The UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons has been endorsed by 122 nations, and became international law for more than 51 ratifying States on January 22, 2021. Regrettably, Canada boycotted negotiations in 2017 and has refused to sign or ratify this landmark Treaty.

Nuclear weapons, along with climate change and pandemics, are the greatest threats facing human civilization. An exchange of even 1% of the global arsenal of 13,400 nuclear weapons would kill tens of millions of people. It would plunge the planet into a nuclear winter and result in widespread famine, killing billions more.

The world was not adequately prepared for the Covid-19 pandemic. The International Committee of the Red Cross asserts that it is impossible to prepare for nuclear holocaust. Humanity’s only hope is prevention through the elimination of nuclear weapons.

Canadians have a right to know, and to hear from our national leaders, how nuclear weapons could impact human health, health care systems, the environment, the economy, the global biosphere and the future of life on earth.

The undersigned, therefore, respectfully call upon the Government of Canada to have Parliament debate the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and to allow the House of Commons Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development to hold public hearings on the Treaty and on Canada’s role in advancing global nuclear disarmament. *

* On January 22, 2021, the date the TPNW entred into force, the HNDC co-ordinated a 3-page spread in the Ottawa Hill Times that was endorsed by 110 groups and 330 individuals.  This initiative called upon the Government of Canada to have Parliament debate the TPNW and to allow the House of Commons Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development to hold public hearings on the Treaty and on Canada’s role in advancing global nuclear disarmament.

April 6, 2021 (Toronto): The threat posed by nuclear weapons is of major concern to Canadians according to a new poll released today by Nanos Research. The poll results show that Canadians are very positive about key solutions the disarmament movement has been advocating and that Canadians are action oriented in responding to the nuclear threat.

• 80% of Canadians polled stated that the world should work to eliminate nuclear weapons while just 9% thought it acceptable for countries to have nuclear weapons for protection.
• 74% of Canadians support (55%) or somewhat support (19%) Canada signing and ratifying the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons that became international law in January of 2021. The same percentage agreed (51%) or somewhat agreed (23%) that Canada should join the UN Treaty even if, as a member of NATO, it came under pressure from the United States not to do so.
• 76% of Canadians agreed (46%) or somewhat agreed (30%) that the House of Commons should have committee hearings and debate Canada’s position on nuclear disarmament.
• 85% of respondents stated that Canada was not prepared (60%) or somewhat not prepared (25%) to deal with the emergency if nuclear weapons were detonated somewhere in the world.
• 86% of Canadians agreed (58%) or somewhat agreed (28%) that no government, health system or aid organization could respond to the devastation caused by nuclear weapons and that they therefore should be eliminated.
• 71% of respondents agreed (49%) or somewhat agreed (22%) that they would withdraw money from any investment or financial institution if they learned it was investing funds in anything related to the development, manufacturing or deployment of nuclear weapons.
• 50% of Canadians indicated that they would be more likely (21%) or somewhat more likely (29%) to support a political party that advocated Canada signing and ratifying the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. 10% of respondents stated they would be less likely (7%) or somewhat less likely (3%) to support such a political party and 30% said this would not impact their vote.

The Nanos Research poll was commissioned by the Hiroshima Nagasaki Day Coalition in Toronto, The Simons Foundation Canada in Vancouver, and the Collectif Échec à la guerre in Montreal. Nanos conducted an RDD dual frame (land- and cell-lines) hybrid random telephone and online survey of 1,007 Canadians, 18 years of age or older, between March 27th to 30th, 2021 as part of an omnibus survey. The margin of error for a random survey of 1,007 Canadians is ±3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

“This is profoundly gratifying to me that Canadian public awareness has been raised so significantly,” stated Setsuko Thurlow, a member of the Hiroshima Nagasaki Day Coalition.

2022 Events

2021 Events

2019 Events

2018 Events

2017 events

Humanity First: Ban the Bomb!

Sunday, 6 August 2017
Toronto Peace Garden
& Nathan Phillips Square

Keynote speaker: The Hon. Douglas Roche, O.C.
Author, former Senator, MP, and Canadian Ambassador for Disarmament

Featured Performers:
Grammy-Nominated Flautist Ron Korb
Isshin Daiko of Toronto Musical Ensemble
Toronto Pax Christi Chorale
Toronto’s Raging Grannies

4:30-6:30 pm: Community & Craft Tables
6:30 pm: Commemoration Ceremony
8:30 pm: Lantern Ceremony

 

Hiroshima/Nagasaki Day Coalition
Member Groups:

• Canadian Voice of Women for Peace
• Pax Christi
• Toronto Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre
• Toronto Area Interfaith Council
• Toronto Article 9
• Tao Sangha Global Community
• Science for Peace
• Physicians for Global Survival
• Toronto Buddhist Church
• Hiroshima Kenjin Kai

 

Hiroshima/Nagasaki Remembrance

Image: mural by Tatsuya Tomizawa, made with thousands of hand-folded paper cranes. Photo by Tim Wright

Download poster | Download programme booklet

2016 events

We CAN Abolish Nuclear Weapons!

