February 16, 1359
DRAFT STATEFI3WT RdGP.FLi)ING THE A C Q U I S I T I O N AND CObEROL OF
NUCLgIL? NZAPONS YOR POSSIBLE USE IN THE HOUSS OF COIJQGONS
Last autuxn t h e Government announced i t s
i n t e n t i o n t o ic.tsoduce t h e B O W C ground-to-air
missile
i n t o t h e Canadian a i r defence system and t~ e q u i p the
Canadian Brigade i n Europe w i t h the LACROSS% gr0un.d-toground m i s s i l e %
2,
The Government s d e c i s i o n t o a c q u i r e t h e s e
modern weapons f o r use by t h e Ca.na.dian f o r c e s was based
on i t s a p p r e c i a t i o n , i n t h e l i g h t of t h e b e s t expert
advice available, of t h e need t o s t r e n g t h e n o u r a i r
defence i n t h e f a c t of t h e t h r e a t to t h i s c o n t i n e n t and
on i t s determination t o continue a f u l l and effective
c o n t r i b u t i o n t o t h e NATO shihld*
The full p o t e n t i a l
sf t h e s e d e f e n s i v e wzapons i s achieved o n l y when t h e y
a r e arned w i t h n u c l e a r warheads*
3~
The Goverzment is, t h e r e f o r e , examining with
the United S t a t e s Go-rernmenk q u e s t i o n s connoctcd ~.0r4_th
t h e acquisition o f n u c l e a r warheads f o r RO2Q-RC and
o t h e r d a f e w i v e weapons f o r use by t h e Canadia.n f o r c e s
i n Canada axd t h e s t o r a g e of warheads i n Canada,
The
problems eonnscted with t h e a m i n g o f t h s Canadian
Brigade i n Zurope with s h o r t range nucieas-capable
d e l i v e r y s y s t e n s :or
!gATOTs Cefence tasks %re 2
2 ~ 0
beicg considsreda
& rt
?k are c o n f i d s n t &ha"c~?sF'!-~X be 2 b l e t o
r s a c h formal agreement on s a t i s f a c t o r y means to s e r v e
o u r common ob jectitreo
It v r i l Z _ of
SO:~,PS~
be some time
b e f o r e t h z s e weapons w i l l be a v a i l a b l e f o r use by
Canadiaz f ~ r c s s ,
A h a n a p y i r o p r i ~ . $ ~~l r a ? &he Garrerm2azt
C
n r a
2
o f a defensive c h a r a c t e r ,
Y
' e w i l l not l o s e s i g h t o f
t h i s o b j e c t i v e of disamament,
Even i f t h a t o b j e c t i v e
i s capable o f o n l y p a r t i a l r e a l Z z a t i o n , as f o r example
i n agreed zones of i n s p e c t i o n i n t h e A r c t i c , o r agreed
measures t o guard a g a i n s t s u r p r i s e a t t a c k , our f i r m
support can be counted on.
I n the, meantime, however,
we c a m o t minimize t h e importance of r o v i - d i n g t h e
s t r o n g e s t d e t e r r e n c e t o aggression and sf p r o t e c t i n g
t h e d e t e r r e n t power a g a i n s t s u r p r i s e a-&tacks*
8,
The t h i r d b a s i c c o n s i d e r a t i o n i s t h e Govern-
ment"
cofi,mitments t o support t h e e o l l e c t i v a s e c u r i t y
of e,"
NATO a l l i a n c e ,
Whether our e f f o r t i s made
d i r e c t l y i n c o n t i n e n t a l defence
- t h e defence
Canada-United S t a t e s Region 09 NATO
- or
of t h e
sshethor it
i s made on t h e c o n t i n e n t o f Europe, it w i l l be made
i n concert w i t h t h e e f f o r t s of o u r NATO p a r t n e r s ,
I n t h e one context, as i n tile other, it i s t h e
Government ' s i n t e n t i o n t o provide Canadian f o r c e s w i t h
modem and e f f i c i e n t weapons t o enable t h e n t o f u l f i l l
t h e i r respective roleso
9
1
Following from $he Government's b e l i 5 f t h a t
t h e spread of n u c l e a r weapons at t h e independent
d i s p o s a l of n a t i o n a l governnsnts sbould be l i m i t e d ,
we b e l i e v e i t i s r i g h t t h a t ownership and custody of
t h e n u c l e a r warheads sholfid remain w i t h t h e United
States,
The requirements of Canadian and United
S t a t e s l e g i s l a t i o n on ator-ic energy w i l l continue t o
apply,
There w i l l be no change i n Canada's r e s p o n s i b i -
l i t y f o r r e g u l a t i n g all f l i g h t s of a i r c r a f t o v e r
Canadian t e r r i t o r y ,