National Defence committee  I'd say mostly from the United States, because it's U.S. weapons that are deployed in five NATO countries under the NATO umbrella.

National Defence committee  Canada has so much to offer. I'm very proud to be working with really bright individuals, the soldiers who are training at RMC and the Canadian Forces College. We have so much to offer. The Peace Support Training Centre that's inaugurating a new building on Friday—

National Defence committee  The Peace Support Training Centre is a key element in giving us the expertise that we need to become the prolific and important UN peacekeeper again.

National Defence committee  Sure. We could move NATO toward a more accepting attitude of the nuclear prohibition treaty.

National Defence committee  Yes, I believe so. The Canadian government has a great record on disarmament matters. We played major roles in the chemical weapons convention, and there are many ways in which nuclear weapons should be treated in the same fashion, with abolition as a near-term target. Taking these steps in such small measure over such a long period of time isn't moving us towards a nuclear weapon-free world, which is everyone's declared end, at a pace, and it actually endangers global security.

National Defence committee  No, we would just have to start with the political enlightenment, if I can use that word, of other NATO members.

National Defence committee  Yes, if Canada did sign, it would be really breaking the ice and it could lead to other nations deciding to come on board. It would lead to some level of division, but in the end I think it would be a healthy decision.

National Defence committee  Sure. Peace is much more than the absence of war—

National Defence committee  We sometimes talk about the negative peace, which is the absence of war, and the positive peace, which is the presence of co-operation, consultation, and engagement, and these programs are really important. It's one of the reasons that Canada pushed, at the development of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, to have the political and economic aspects.

National Defence committee  I would advise caution against this. You don't want Ukraine to become the start of World War III. At the same time, there's so much more that we can do to help Ukraine to reach out through the partnership for peace program and other activities to make Ukraine more secure. I don't advise giving Ukraine article 5 protection, but at the same time we should be doing much more to enhance their security.

National Defence committee  Sure. The answer is only 29. It's the lowest point in Canadian peacekeeping history. I've been tracking the figures for over a decade and a half, and at our maximum we had 3,300, but this government has brought the peacekeeping numbers down to just 29 military personnel and 44 police, for a total of 73 uniformed personnel.

National Defence committee  Seeing my colleagues in the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces, I realize that they find they don't have enough positions to fill all of the “out-Can”—outside-of-Canada—positions. In some cases it's a question of providing the brass—that is, the generals or admirals who are required.

National Defence committee  Do you mean the nuclear prohibition treaty?

National Defence committee  I don't believe it's incompatible with membership in a legal domain, but NATO has been relying on nuclear weapons since the dawn of NATO, and so NATO has tried to express solidarity over nuclear weapons over the decades. This has been an obstacle to some countries that were really trying to get rid of nuclear weapons and taking more what I call “progressive” positions on nuclear disarmament.

National Defence committee  I appreciate your efforts.