https://declassified.library.utoronto.ca/files/original/ef919bd764ebe0b1e02aabfd92a89eb2.pdf 71722363e45c0013a3de69ffb4d85bdd PDF Text Text Document disclosed under the Access to Information Act Document divulgue eSj^rtu dffi^Loi sur I'afces a I'information CHRONOLOGY OF GOVERNMENT STATEMENTS REGARDING'- ' NEGOTIATIONS ON ACQUISITION AND STORAGE OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS AS OF SEPTEMBER 27, 1962 The Prime Minister February 20, 1959. a) "The full potential of these defensive weapons is achieved only when they are armed with nuclear warheads. The government is,, therefore, examining with the United States government questions connected with the acquisition of nuclear warheads for Bomarc and other defensive weapons for use by the Canadian forces in Canada, and the storage of warheads in Canada. Problems connected with the arming of the Canadian brigade in Europe with short range muclear weapons for NATO's defence tasks are also being studied. "We are confident that we shall be able to reach formal agreement with the United States on appropriate means to serve the common objective. It will of course be some time before these weapons will be available for use by Canadian forces. The government, as soon as it is in a position to do so, will inform the house, within the limits of sucurity, of the general terms of understanding which are reached between the two governments on this subject." Hansard, p. 1223 b) "It is our intention to provide Canadian forces with modern and efficient weapons to enable them to fulfil their respective roles." Hansard, p. 1223 �Document disclosed under the Access to Information Act Document divulgue en vertu de la Loi sur I'acces a I'information c) 2 - "It is the policy of the Canadian Government not to undertake the production of nuclear weapons in Canada." Hansard, p. 1223 d) "We must reluctantly admit the need in present circumstances for nuclear weapons of a defensive character." Hansard, p. 1223 The Prime Minister March 10, 1959 "The government does not anticipate concluding a formal agreement with the United States government on the acquisition of nuclear warheads in the immediate future, I would draw the attention of the house to the statement I made in this regard' on February 20. I indicated then that it would be some time before nuclear weapons would and indeed' oould be available for use by Canadian forces. At' that time I stated that as soon as the government was in a position to do so it would inform the house, within the limits of security, of the general terms of understanding reached between the two governments on this subject. I believe that is about as far as I can go on this occasion." Hansard, p. 1775. e Prime Minister January 18, I960 a) "Eventually Canadian forces may require certain nuclear weapons if Canadian forces are to be kept effective. For example, the Bomarc anti- aircraft missile to be effective would require nuclear warheads." Hansard, p. 73. �Document disclosed under the Access to Information Act Document divulgue en vertu de la Loi sur I'acces a I'information b) "Negotiations ere procweoiiiHg with the United States in order that the necessary weapons can be made available for Canadian defence units if and when they are required. I cannot comment in detail on these negotiations but I wish to state <} thut arrangements for tho safeguarding and security of all such weapons in Canada will be subject to Canadian approval and consent," "I want to make it abundantly clear that nuolear weapons will not be. used by the Canadian forces except as the Canadian government decides and in the manner approved by the Canadian government. Canada retains its full freedom of choice and decision. Furthermore, in order to ensure that any agreement entered into is kept up to date, it will be made subject to review at any time at the request of either government." Hansard, p. 73. The Minister of National Defence January 20, i960. "Nuclear warheads stored in Canada are the property of the United States until they are released for use by the Canadian forces. A/hen1 they are released to Canada, then Canada has the sole use and direction of use of tho'se weapons. As was explained the day before' yesterday by the Prime Minister, that will be a decision for the Canadian Government." Hansard, p. 133. The Prime Minister February 9, I960. "If and when Canada does acquire nuclear weapons it> will be in accordance with our own national policies and with our obligations under 000399 �Document disclosed under the Access to Information Act Document divulgue en vertu de la Loi sur I'acces a I'information - I, - the North Atlantic Treaty." Hansard, p, 867. The Prime Minister June 22, I960. "There have been discussions with the United States government regarding the possible conditions under which nuclear weapons for jet interceptors might be stored in United States leased bases in Canada. No agreement has been arrived at." Hansard, p. 5239. The Prime Minister July 4, I960. ..."On February 20, 1959> as reported on page 1221 of Hansard, I set forth the views of the Canadian government with respect to this matter, and they remain unchanged. At that time I set forth, as I say, that the full potential of these defensive weapons is achieved only when they are armed with nuclear warheads, and that of course was referring to Bomarc and other defensive weapons. "I followed that statement by' a complete statement on January 18, I960, in which I used these words, which are to be found on page 73 of Hansardi" (see above) "Since that time there have been continuing negotiations. By that I mean discussions between " the representatives of tho two countries. I am in no position to advise that there has been any determination made as a result of these discussions which would permit as yet of any negotiation taking place as between the Department of External Affairs and the Department of State of the United States." 