected]

August 23rd, 2016Hélène Laverdière, NDP Foreign Affairs Critic, and Linda Duncan, Co-Chair of Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament-Canada, made this statement today:

New Democrats are shocked by the Liberal government turning its back on nuclear disarmament.

Last Friday at the UN Open-Ended Working Group in Geneva, Canada voted against the adoption of a report recommending negotiations for a global treaty banning nuclear weapons. These nuclear negotiations were called for by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and are supported by a majority of countries.

Sixty-eight countries voted in favour of this resolution, which will now go to the UN General Assembly. The Mexican government called Friday’s vote the “most significant contribution to nuclear disarmament in two decades.”

However, with its shameful vote, Canada has effectively removed itself from nuclear disarmament diplomacy.

The Liberal government's vote also flies in the face of a 2010 motion in Parliament encouraging the Government of Canada to join negotiations for a nuclear weapons convention. This motion was adopted unanimously in the House of Commons and the Senate with support from all parties, including the Liberals.

The NDP supports efforts to create a nuclear weapons treaty, and commends the work of many civil society groups across Canada, including the Canadian Network to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, who have devoted years to this campaign. We will continue to support efforts for a nuclear weapons treaty as this issue goes to the UN General Assembly this Fall.

PGS Board Member Dr. Jonathan Down and former Co-President of IPPNW, Dr. Mary-Wynne Ashford

The United Nations General Assembly voted in December 2015 to establish a special working group with a mandate to develop “legal measures, legal provisions and norms” for achieving a nuclear-weapon-free world. The Open-Ended Working Group (OEWG) – backed by 138 nations – focused its efforts on elaborating the elements for a global treaty prohibiting nuclear weapons.

The OEWG met in Geneva on 18–23 February and 2–13 May, and concluded in August where it adopted a report with recommendations to the UN General Assembly to start negotiations in 2017 on a treaty banning nuclear weapons.

Canada voted against the recommendation… following is the NDP statement regarding this “about face” by the Canadian Government.

from Gordon Edwards

Turning Point 3Vol XXII, No.1 | Fall 2016

Gordon Edwards Goes to Greenland

“Three things science has learned about health effects of low-level radiation exposures:

(1) there is a delay [latency period] between the exposure and the disease that it causes;

(2) infants and children are much more easily affected than adults;

(3) there is absolutely no safe level of radiation exposure [the linear model].”

“The first uranium mine in Canada was on the shore of Great Bear Lake. It began as a radium mine in 1931. It was reopened to supply uranium for the WWII atomic bomb project. Indigenous Sahtu-Dene men carried sacks of radioactive ore on their backs and were never told it was dangerous. Sacks would sometimes rip and the men would be covered with radioactive powder. Women gathered the old sacks to reuse the material at home. So many people died of cancer in later years that the community was called the Village of Widows. There were no grandparents to teach children the old ways. The Government warned scientists in Ottawa of the dangers of radium, but not the workers.”

“The uranium wastes still contain at least 85 percent of the radioactive material in the original ore body. All of the radium and polonium is still there. Radioactive dust blows in the air and is washed by the rain. Radon gas is constantly being produced, spreading radioactivity offsite by depositing radon decay products on the soil beneath. In Canada’s north, the caribou have unusually high levels of polonium in their meat because of radon gas depositing solid polonium on the lichen that the caribou love to eat. As

a result of this, Inuit families that eat a lot of caribou meat have higher levels of polonium in their bodies than people from cities in the south. If not very carefully managed, uranium tailings will dramatically increase the amount of radon and therefore the amount of polonium near the tailings piles. When the company is gone, the wastes will be deserted.”

“The US Environmental Protection Agency estimates that 20 to 30 thousand Americans die every year from lung cancer caused by radon in their homes. It is considered a top-priority health problem, as people are urged to have their homes tested for radon levels. The reason why radon is so deadly is that it deposits polonium in the lungs of its victims. Indeed, the only source of polonium is radon; and the only source of radon is radium; and the only source of radium is uranium. So when you dig up uranium you are digging up all the uranium decay products as well.”

“There are many ways to make electricity that do not need uranium. There are ways to make medical isotopes that do not need uranium. The only thing for which uranium is absolutely needed is nuclear weapons.”

