National Letter-Writing Coalition

The Freeze And The Militarization Of Outer Space

This month's letter-writing suggestion came from Lorraine Snyder of Project Ploughshares -Waterloo. Lorraine recently wrote to Doug Roche, Ambassador for Disarmament, to express her disappointment over Canada's vote at the United Nations on the nuclear freeze. In reply to her letter, Roche noted that, before Cabinet will make "a definitive decision on the freeze," the views and recommendations of both Parliament and the new Canadian Institute for International Peace and Security (CIIPS) will have to be heard.

To the extent that both of these groups play an important role in formulating Canadian policy on matters pertaining to disarmament, this month's suggestion is threefold:

Parliament.
1. Write to Prime Minister Brian Mulroney demanding that Canada reverse its stance on both the freeze and "Star Wars".
2. Write to John Turner, leader of the opposition, asking the Liberals to lobby the Conservatives on both the freeze and "Star Wars." Send copies of this letter to Jean Chrètien, Lloyd Axworthy, Don Johnson and lona Campagnolo. (These four Liberals have, and will continue to have, an important role in the formulation of Liberal Party policy on disarmament.)
3. Send a letter to Ed Broadbent asking that the New Democratic Party work in conjunction with the Liberals to lobby the Conservatives.
All the above letters require no postage, and should be addressed to the House of Commons, Ottawa, ON, KlA 0A6.
Canadian Institute for International Peace and Security. Write to William Barton, Chairman of ClIPS, asking that, in the sake of sanity, the Institute come out in opposition to Canadian policy on the freeze and "Star Wars." Letters to Barton should be sent to East Memorial Building, 284 Wellington St. - Room 2036, Ottawa, ON, KiA 0P4.
Media.
- Putting heat on the Conservatives can be assisted by a plethora of letters to your local editor regarding the freeze and "Star Wars."
The NLWC would like to welcome four new groups: Health Professionals for Nuclear Responsibility - Montréal; Project Ploughshares - St. John's; Saltspring Island Disarmament Group; and the Victoria Peace Project. Also, the Peace Resource Centre - Ottawa is now carrying the NLWC monthly suggestion in its newsletter.
Finally, should your group wish to join the over 250 groups who now belong to the NLWC, please write to us at P.O. Box 43, 70 King St. N., Waterloo., ON, N2J 3Z6.
In peace and solidarity, Doug Mohr
P.S. Remember, thinking about it doesn't change anything. Please put something in the mail. (And soon - Reagan's visit is on March 17th).