000400 �Document disclosed under the Access to Information Act Document divulgue en vertu de la Loi sur I'acces a I'information - 5 - '*... in so far as general policy is concerned we are always in this position. On the one hand we are desirous of attaining disarmament; on the other hand we have to discharge our responsibility of ensuring to tho maximum degree the security of the Canadian people. So far as that i3 concerned, discussions are taking place with respect to the Goose Bay and Harmon air bases, where an endeavour is being made to arrive at a formula which will i ensure that Canadians in those bases shall exercise joint control. ..." Hansard, p. 5653* The Prime Minister July 14, I960. a) "... it is a well'known fact' that United' States law requires that the ownership of nuclear weapons must remain with the United States and that the U3e of such weapons requires presidential authorization. That is the law as it now stands and as it has been in effect since 1945 or 19^6. "At the same time, as I have said before in the house, if and when nuclear weapons are acquired by the Canadian forces, these weapons will not be used except as the Canadian government decides and in the manner approved by the Canadian government. These two elements together constitute joint control, and joint control is consistent with the view I expressed in the house on February 20, 1959» that it is important to 11.lit the spread of nuclear weapons at the independent disposal of national governments. 000401 �Document disclosed under the Access to Information Act Document divulgue en vertu de la Loi sur I'acces a I'information - 6 - "I think I.should add this, that negotiations and consultations with the United States, have been continuing for a very considerable time, and the reason for the continuance of the negotiations is in order to attain the objectives I pointed out in February, 1959, so that if and when an agreement is arrived at under the terms and on the conditions that I have repeatedly placed before the house, we shall be in a position finally to determine this matter." Hansard, p. 6271-2. b) "One determines a course by first taking the necessary steps as to the principles on whioh nuclear weapons would be accepted. Then when we have arrived at that point a determination will be made on the basis of international situations now existing, which are very grave, and in th© light of any subsequent circumstances that may develop between now and the time we would be in a position in any event to have atomic weapons." Hansard, p. 6272. The Minister of National Defence August 4, I960. "... We are, therefore, going ahead with the procurement of the vehicles which can use these nuclear weapons, but the decision as to the acquisition of the nuclear warheads depends on circumstances which might develop sometime in the future. ..." Hansard, p. 7557. 000402 �Document disclosed under the Access to Information Act Document divulgue en vertu de la Loi sur I'acces a I'information _ 7 _ The Minister of National DefenceAufeust 5'. i960. a) "..• We are entering into and have been carrying on discussions at various levels, the official level and between Canadian ministers and United States ministers, aa to the sort of arrangement which could be made when nuclear warheads are made available which, as the.Prime Minister said, will be so if and when they are required, fie recognize, and I am sure the Leader of the Opposition does also, that by United States law these nuclear warheads whenever they leave the United States must still remain the property of the United States. So whether these warheads are placed in Canada or in the leased bases in Canada or in the United Kingdom, the United States still retain possession of them until such time as the President of the United States releases them for use to the authorities of the country concerned. "In the United Kingdom where these nuclear weapons are now stored a form of joint control is exercised whereby a United States officer has a key to the receptacle where they are stored and also a British officer has a key, and the door cannot be opened unless both keys are used. So you have a form of joint control not dissimilar to the method which is used by anybody having a safety deposit box in the bank where the banker has one key and the lessee Of the box has the other. "There would seem to be no difficulties in the way of reaching some sort of similar agreement regarding the storage of those nuclear weapons on 000403 �Document disclosed under the Access to Information Act Document divulgue en vertu de la Loi sur I'acces a I'information - a - -. Canadian soil. Then when the situation becomes such that thesd Weapons are to be used, the sole authority to authorize the uso of those weapons in Canada would be the Prime Minister of Canada who, having had them released by the President of the United States, would then give directions as to when aild how they should be actually used." Hansard, p. 7652, c) "... A question was asked whether our 104 squadrons would use nuclear weapons. All I can say there is that they would have the capability of using these weapons. Whether they would by allowed to operate with thelti from1 French bases I do not know. I am sure the Leader of the Opposition is aware of all the discussion there has been about that matter. That would have to be arranged by the NATO supremo allied commander with the French government and, in any event, we have air bases in Germany as well as in France. That is a problem which will have to be faced when the new aircraft become available. ..." Hansard, p. 7655. The Prime Minister November 23, I960. •• •" • '—"J ..