“In 2006, the government of British Columbia told its citizens that it would never ban uranium mining completely. But the citizens did not give up. They increased their efforts. And in 2008, the government did ban uranium mining in British Columbia permanently.”

“In 2010, the government of Quebec approved the spending of billions of dollars to extend the life of its only

operating nuclear reactor. But the citizens who wanted it shut down increased their efforts, and in 2012 the reactor was closed permanently. If the citizens provide sound leadership, a responsible government will eventually do the right thing.”

“The government is there to serve the people. It is supposed to do what is best for all of its citizens, and to lay the groundwork for a sustainable future by ensuring a healthy and safe environment. Sometimes, when issues arise that go beyond the rather short cycle of political elections, the citizens have to take the lead and tell their governments what needs to be done. That is what IPPNW has tried to do – it has tried to provide leadership on the issue of uranium mining, by documenting the fact that, in the long run, uranium mining is not conducive to human health, nor to a healthy environment, nor to a safe and healthy planet.”

“At the World Uranium Symposium held in Quebec City last year, hundreds of organizations from more than a dozen countries endorsed a declaration calling for an end to uranium mining all over the world. At that event, Matthew Coon-Come, the Grand Chief of the Grand Council of the Cree, said: “Our opposition to uranium mining is not negotiable. We consider uranium mining to be incompatible with the Cree way of life. We do not own the Land. We do not live on the Land. We are the Land.”

Gordon’s full speech at the Greenland conference: http://ccnr.org/Narsaq_Edwards_2016.pdf

In June — thanks to you, our generous donors — PGS subsidized Dr. Gordon Edwards,

of the Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility, to participate in a conference in Greenland

about a proposed uranium mine in that country. Here are some excerpts from his lecture.Dr. Gordon Edwards

4 Turning Point Vol XXII, No.1 | Fall 2016

The second biennial PEGASUS PEace, Global Health And SUStainability took place May 13–15.

200 participants attended sessions focus ing on peace, environment and health (both local and global ) related issues. C-PREP and PGS co-hosted the conference, with support from other organizations and the University of Toronto Dalla Lana School of Public Health.

The highlight for many was a gala evening with music from Bruce Cockburn and an interview with Naomi Klein.

IPPNW Co-President Dr Ira Helfand spoke on the nuclear threat; CAPE President Dr. Jean Zigby on climate change; and incoming Brock University

President and head of the Coalition for Gun Control, Wendy Cukier, addressed gun violence and health.

Catholic, Muslim and indigenous leaders spoke about environmental ethics and issues dealing with different aspects of refugee to prisoners health were also covered.

We had an impressive group of younger presenters who displayed their research through poster exhibits or oral presentations and we have featured several of them in the following pages.

Making our Conference international was very important and we look forward to seeing you at our 2018 follow up conference.

PEGASUS conference website: www.pegasusconference.ca

I’m a grade 12 student living in Grande Prairie, a small city in northern Alberta. With many lakes and forests in my back yard, my surroundings cultivated my interest in environmental science.

Before Grande Prairie, I spent five years in Halifax, which cultivated my love for the ocean. My love for the outdoors, oceans, and wildlife spurred me on to do this project in 2014, when I began to understand how human activity was negatively impacting the earth and everything on it, particularly the nuclear power industry.

I read that the Canadian government ceased testing Pacific water and seafood after the four Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactors started melting down in 2011, and wanted to know more. I researched, and learned that radiation leaking from the damaged reactors would hit the shores of British Columbia and be detectable in seafood and marine life by 2014. Yet no more testing was being done.

I wanted to see whether or not

radioactively contaminated food was being sold in grocery stores, but the cost to test each sample is around $300. I turned to a Geiger counter, which detects surface radioactivity more affordably.

Using the established measure of 1450 clicks over a ten-minute period as the amount of radioactivity that is deemed “contaminated,” I screened shellfish, fish, seaweed, and kelp from both Pacific and Atlantic coasts of Canada. I focused on seaweed and kelp species of marine life when the preliminary screening showed significantly higher amounts of radioactivity, proving that they are good bio-concentrators.

I compared six samples of Pre-Fukushima Nori to Post-Fukushima Nori. There was a significant increase of radioactivity in post-Fukushima pacific seaweed compared to pre-2011 seaweed. Furthermore, all samples of Pacific seafood that had a preliminary screening of radioactivity that exceeded

1450 clicks over a ten-minute period were determined to have manmade radioisotopes Cesium 137 and 134.

