Steven Staples

On 20 October 2012, Staples received the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal from Ottawa Centre Member of Parliament Paul Dewar, for his commitment to peace and international security through disarmament.

In a 2012 presentation to the House of Commons Standing Committee on National Defence, Staples argued that the Canadian government has and continues to overspend on defence, and should reduce National Defence spending in order to return to pre-September 2001 levels. Staples made similar arguments in a 2011 presentation to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance.

In May 2012, Staples contributed an op-ed to Embassy Magazine on why Canada does not need a defence industry, arguing that the industry takes up too much of the government's time, money and effort. He urged the Canadian government to create jobs by spending in other areas like education, and warned against concentrating too much on defence production thereby leaving the Canadian economy vulnerable to collapse.

Staples contributed to two documentaries in 2012 that examined the Canadian government's decision to purchase the F-35: "Runaway Fighter" by CBC Television's the fifth estate and "Air Rage" by CTV's W5.

In a July 2012 piece by Paul Koring of The Globe and Mail on Canada's role in international peacekeeping, Staples commented: "The need is greater than ever but Canada’s contribution has never been lower, the Harper government doesn’t regard peacekeeping as a route to enhancing Canada’s international stature."

His 2010 report, Pilot Error: Why the F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter is wrong for Canada, was published by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. In a press release for the report, Staples argued: "This is a massive commitment of defence spending on ‘flying Cadillacs’ that is being driven by defence contractors, not by a clear-eyed view of Canada’s defence needs…Defending and controlling Canadian and North American airspace doesn’t require purchasing high-end first strike stealth fighters."

In 2010, he co-authored the report Riding the Arctic of Nuclear Weapons: A Task Long Overdue with Michael Wallace, a former professor emeritus of the University of British Columbia. The report provides evidence that the Arctic is becoming a zone of increased military competition and follows in the footsteps of the Canadian Pugwash Group by issuing a call for the establishment of an Arctic Nuclear-Weapons-Free Zone.

In a 2007 opinion piece for Embassy Magazine, Staples argued: "Now is the time for nuclear disarmament. Now is the time for Canada to join other middle power nations to avert a global catastrophe and abolish nuclear weapons."

Staples has written one book, Missile Defence: Round One (James Lorimer & Company Ltd., 2006) and was co-editor with Lucia Kowaluck of the anthology Afghanistan and Canada: Is There an Alternative to War (Black Rose Books, 2008).

Staples is opposed to Canada's military presence in Afghanistan and has advocated for a negotiated settlement with the Taliban. In a 2006 report for the Council of Canadians, Staples argued:

Staples has spoken out in favour of a continuing commitment by Canada to United Nations peacekeeping missions. His 2006 report for the Council of Canadians, Marching Orders: How Canada abandoned peacekeeping – and why the UN needs us now more than ever, argued that Canada should provide more support to UN missions.

Staples is also a member of the Canadian Pugwash Group, the Group of 78 and the international network of anti-nuclear groups, Abolition 2000.

Staples is a strong proponent of nuclear disarmament and is involved with numerous anti-nuclear organizations. He is a director on the board of the Canadian Pugwash Group, a member of the Group of 78 and a member of the Coordinating Committee of Abolition 2000.

Staples was part of the anti-globalization movement, participating in protests at a meeting of the WTO in Seattle in 1999. Speaking at a meeting of NGOs, he linked corporate globalization to militarization and argued that "the WTO is a weapon of mass destruction."

Staples was born in Fredericton, New Brunswick in 1966 and now lives in Toronto, Ontario after living in Ottawa for 20 years. He attended Fredericton High School and has a Bachelor of Education from the University of New Brunswick.