In accepting the award, Mr. Granoff said:

“I have concluded that nuclear weapons constitute a paradox of modernity. The more that these weapons are perfected, the less security is obtained. Science and technology are like a horse running out of the gate, without the appropriate reins of law and morality...

"If we cannot bring them under control through the application of a cooperative international verification and monitoring system, we should be aware that in the future our children will face new technologies of destruction - where fewer people, using fewer resources, will be able to inflict greater tragedy.” (See below for entire transcript of speech.)

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11th Distinguished Service Award to presented to
the Honourable Douglas Roche, O.C.



The Honourable Douglas Roche, O.C., MPI Chairman Emeritus and a former Senator and Member of Parliament who represented Edmonton, Alberta, was honored on Monday, June 1, 2009 with the Distinguished Service Award in recognition for his years of Parliamentary service, for his contribution to and respect for the institution of Parliament and for his continued interest and activity in the promotion of human welfare, human rights and parliamentary democracy in Canada and abroad. The award was presented by the Hon. Noël Kinsella, Speaker of the Senate of Canada, and the Hon. Peter Milliken, M.P., Speaker of the House of Commons. The presentation followed the unveiling of the Commemorative Plaques for Senators and Members of the House of Commons who served during the 39th Parliament.

The Hon. Douglas Roche, O.C. has specialized in peace and human security issues throughout his 35-year public career. He is the author of 19 books, including his latest, Creative Dissent: A Politician’s Struggle for Peace (Novalis, 2008). He was a Senator and Member of Parliament, as well as Canadian Ambassador for Disarmament, Chairman of the United Nations Disarmament Committee, Visiting Professor at the University of Alberta and Chairman of the Middle Powers Initiative. He was also a member of the Pugwash Council, which won the 1995 Nobel Peace Prize for its work for nuclear disarmament. Mr. Roche holds seven honourary doctorates from Canadian and American universities and has received numerous awards for his work for peace and non-violence. He is an Officer of the Order of Canada. Additional information on Mr. Roche and his work is available on his website at http://roche.apirg.org/public_html/index.html.

The Distinguished Service Award is a peer-nominated award presented annually by the Canadian Association of Former Parliamentarians to a former parliamentarian. Previous recipients are the Hon. Sheila Finestone, P.C.; the Hon. Jacques Hébert, O.C.; Mr. Wilton Littlechild, Q.C.; Mr. J. Roland Comtois; Dr. Bruce Halliday; Ms. Aideen Nicholson; the Hon. John M. Reid; Mr. Douglas M. Fisher; Mr. Stan Darling and the Hon. John Ross Matheson.

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