——•« ••4-.-.,—...i. ,• "... there is nothing further to report in addition to previous statements made in this house. I would refer the hon. gentleman to what was said on January 19, 1959; February 20, 1959; January 18, I960; February 9, i960; July 4, I960 and July 14, I960." Hansard, p. 114. 000404 �Document disclosed under the Access to Information Act Document divulgue en vertu de la Loi sur I'acces a I'information - 9 - The Prime Minister November.30, I960. "... the position of Canada is completely unchanged. We have made it perfectly clear that when and if nuclear weapons are required we shall not accept thorn unless we have joint control, and there has been no suggestion at any time of any watering down or diminution of that stand," Hansard, p. 338. The Prime Minister September 20, 1961 "I reiterate what has been made clear on a number of occasions, except to those who will not understand. No agreement has been arrived at between our countries with regard to nuclear weapons> and any rumour to the contrary has no foundation in fact." "The announcement of decisions of government .,...,. policy on this important issue will be made in the house. I might also say this 5 that the government, when placing such decisions before the house, will, naturally, at all times afford an opportunity for discussion. However, and I emphasize this, in each of the instruments that we have, the Bomarc and the Voodoos, nuclear weapons could be used. The defensive requirements of Canada and the need for preservation of security will bo the overriding consideration in the mind of this government. "No decision has been made. When a decision is made the house will be clearly made aware thereof, as I emphasized a moment ago.. Speculation which has been going on in the last few weeks is based on �Document disclosed under the Access to Information Act Document divulgue en vertu de la Loi sur I'acces a I'information - 10 - nothing more than tho views of those who, desiring one final stand to be taken, are not taking Into full regard the international situation nor in the event that it should worsen, the welfare, the future and the safety of Canadians." "The responsibility is one which the. government must take having regard first and foremost to the welfare of tho Canadian people. • I must add, of course, that in any stand it takes tho government must ask for the support of the house. That does not mean, however, that the decision would first be tentatively placed before the house. That would' be* a denial of responsible" government and a denial of the principles which1 tha hon. gentleman himself has so long advocated•" Hansard, p» 8596. The Prime Minister September 26, 1961 (Mr. Chevrier: "Can the Prime Minister say whether the government was consulted about the third principle for disarmament put forward by the president and which reads as follows: 'Prohibiting the transfer of control over nuclear weapons to states that do not now .own them.' If so, how can this be reconciled with joint control?") "Mr. Speaker, the Canadian government has continued to be in favour of a comprehensive 000406 �Document disclosed under the Access to Information Act Document divulgue en vertu de la Loi sur I'acces a I'information - 11 ~ system of disarmament which will include measures for stopping the further spread of nuclear weapons, Last year at the general assembly the Canadian representative said this: '... we believe that tho spread of nuclear weapons to an ever increasing number of countries would pose a threat to mankind. We consider that the only satisfactory way to dispel the dangers inherent in the possibility Is through International agreement on a comprehensive and carefully verified system of disarmament,* "Consistent with this policy the Secretary of State for External Affairs and all Canadian representatives have worked for the recognition of the importance of including measures to prohibit the spread of these weapons as part of a disarmament programme. I am glad that they form part of these A' new proposals." Hansard, p. 8903. The Prime Minister January 22, 1962. "The hon. gentleman mentioned the question of nuclear arms, a problem which has affected all the nations in the western world. This is a subject which I hope will be debated and discussed at length. But I want to make this very clear: there has been no dilatory action on the part pf this government. We made our enunciation of policy as far back as 1959 clearly, definitely and absolutely. Since that time we have continued in that policy, and when the debate takes place on international affairs we shall doal with this matter and point out at the same �Document disclosed under the Access to Information Act Document divulgue en vertu de la Loi sur I'acces a I'information - 12 - time the tremendous cleavage and schism which exists on this subject within the ranks of the opposition despite the fact that in this regard the advertising represents the Liberals as having the answer." Hansard, p. 65 • The Prime Minister February 26, 1962. a) "The statement I made the other day . in no way represented a change of viewpoint on the part of the Government of this country and I hope the Leader of the Opposition would agree that if war came, should nuclear weapons be used against us Canadian troops participating should not be denied the right to use nuclear weapons. "What I stated was but a repetition of what has been said on previous occasions. I would simply refer the house to what I stated on November 24, I960, when speaking to the Canadian club of Ottawa; on August 15, 1961, when speaking in Halifax to the Canadian Weekly Newspapers . Association; and again, on October 6, 1961, when Dr. Thompson and those associated with him in the Canadian committee for the control of radiation hazards made representations to the government. "We take the stand that in the interests of disarmament everything must be done to assure success if it can be attained, and that the nuclear family should not be increased so long as there is any possibility of disarmament among the k (At a news conference al Edmonton on Feb. 24, 1962 the Prime Minister is quoted as saying, "Should war come we should have available the necessary instruments"). 