A Fire to Suffocate: Canadian Industrial Produciton for the Nuclear Arms Race

Publisher:  Canadian Peace Research Institute, Oakville
Year Published:  1980   First Published:  1980
Pages:  5pp  
Resource Type:  Article/Report/Letter
Cx Number:  CX2134

Abstract:  Canadian industry is intimately involved in the production and distribution of nuclear weaponry. This, according to the author of this article, has led the Canadian government to support United States policy in this regard. However, the United States seems to be putting together much more than a retaliatory nuclear arsenal. The new guidance systems that escape radar and the Neutron Bomb that kill people and not destroy buildings give a first strike capability to the United States. Both technological innovations are five years ahead of the Soviet Union, and yet the Soviet increase in military expenditures are given as the excuse for these developments. Canadian industry is directly involved in this as Litton Systems Canada Ltd., produces the navigation system for the cruise missile; Hawker Siddeley Canada Ltd. manufactures a light weight launcher for the missile that carries the neutron bomb, and Vickers Canada Inc. fabricates hull cylinders for the Polaris/Posiedon and Trident nuclear-powered submarines.

In the past, the government of Canada and particularly Prime Minister Trudeau have advocated disarmament. The author hopes that increasing public pressure could encourages the Prime Minister to take a stronger stand in reducing nuclear production and in converting the military industrial complex in Canada to more peaceful purposes.

Subject Headings

• Nuclear Industry