Thank you.
My name is John Davies. I'm the director general, national security policy, at Public Safety Canada. I'm joined today by my colleague Emmanuelle Deault-Bonin, who is the senior analyst and manager in my group, and an expert in counter-proliferation policy.
I am pleased to be here today to speak with you about Bill S-9 and to explain how the bill, if passed, will complement the Government of Canada's counter-terrorism and counter-proliferation efforts.
Nuclear terrorism is a significant threat to Canada and to global security, and it is one that continues to evolve. The Government of Canada takes seriously its responsibility to mitigate this threat. Two of my minister's key responsibilities are to exercise national leadership on matters of public safety and to coordinate activities of Canada's federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies.
With regard to counter-proliferation, this means that Public Safety Canada works with more than a dozen federal departments and agencies to identify proliferation-related threats, to uphold Canadian laws and regulations related to proliferation, including sanctions against countries we know have nuclear aspirations, and to ensure that our policy and legal frameworks for counter-proliferation remain current and effective.
You've heard today from officials from the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission. With me at the table are representatives from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. These two agencies are examples of the breadth of expertise brought to bear in Canada's counter-proliferation efforts. Activities range from intelligence gathering to controlling the export of dual-use goods to raising awareness of proliferation risks in the private sector and academic world to enforcing sanctions against foreign states.
Bill S-9 will strengthen Canada's counter-proliferation framework by creating four new Criminal Code offences related to nuclear terrorism, such as the possession or export of nuclear or radioactive materials and devices.
Internationally, Canada is also a committed partner. For example, the Prime Minister announced at the 2012 Seoul Nuclear Security Summit a funding commitment of $365 million over five years for the global partnership program. Among other things, this program aims to help secure nuclear facilities to prevent nuclear materials from being used for illicit purposes around the world.
Further, the government promotes cooperation among its international partners through its diplomacy and advocacy work to implement and strengthen multilateral initiatives and international legal instruments such as the two treaties that Bill S-9 would allow Canada to ratify. This bill is an indication of Canada's commitment to engaging in international efforts to combat proliferation.
I would like to conclude by saying that should Bill S-9 be adopted, it will further improve our domestic framework to counter nuclear terrorism and signal to our international partners the importance Canada places on having a robust regime to address threats to global security.
Thank you to the committee. I would be happy to answer any questions.