With no testing being done, most Canadians do not realize the impact that the damaged nuclear reactors have on marine life and the health of our oceans, nor do they realize that seafood and other imports may be compromised.

This project opened my eyes to what is entering our grocery stores. My next goal is to start a petition asking the Canadian government to reconsider screening for radioactive contamination,

both on the shores and in our seafood.

Bronwyn plans to study at the University of Winnipeg in the fall, and is hoping to pursue a career in rural medicine.

PEGASUS Conference

PEGASUS STUDENT REPORT

Radioactive Contamination of Seafood, Post Fukushima

Dr. Neil Arya (C-PREP President). with Naomi Klein and former C-PREP board member and Naomi’s father, Dr. Michael Klein

Dr. Michael Dworkind with Naomi after supper

Bruce Cockburn performing

Bronwyn Delacruz

Turning Point 5Vol XXII, No.1 | Fall 2016

PEGASUS STUDENT REPORT

Peaceful Childhoods

PEGASUS STUDENT REPORT

Insite Safe Injection Facility

Childhood is a crucial time of development in which children learn through experience and instruction how to interact with others in the world,

making it the ideal stage of life in which to teach children how to resolve interpersonal conflicts in a peaceful and respectful manner.

In the early 2000s, a group of educators, physicians, and peace practitioners from PGS collaborated to create a set of resources meant to help train parents and professionals to foster peace in the lives of the children with whom they interact. The series created provided information and resources to better equip educators, physicians, and parents to prevent violence and teach

children, in word and by example, to do the same. These resources were named Peaceful Childhoods,and were published in 2003 by PGS. Brochures were sent to physicians and educators across Canada and are posted on the PGS website.

In the summer of 2015, as a Peace Research Opportunity for Medical Students (PROMS) intern, under the supervision of Dr. Neil Arya, I updated and expanded the Peaceful Childhoods collection for C-PREP. Six main areas in which children are exposed to violence were chosen, including Armed Conflicts, Homes, Schools, Guns, First Nations Communities, and the Media. These topics were chosen for their salience and alignment with the goals of C-PREP as an organization.

I conducted literature reviews and personal interviews with experts and practitioners in these areas, including

educators, activists, and physicians, and the majority of publications were peer-reviewed upon completion.

The C-PREP website* now hosts the updated collection, which includes a PDF brochure and academic report for each of the subtopics. Electronic brochures are designed primarily for parents, written in a less academic style, and are meant to be printed and displayed in doctor's offices, school offices, and other community organizations which seek to help educate adults on how to foster peace in children's lives. The online reports include all sources used and are more formal, academic overviews of the topics. I also presented Peaceful Childhoods at a workshop at the 2016 PEGASUS Conference.

Kyle Warkentin's poster presentation showcased the Insite Safe Injection Facilities' harm reduction in action that he witnessed and practiced on February 18, 2016 in Vancouver, British Columbia.

The presentation aimed to create awareness, education and personal reflection on the insite safe injection facility. The poster had pictures, research,

and factual personal accounts from users at the facility.

Insite is an 18 hour per day, 7 day a week Safe Injection Facility located in the marginalized community of the Downtown Eastside (DTES) in Vancouver, BC, in operation since 2003. In 2011 the Supreme Court of Canada ruled Insite a necessity to the countless drug users who face no other hope of recovery than Insite.

Vancouver Coastal Health is the principle operator of Insite, providing the funding to keep it in operation. Insite reduced overdose deaths by 35% within 500 meters of the Insite facility while overall in Vancouver has reduced overdose deaths by 9% (Urban Health Research Institute, 2011).

* http://cprep.ca/rebekah-baumann-peaceful-childhoods/

Kyle Warkentin, from Vancouver, BC, is a third year Bachelor of Science Nursing student at Dalhousie University, and Vice President External Communications with the Dalhousie Health Sciences Students Association. He has worked with the AIDS Coalition of Nova Scotia, The Alzheimer Society of NS, the British Columbia Schizophrenia Society, Chebucto West Community Health Board and others. Kyle has travelled the globe including performing medical humanitarian/disaster recovery work in Ecuador, Canada, USA, Europe, and Zambia. While in Zambia Kyle created Shoes for Souls, collecting 60,000 pairs of new shoes for communities needing protective footwear for prevention of infection. Fun fact? Kyle is a pilot who has flown since he was 16 years old, flying a plane before driving a car.

