WINNIPEG, (CCN) — The development and charitable organization of the Catholic Church in Canada, Development and Peace — Caritas Canada, is among 29 Canadian denominations and church groups that signed a letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney expressing “deep concern” over his government’s national security focus on militarization and military spending.
The letter, sent Oct. 26, was initiated by Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) Canada. It notes that increased spending on weapons by the Canadian government is coming “at the cost of conflict prevention, care for creation and support for poverty reduction across the world.”
It acknowledges the importance of Canada’s national security, and that the challenges facing Canada are daunting. But, it says, the government’s focus on increased military spending “does not reflect our values or priorities as communities of faith.”
Those values are encapsulated by a core Christian belief that “we are called to love our neighbours, at home and globally, especially those who are vulnerable or marginalized,” the letter says, adding “our hearts break considering all of those impacted by global conflict, and those who will continue to be impacted as conflicts increase.”
The letter urges the prime minister to “move away from a dependence on weapons of destruction and policies of self-interest only for Canadians and towards actions that are based on the mutual flourishing of all.”
Those actions, the letter states, include diplomacy, peacebuilding and foreign aid internationally, along with a focus on health, affordability, food security and the impacts of climate change in Canada.
The letter also asks the prime minister to hold a national conversation with Canadians about national security priorities that “reflect care for our global neighbours and hope for our shared future.”
Kiegan Irish is the advocacy officer for Development and Peace. “We need to be investing in the underlying conditions that make for peaceful coexistence between people and nations,” he said, adding that prioritizing the military “will only deepen conflict and make it more intractable.”
For Irish, “the solution is not to invest in more guns. Instead, we should be investing in the dignity of all people, resisting the impulse to violence.”
He said he understands that Canadians are feeling economically insecure today. But, he said, Canada should not be “tethering the economy to arms exports that will only deepen conditions leading to conflict and violence.”
Development and Peace will be sharing the letter with its members and encouraging parishes to read it, Irish said, adding the organization intends to “deepen its engagement on the theme of peace” in 2027.
Walter Dorn is professor of defence studies at the Royal Military College of Canada and the Canadian Forces College, where he focuses on peace operations and disarmament.
He said the letter from Canadian churches “adds an important voice to the debate over military spending. It’s an inspiring call to alternative action. And I think it’s remarkable that so many religious organizations have signed on to a joint statement like this.”
Dorn likes how the letter encourages the government to “think globally and compassionately, instead of with a narrow focus on defence . . . it looks at the world through the prism of a shared humanity, more about human security than just national security.”
At the same time, he said, the letter “realizes that our national security is dependent on the broader human security of people everywhere.”
He also appreciates the letter’s support for peacekeeping, noting it is “such an important part of Canada’s contribution to peace in the world,” along with the letter’s call for more conversation about the direction Canada is heading related to national security.
“We need conversations at the grassroots level at the expert and political levels,” Dorn said of the letter’s call for a national conversation. While Canada has to prepare for the possibility of war, it needs to be committed to finding ways to lessen conflict, he said, adding: “We can lead in international peace and security.”
In addition to Development and Peace, others signatories included the Seventh Day Adventist, Anglican, Anabaptist-Mennonite, Baptist, Quakers, Disciples of Christ, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Salvation Army, Christian Reformed and United Church of Canada churches.
