Sinn Fein Sinn Féin -- Building an Ireland of Equals

Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Pierre Pettigrew response

Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Pierre Pettigrew praised the IRA's statement.

"This decision by the IRA is an unprecedented opportunity to advance the peace process," Pettigrew said in a news release. "We urge the IRA to move quickly to implement all aspects of this decision and all parties to cooperate in ending violence in Northern Ireland."