Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I'd like to thank the minister and the other witnesses for coming today to discuss this very important piece of legislation.
Before I begin my comments, Mr. Chair, I want to say that I found the briefing note brought by our analyst to be very informative, so thank you.
On Ms. Bennett's suggestion of the time that it takes for these kinds of bills, important bills, that maybe did not get through during the minority years, I've had the experience, Minister, of talking to a number of people. I'm a new member, so I wasn't there doing it, but I've heard from members from all sides that a lot of bills like Bill S-4, the Safer Railways Act, and Bill C-48, the Technical Tax Amendments Act, were important but just wouldn't have been able to get through because of the jousting of the minority years, so I'm very happy to see important issues like this move forward.
It's my understanding that the principal reason for the introduction of this bill is to amend Canada's Criminal Code to ensure that it reflects the obligations imposed by the International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism and the amendment to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material, both of which Canada has yet to ratify.
Minister, could you give some of your rationale on why it's important for Canada to become a state party for these important international counterterrorism instruments?