6 Turning Point Vol XXII, No.1 | Fall 2016

Rebekah Baumann

PEGASUS REPORT: FIRST PRIZE IN ORAL PRESENTATION

The Forgotten Victims: Impact of Parental Incarceration

PEGASUS STUDENT REPORT: SECOND PRIZE IN ORAL PRESENTATION

Short-Term Medical Service Trips: the Ethical Implications

Every year, over 350,000 children expe r ience parental incarceration in Canada (Withers & Folsom 2007). The multifaceted impact of parental incarceration has shown to elevate the risk for several adverse outcomes, including poor psychological health, school failure, and delinquency (Wakefield & Wildeman, 2011). Specifically, children of incarcerated parents are two to four times more likely to become in conflict with the law (Wither & Folsom, 2007).

Despite the prevalence of intergen-er ational crime, these at-risk children remain forgotten and underserved. Currently, Fostering, Empowering, Advocating Together (FEAT) is the only organization in Canada providing programing to support children affected by parental incarceration. The effectiveness of FEAT’s five programs and holistic approach to supporting at-risk families have received national media attention including CTV’s W5 Family Time, Readers Digest, The Globe and Mail, and The Toronto Star.

The focus of the presentation centered on providing an overview of the impact of parental incarceration, identify the unique needs of children of incarcerated parents through case studies, and share empirical evidence on FEAT’s supportive programs. These intervention strategies have shown to help reduce the traumatic impact of parental incarceration, optimize developmental outcomes of children of inmates within the family, the school system, and community context and reduce the cycle of criminality.

After being separated from her father for 24 years and witnessing the devastating effects of parental incarceration as an educator, Jessica co-founded Fostering, Empowering and Advocating Together (FEAT) for children of incarcerated parents in 2012. Currently, FEAT is the only organization in Canada providing supportive programming for children of prisoners.

In her role as the Executive Director of Programming and Research, Jessica has developed six programs to support

the underserved needs of children and families. As an advocate and educator for children of imprisoned parents, Jessica speaks at universities, community events, and conferences. Furthermore, Jessica has organized an annual campaign, Feet for FEAT, where she walks over 400 kilometres from Toronto to Ottawa to raise awareness on the need to support children affected by parental incarceration in Canada.

In conjunction with developing and facilitating supportive programming at FEAT, Jessica is completing her Masters in Psychology at Trent University where she is empirically exploring the effects of being separated from a parent in prison.

To date, Jessica’s research, academic excellence and commitment to social justice has earned her several accolades including the prestigious Nelson Mandela Award from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.

Olivia Geen is a second year medical student at the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine, McMaster University. Her areas of

interest include global health and infectious disease, and she plans to pursue a career in internal medicine.

Her current research focuses on the ethical implications of short-term medical service trips (STMSTs), which is currently an area of limited evidence-based literature. Her poster presented data on the prevalence of chronic disease amongst patients accessing healthcare through a

STMST in Peru, as well as the number of patients that would require follow-up according to Canadian healthcare standards. Using these indicators of capacity for longterm impact and safety, Olivia sheds light on both the achievements and areas for improvement for future STMSTs. Olivia hopes to have a paper published soon on the data, and to continue the work in Peru through collaboration with local partners.

Turning Point 7Vol XXII, No.1 | Fall 2016

Jessica Reid

Olivia Geen

PEGASUS STUDENT REPORT: 2015 C-PREP PEACE OPPORTUNITY FOR STUDENTS OF HEALTH SCHOLARSHIP

Undergraduate Student Assessment: Identifying the Current and Relative State of Knowledge of and Interest in the Risks of Nuclear WeaponsUniversity students today: are they knowledgeable about nuclear weapons and threat? Are they even concerned? This is what our study at the University of Toronto Scarborough (UTSC) sought to determine. Despite the importance of youth education on this topic, there has remained a lack of research identifying the current state of knowledge and interest. In fact, the most “recent” studies examining this were completed approximately two decades ago!

