Thank you, Mr. Chair. I want to thank all of our guests who are here today as witnesses. Your testimony and your experience and expertise are most welcome.
Professor, I'm going to pick up from my colleague, MP Findlay, in regard to some of the comments you made, both in previous testimony to the Senate and also in some of your academic work.
Last Monday we heard the case, Professor, of Mahmoud Yadegari, who was the first person in Canada convicted of supplying nuclear equipment to Iran. In the six months leading up to his April 2009 arrest, Mr. Yadegari had contacted 118 companies across North America and sent more than 2,000 e-mails to suppliers, in the hopes of getting his hands on parts used in the enrichment of uranium for nuclear fuel.
Professor, you referenced your 2011 report, “The U.S.-Russia Joint Threat Assessment of Nuclear Terrorism”, and I do appreciate your wanting to pass that on for the committee's consideration. In that report, Professor, I'm going to quote from page 44, where you say:
...there is some evidence that Teheran has been secretly acquiring technologies and materials important in the production of nuclear weapons on the black market. This and other evidence, such as the behavior of the Iranian leadership, strongly suggests that Iran aspires to eventually become a full-fledged nuclear power—or to have the option to build nuclear weapons at any time of its choosing.
Professor, do you think that Bill S-9 will facilitate international cooperation and make it more difficult for rogue states and terrorist groups to illegally obtain such nuclear materials?