[1][2] He is president of Public Response,[3] a digital agency that services non-profit organizations and trade unions in the fields of online engagement and government relations.

He also founded the Rideau Institute,[4] a non-profit, independent research, consulting and left-leaning advocacy group located in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

[6] Over the past 25 years, Staples has been involved with a number of organizations that promote peace, disarmament and restrictions on international trade.

Speaking at a meeting of NGOs, he linked corporate globalization to militarization and argued that "the WTO is a weapon of mass destruction.

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.

[30] 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.

"[31] 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.

"[33] 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.