Approximately 400 students at UTSC were surveyed in March and April, 2016. Key findings concluded that compared to 38% of Canadian high school students in 1988 that listed nuclear war as a 1st, 2nd or 3rd concern when asked by Stewart (1988) “What are the three things that worry you most about the future”, only 0.25% of undergraduates listed this today. Additionally, relative to other local and global issues (e.g. medical diseases, climate change, gang/gun violence, Indigenous rights, terrorism, unemployment rates, etc.), the topic of nuclear weapons/war was one that students claimed to not think about at all.

Knowledge questions were also asked. While 82–93% of students were able to correctly select the correct multiple choice option to easier questions (i.e. what country has dropped nuclear weapons on another in an act of war; what cities had weapons dropped on them) only 42% of students were able to correctly identify the approximate number of weapons existing worldwide, and only 58% knew the countries making up the “Big Five”.

These findings are alarming. Most undergraduates today place little to no concern about nuclear weapons. Even at the start and end of a university degree, they lack knowledge on basic facts on nuclear weapons and war. In fact, almost 40% of students admitted that they had never learned about nuclear weapons or nuclear war, and the majority of those who did learned only through the brief coverage by the Grade 10 History curriculum.

However, one key finding does show a potential bright future. While the issue may not be on their minds as often as hoped, the most frequently selected of

nuclear war threat orientations (as used by Hamilton, Knox, Keilin, and Chavez, 1987) was Disarmist: “Nuclear war can be prevented through active, vocal effort on the part of concerned citizens to convince world powers to disarm. There will be no nuclear war if there are no nuclear weapons.” Thus this younger generation does value global disarmament, it is now just a matter of getting them to think more frequently about this issue. Based on our final category of questions that examined what students feel makes a strong advocacy campaign, and what is the best way to reach students, those interested in involving students should incorporate social media, namely Facebook, and should develop campaigns which are fact-based and/or include the personal/student impact of the issue (as opposed to fear or humour campaigns or celebrity endorsement).

REFERENCES:Hamilton, S., Knox, T. A., Keilin, W. G., &

Chavez, E. L. (1987). In the eye of the beholder: accounting for variability in the attitudes and cognitive/affective reactions toward the threat of nuclear war. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 17(11), 927-952.

Stewart, G. A. (1988). The relationship between adolescents’ concern over the threat of nuclear war and several personality dimensions. Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science, 20(4), 452-460.

This book is a detailed, well referenced account of corruption in the world arms trade.

Starting with Andrew Undershaft in George Bernard Shaw’s play Major Barbara, who is described as a “profiteer in mutilation and murder”, Andrew Feinstein highlights all those who manufacture and trade in arms and how they are shaping world history.

President General Eisenhower warned about the “Military Industrial Complex” which the author has expanded to include governments, thus the “Military Industrial Congressional Complex” – MICC.

He starts with Sir Basil Zaharoff who ran the BAE, a flamboyant extremely wealthy salesman.

8 Turning Point Vol XXII, No.1 | Fall 2016

Nikki Shah

Infect the world with awareness. You have 3 minutes left before nuclear annihilation.

For most young people born after the end of the Cold War knowledge and concern about nuclear weapons/war is minimal (Shah N et al, 2016-unpublished data). Their learning may have come from a Grade 10 history class or from family members who lived through that era. Many are unfamiliar with campaigns and organizations that advocate for the abolition of nuclear weapons. Social media has replaced traditional print media as the “go to” source of information. It provides a major opportunity to enhance young people’s knowledge and understanding of the nuclear threat, and motivate them to action.

Three Minutes to Midnight (3MtM) is a game experience rather than a typical video game. It combines digital gaming elements with real life knowledge transmission, leveraging the power of social media. The ultimate goal is to raise awareness of how close our world is to extinction based on the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists' Doomsday Clock, currently set (2016) at 3 minutes to midnight, and to spark real world action

to set the hands back to a safe distance. The premise of 3MtM is that in

order to raise the global consciousness of the dangers presented by nuclear weapons, a message of awareness and hope (the Message) has to be transmitted as quickly and efficiently as possible via social media. Using a global viral pandemic scenario, the players have to try and “infect” as many people as possible with a knowledge virus that carries the Message within it. In other words, the world is the game board, the virus is the Message, and social media is the medium.

