This is a very serious concern, because there is a very well-documented revolving door, with people who work for intelligence services then going off and making money, some of them very honourably, unfortunately, and some of them not. I think it's shameful that a former prime minister would be involved in selling surveillance technologies, brokering Canadian firms' sales to Gulf clients who have a well-documented history of human rights abuses, which is why I said in my recommendations that we need to impose a lifetime ban on those who have worked for intelligence and law enforcement from ever working for mercenary spyware firms.
We also need to have clear rules in this country on export controls over surveillance technologies. Citizen Lab has documented the export of censorship and surveillance technologies made by firms based in Canada that have helped facilitate, frankly, violations of human rights abroad that would be unacceptable in this country. I'm shocked to say that there really are zero licensing or export controls in this country for the export or sale of spyware and surveillance technology of the type that we're talking about here. That needs to change.