theworldmarch.orgThe annihilation of the human race by nuclear war is probably not something that has been on the average student’s mind since the end of the Cold War. But according to Douglas Roche, it should be.
Roche, a former MP, Senator, Canadian Diplomat, and anti-nuclear weapons activist, recently gave a speech at McGill as part of a speaking tour of 23 universities across Canada.
“I want students of today’s generation to understand the nature of the nuclear weapons problem, what is being done about it, and what they can do about it too,” Roche said.
Roche noted that the issue of nuclear weapons has fallen to the wayside, especially among those too young to remember the Cold War. He strongly emphasized that the issue of nuclear weapons is still of great importance.
“Nuclear security is as relevant today as it was in the Cold War,” Roche said. “It would be foolhardy to think that everything will be fine in a nuclear world because it very well might not be.”
Lack of public consciousness over the issue of nuclear safety, according to Roche, could have disastrous consequences. At the beginning of his speech, Roche held up an apple and explained that an apple-sized amount of enriched plutonium was enough to cause huge destruction and an inestimable loss of life.
He also elaborated on the theft of nuclear materials and the risk this might pose.
“However tightly nuclear materials are guarded today, they are not guarded tightly enough,” Roche said.
The event was organized by the Montreal branch of the Canadian International Council (CIC), an organization committed to bringing international issues such as nuclear proliferation to the forefront of Canadian politics.
The event coordinator, Kyle Matthews, was delighted that the Honourable Douglas Roche had time to speak with the CIC and with students.
“We’re always looking to bring in interesting, high level speakers … I thought it was very important that we invite him to talk about our nuclear security and safety disarmament to our membership,” Matthews said.
While the event was designed for the general public, many McGill students attended, including Shehryar Heider, U1. Heider was not sure what to expect of the event at first, but found it informative and interesting.
“When I looked at the notice outside, it said [the topic] was ‘Nuclear Weapons,'” Heider said. “I was pretty interested because it’s a very radical topic, especially in Pakistan, where I come from. It’s a topic that has raised quite a lot [of conversation] because we have nuclear weapons and it’s an issue that does have controversy, and I wanted to see what Douglas Roche had to say.”
“I found the task of how to raise the issue amongst the younger generation important,” Heider added. “We should know the kind of dangers that are associated with nuclear weapons.”
Roche was enthusiastic about speaking to students.
“I’m happy to speak at McGill,” Roche said, adding that he hopes students came away with “a better understanding of the danger the world faces with the continuation of nuclear weapons and how the movement to abolish nuclear weapons is gaining strength in the world.”