000408 �Document disclosed under the Access to Information Act Document divulgue en vertu de la Loi sur I'acces a I'information • '- 13 nations of the world. That has been our view throughout; that was tho reason for our vote on the Swedish resolution which came before the United Nations", Hansard, p. 12 50. b) (Would weapons be in hands of Canadian Forces before the outbreak of war?) "I referred' to the outbreak of war and said that in the event that nuclear war was launched, nuclear weapons should bo placed in the possession of Canadians", Hansard, p. 1250. o) (Could these weapons be used without the approval of the United States?) "Our views in that regard were set forth at length in February 1959» At that time I said— and I am simply summarizing the-remarks I made in the house—that in the event we should decide to make nuclear weapons available it would be necessary to have joint control on the part of Canada and the United States. That attitude, of course, has not been generally accepted. If I understand the Leader of the Opposition aright, some weeks ago he took the stand that he objected at any time to joint control but he would be willing to have the United States store nuclear warheads in Canada. "That view, we have never held. Our view is that at the moment this is hypothetical and will continue to be as long as disarmament is to the fore. But should it be decided in the light of Canadian armament needs and defence responsibility, that nuclear weapons are to be had at any time, 000409 �Document disclosed under the Access to Information Act Document divulgue en vertu de la Loi sur I'acces a I'information - 14 - joint control is of the essence of the stand we have taken". Hansard, p. 12 50. d) (In view of the constitutional position of the United States and in view of recent statements of the President of that country, how does the Prime Minister propose to bring about this joint control?) "Mr. Speaker, the hon. gentleman knows very well that 30 long as the law of the United States is as it is at present, joint control is impossible." Hansard, p. 1251. e) (Then we cannot have the weapons). "What I have stated is exactly the position of affairs. 'We have stated that until the United States makes joint control available, we do not intend to go further than we have unless war breaks out, at which time we hope to have available to Canadians the necessary nuclear weapons. That is much clearer than the evasive policy of the Leader of the Opposition." Hansard, p. 1251. 000410 �Document disclosed under the Access to Information Act Document divulgue en vertu de la Loi sur I'acces a I'information 15 - The Prime Minister February 28, 1962 (Mr. Martin: "... Has any agreement been reached between the government of the United States and the government of Canada, or any agency or person thereof that would ensure delivery to Canada of nuclear weapons either before or after the outbreak of war?") "Mr. Speaker, the answer is in the negative. " The Prime Minister April 18. 1962 (Mr. Hellyer: "... Would the Prime Minister indicate to the Committee whether the government ha8 decided yet if it will or will not authorize the use of atomic warheads by Canadian troops?") "Mr. Chairman, the attitude of the government has been set out most clearly in this regard. There has been no change and there is no anticipated change". (Mr. Hellyer: "Can we take it then that the further authorization of additional funds for the F.104 programme in fact means that the government intends that they will be used for the strike attack role when the squadrons are ready to go to Europe?") "We have had very long discussions of that matter from time to time and there is nothing more I can add to my statement that there has been no change in our position whatsoever." 000411 �Document disclosed under the Access to Information Act Document divulgue en vertu de la Loi sur I'acces a I'information - 16 - The Prime Minister October 17, 1962 (Mr. Pearson: "I should like to ask the Prime Minister whether the Government contemplates any change in the present position regarding the acquisition of nuclear weapons or nuclear warheads for Canada's armed forces.") "Mr. Speaker, there has been no change in the attitude of the Government since I made a \_ statement in the House on February 26 last." question, Mr. Speaker. i| I asked the Prime Minister whether the Government contemplated any change in the near future.") "I said that was the policy at the moment. I am not going to contemplate the future. ; However, the position is as stated last February." I 000412 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context CDNW01697 Title A name given to the resource "Chronology of Government Statements Regarding Negotiations on Acquisition and Storage of Nuclear Weapons" Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived "DEFENCE - Canada-US Arrangements - Acquisition of Nuclear Weapons for Use by Canadian Forces," RG2-B-2, Box 23-24, file D-1-5(f), Library and Archives Canada (LAC). Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Canadian Crown Subject The topic of the resource Nuclear Weapons Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Canada Declassified Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Language A language of the resource en Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 27-Sep-62