Canada's most distinguished peacemaker

Douglas Roche has worn many hats in his long life of public service: author, parliamentarian, diplomat, academic. Hope drives his tireless quest for nuclear disarmament, but it's tempered with his grasp of the bitter realities of power politics.

In 1982, at the height of the Cold War, one million people gathered on the streets of New York to push the world's superpowers to halt the dangerous arms race and bring the world back from the brink of mass destruction. Doug Roche, a 52-year-old MP from Edmonton, was there and felt the mood of tension and anxiety.

"In 1982, I was one of a million people who marched from the UN to Central Park to protest nuclear weapons. That march woke up (U. S. President) Ronald Reagan and (Russian leader) Mikhail Gorbachev," Roche says.

Last Sunday, Roche, now a vibrant 80-year-old, was back in New York, this time joining the 10,000 who strode to the UN to protest against nuclear weapons. More >>>>