Thank you, Mr. Epp. It's good to see you again.
Any determination of a terrorist listing is made by your colleagues in Ottawa. I'm sure the government will have a very serious look at that.
The use of a private army anywhere in the world is a source of concern. The use of the Wagner Group is of particular concern because of their record, because of the way they conduct themselves and the way they have conducted themselves. The fact that they are being widely used in Africa is a source of tremendous concern to me. It's of tremendous concern to the government.
I think it can be partly explained by the challenge facing peacekeeping. The Secretary-General is going to be releasing a report in the next few weeks on the future of overall peacekeeping in the UN system. We will be joining very vigorously in that discussion, because I think we all have a lot of concern about ensuring the public effectiveness of peacekeeping.
One has to say that the government of Mali made a decision to invite the Wagner Group in. The Wagner Group is also active in the Central African Republic. The overall situation in the Sahel and in other parts of Africa is a source of tremendous concern to us as we look at what the impacts have been.
On the particular question you raised about the terrorist designation, that's a decision for the federal government.