Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Mr. Regehr, you are a disarmament expert. NATO's strategic concept includes a commitment to arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation. I would like to hear your take on NATO's efforts to control arms and the biggest challenges it faces in that regard.
I have another question about arms control. Some of the world's biggest arms exporters are NATO countries, and the regions they export weapons to include north and northwest Africa, and the Middle East, places like Libya, Algeria, Syria, Yemen and Egypt.
Until recently, Canada was selling arms to Libya, Algeria and even Egypt. No one saw the Arab Spring coming or the fact that thousands of civilians would be killed with weapons made in Canada, the U.S. or France. We do know, however, that the leaders of these Arab countries, like Colonel Gadhafi, didn't turn into dictators overnight. There had likely been some awareness for a while that the arms sold had perhaps been used for many years to kill or wrongfully imprison civilians.
What stance should Canada take on this issue? What position should we adopt or try to advance with NATO when it comes to arms control?