Saturday 6 August 2016
Nathan Phillips Square & Peace Garden, Toronto

International Peace Activist Setsuko Thurlow
Hiroshima Survivor & 2015 Arms Control Person of the Year

2016 Grammy-Nominated Flutist Ron Korb • Raging Asian Women Taiko Drummers • Pax Christi Chorale • Toronto’s Raging Grannies

Free, open to the public and family-friendly

4:30pm

Community Tables

6:00pm

Commemoration

8:30pm

Closing

…and join us for the
Hiroshima & Nagasaki
Poster and Survivors’
Artwork Display
City Hall Rotunda
August 9-15, 2016
10am–5pm

The Hiroshima/Nagasaki Day Coalition:

Canadian Voice of Women for Peace
Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre
Toronto Area Interfaith Council
Tao Sangha Global Community
Physicians for Global Survival
Toronto Buddhist Church
Hiroshima Kenjin Kai
Pax Christi Toronto
Science for Peace
Toronto Article 9

Hiroshima/Nagasaki Remembrance

Saturday 6 August 2016
Nathan Phillips Square and Peace Garden, Toronto

4:30pm

Community Tables

6:00pm

Commemoration

8:30pm

Closing

International Peace Activist Setsuko Thurlow
Hiroshima Survivor & 2015 Arms Control Person of the Year

2016 Grammy-Nominated Flutist Ron Korb
Raging Asian Women Taiko Drummers
Pax Christi Chorale
Toronto’s Raging Grannies

This event is free, open to the public and family-friendly

Sponsors: Canadian Physicians for Research & Education in Peace • Conscience Canada • Canadian Pugwash Group • Greater Toronto NAJC

Hiroshima/Nagasaki Remembrance

Download poster

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Rededication of the Peace Garden

Date: Wednesday May 18, 2016
Time: 11:30 am
Location: Peace Garden Area (north-west side of Nathan Phillips Square, near Osgoode Law Society)

Program of the Day

11:30 am Invited guests arrive at the Peace Garden
11:35 am Choir Singing: Jarvis Collegiate Institute students
11:38 am Emcee (TBD) Introduction of dignitaries and background of the Peace Garden provided
by City staff
11:42 am Smudging Ceremony: Traditional Aboriginal Elder: Cat Crieger
11:48 am Mayor John Tory –Speech – 3 mins.
11:52 am Consul General of Japan Mr. Yasunori Nakayama–Speech
11:56 am Toronto's Poet Laureate: Anne Michaels
11:59 am Setsuko Thurlow, Hiroshima Peace Ambassador
12.04 pm Zul Kassamali, Chair Toronto Area Interfaith Council
12:07 pm Parliamentary Poet Laureate: George Elliot Clarke
12:08 pm Father Lombardi speaks and then goes to light the Eternal flame hands the mic to Phyllis Creighton. Phyllis speaks about the significance of the water while Setsuko Thurlow is pouring the water
12:15 pm Choir Singing: Jarvis Collegiate Institute students

2015 events

 

Press Releases and Statements

• Are Americas Games a Nuclear Weapons Free Zone?
• Toronto Nobel Peace Prize Nominee Addresses the World
• Toronto Will Not Wait Until Three Minutes to Midnight
• Hiroshima and Nagasaki Commemoration in Toronto August 6th, 2015
• Press release (Japanese)

2014 events

 

Across Canada events

See summary of events in other communities here.

Press Releases and Statements

• Hiroshima and Nagasaki Commemoration in Toronto August 4th-10th (issued July 28, 2014)
• Toronto's Mayor for Peace (issued August 5, 2014)
  • Detailed summary of mayoral candidates' responses (html)
• City of Hiroshima declaration on the 69th anniversary of the atomic bombing of the city (issued in Hiroshima, August 6, 2014)

2013 events

 

Trudeau Centre panel, 14 March 2013

See event report here.

Across Canada events

See summary of events in other communities here.

2012 events

 

Across Canada events

See summary of events in other communities here.

Chernobyl, Fukushima, Darlington and Beyond

The HDC was a sponsor of the April 24, 2012 event "Chernobyl, Fukushima, Darlington and Beyond", organized by Veterans Against Nuclear Arms. Other sponsors included Voice of Women and Science for Peace. See this link for text and audio of Angela Bischoff's keynote speech.

2011 events

 

2010 events

 

More material on the 2010 archive page

2009 events

 

2008 events

More information on the 2008 event page

 

This year's events

See main page for events during Hiroshima/Nagasaki week, August 2024.

 

Elastic and smartphone-aware layout by Ken Simons