The mechanics of the game are that through the use of available social media and the 3MtM website (Command & Control), the players have to pass on the Message – including education on the dangers of nuclear weapons or leading events dealing with the game premise – to other players in their social networks. For every x users

"infected" with the Message, the player gets CAWS (Citizens Alliance for World Survival) points. These points can be then used to unlock additional game elements on the 3MtM site.

A world map will show in real-time the spread of the "infection" based on

social media analytics collected from the players. Infection spread rate can be calculated based on Likes, post shares, tweets and retweets (among other social media sharing tools).

In order to keep the game engaging, optional mini-games related to the topic will be available on the 3MtM site. These games will include genres such as puzzle, strategy, action and adventure. Successful completion of these mini-games will provide the players with additional CAWS points.

The use of Command & Control terminology is ironic considering its uses in the military in relation to nuclear weaponry.

The concepts of Three Minutes to Midnight were presented at the May 2016 Pegasus Conference by Nathalie Down, as one of the game's co-developers and a Masters student at Ryerson University.

Dr. Jonathan Down PGS Board Member

Arms traders are corrupt; they engage in bribery, work as diplomats and spies, and know who to manipulate in governments. They sell arms to anyone. (During the Second World War, American auto companies sold to the Nazis as well as helping the home war effort, and made huge profits as a result.)

The book chronicles, in detail, one 20th-century scandal after another: the Nazis, the Saudis, Iraq, Afghanistan and the Nicaraguan Contras. The author enlightens us on what happens behind the scenes, all well referenced. Having been a South African Member of Parliament for the National African Congress, he focuses on Africa as well as Europe and the US, and the major

companies: Lockheed Martin, Boeing, BAE (British), Raytheon and Northrop Grumman.

The book ends in 2012, so the book does not mention Canadian companies like SNC Lavelin and its involvement in South Africa. Also not mentioned is how Canada is selling arms to the Saudis, with their atrocious civil rights abuses. We await his next edition.

The author has a film with the same title currently showing at international film festivals.

The movie Lord of War with Nicholas Cage is based on a composite of many of the characters detailed in “Shadow World” such as Victor Bout, Sardis Soghanalian, Charles Taylor, Oliver North, etc.

The author does not elaborate on the nuclear threat but instead focuses on small arms, AK 47s, etc., that are “weapons of mass destruction” simply due to their numbers.

The new Arms Trade Treaty passed at the UN has not, unfortunately, curbed the arms trade; it has just made it more difficult and thus more profitable for arms traders.

The book's final chapter brings us up to date on how many of these dealers of death are enjoying the good life and are not in jail as they should be. It is a fascinating book that I would heartily recommend.

Dr. Richard Denton PGS Board Member and former President

Three Minutes to Midnight – 3MtM

Turning Point 9Vol XXII, No.1 | Fall 2016

Natalie Down

Sunday July 31 2016 marked the 25th anniversary of what could have been a major step towards a world

free of nuclear weapons. The Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START 1) was signed by Presidents George H.W. Bush and Mikhail Gorbachev, and it limited the number of nuclear warheads held by either side to 6,000. At the time of signing there were about 60,000 nuclear weapons held by the nuclear weapon states. The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists recognized this historic event by moving the minute hand of the Doomsday Clock to 17 minutes to midnight – the furthest it has ever stood from nuclear catastrophe. Unfortunately, the political momentum of that time has been lost, and the opportunity to eliminate the existential nuclear threat has been squandered.

The Doomsday Clock now stands at 3 minutes to midnight, the closest it has been to midnight since the height of the Cold War.

Currently there are about 1500 US warheads on “high alert” status – meaning they can be launched within 15 minutes of the US President’s command. One trillion dollars has been budgeted by the US for modernization of its nuclear arsenal. Included in this figure is the cost of a new nuclear air launched cruise missile which would be indistinguishable from a non-nuclear missile. This cruise missile would be a war fighting weapon, not just a deterrent, and has significant destabilizing potential.

Other countries are engaged in similar modernization programs.

North Korea has announced that it tested a hydrogen bomb in January 2016, and it has every intention of continuing to develop its nuclear arsenal. A 2013 report from the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) indicates that a limited, regional war between India and Pakistan involving

100 Hiroshima size (15K) bombs would threaten the lives of over two billion people through a nuclear-war-induced famine. Conflicts in the Ukraine and Syria have generated dangerous potential for inadvertent nuclear weapon use. For example Turkey, a NATO member, shot down a Russian warplane that luckily did not contain nuclear weapons. This event was followed by a state run Russian news agency stating that the US would be reduced to radioactive ash.

