Absolutely, and thank you for that pertinent question.
There is a growing consensus on emerging technologies that can be integrated into militaries. This essentially poses all sorts of questions related to the ethical implications, legal implications and uncharted territory from a normative perspective. The international community is paying some attention to this issue, to the fact that it is really uncharted territory. There are a lot of questions about the use and if the employment of emerging military technologies would be compliant with the fundamental precepts of, for instance, international humanitarian laws, such as distinction, precautions, proportionality, etc.
Canada has participated in meetings in Geneva on the CCW, the convention on certain conventional weapons. As well, there have been some discussions domestically. However, we feel that the pace and the rapidity of these developments are such that Canada really must, more proactively and more assertively, craft a regulatory regime and start that conversation toward a normative and regulatory regime, because these risks are real. They could affect not only potential adversaries but indeed Canadian citizens, and it is really a matter of getting ahead of the game, because these technologies will be incorporated into the military.
We cannot operate in a normative void. It is quite imperative for Canada to both domestically and internationally contribute to the development of such a normative regime.