Within NATO itself the Incirlik Airbase in Turkey holds the largest nuclear weapons storage facility – about 50 B-61 hydrogen bombs. Given the current instability in that region, there is growing concern that these weapons may be vulnerable to unauthorized or terrorist action.

Complete nuclear disarmament is considered to be the only certain way to avoid a nuclear catastrophe. However, little is happening at the political level that will lead to nuclear abolition in the foreseeable future. Canada could change things for the better as it has a significant role to play as an international leader on nuclear disarmament.

For a start: 1) Canada could advocate within

NATO for alternative security arrangements that do not rely on

the possession of nuclear weapons and the NATO doctrine of nuclear deterrence. Indeed, the Cold War doctrine of nuclear deterrence as a prevention strategy no longer holds true in today’s complex geopolitical climate.

2) Canada could push for the removal of US nuclear weapons from Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Italy and Turkey as these weapons are perceived by Russia as a direct threat.

3) Canada could urge the United States to stop and reverse the steady expansion of its Ballistic Missile Defense system.

4) Canada could strongly propose an end to launch-on-warning policies, so that the immediate threat of nuclear weapons on high-alert is removed.

5) Canada could emphasize the catastrophic consequences of any nuclear weapons use, and the global health imperative to abolish these weapons of mass destruction.

6) Canada could oppose the modernization of nuclear arsenals by nuclear-weapons states as inconsistent with their legal obligation to disarm under the Non Proliferation Treaty. These are but six doable actions of

many that are consistent with Canada’s historical role in the world.

Nuclear weapons have been eliminated in the past, for example, through START. Canada could now establish its leadership role in the irreversible elimination of existing nuclear arsenals, and a timeline for verified implementation. Talk about legacy….

Dr. Jonathan DownBoard Member, PGS

Member of Canadian Network to Abolish Nuclear Weapons ( CNANW)

START again: time for a new plan…

to save the world

from itself.

For the full CNANW, Call to Action by the Government of Canada on Nuclear Disarmament, go to: http://pgs.ca/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/2016-CNANW-Call-to-Action.pdf

10 Turning Point Vol XXII, No.1 | Fall 2016

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PGS 101: An Introduction to the Quest for Global SurvivalThe “Manhattan Project” was the

American scientific initiative to develop a nuclear bomb. The 20 kiloton “Trinity”

was the first atomic bomb ever tested, in New Mexico on July 16, 1945.

Nuclear Weapons

Other nuclear weapons states, not part of the “Big Five”, are India (1974), Pakistan (1998),

North Korea (2006) and Israel (no known tests).

Toward the end of World War II, the USA dropped two 15–20 kiloton

atomic bombs on Japan. Hiroshima, August 6, 1945, and

Nagasaki, August 9, 1945.

Approximately 15,350 nuclear weapons remain on the planet today, most with the USA (6,970) and Russia (7,300). These nuclear weapons can

be hundreds of times more powerful than the bombs of 1945.

By the end of 1945, over 200,000 people died (immediate deaths

and subsequent deaths due to radioactive fallout) as a result

of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

After nuclear testing, the United Kingdom (1952), France (1960) and

China (1964) joined the USA and the Soviet Union as nuclear weapons states

and became known as the “Big Five”. These five states are the only permanent members of the

United Nations Security Council.

There remain approximately 1,800 warheads on “high alert”,

always ready to launch within 15 minutes of warning.

The “Cold War” between the USA and the Soviet Union began on August 29, 1949, after

the Soviet Union tested its first atomic bomb.

At the height of the “Cold War” in the late 1980s, there were over 60,000 nuclear weapons, with the majority

in control of the USA (23,000) and the Soviet Union (39,000).

Over 2,000 nuclear tests have been conducted since 1945, atmospheric,

underwater and underground. Most recently, North Korea tested a

nuclear weapon on January 6, 2016.

Despite insistence by non-nuclear states and civil society, the US and other nuclear states continue to “modernize” their arsenals. In August 2016, at the Open Ended Working Group (OEWG) meeting,

Canada sided with the nuclear weapons states (all of whom boycotted the OEWG meetings) and voted NO on the UN resolution calling for negotiations on nuclear disarmament.