Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for raising this question, even this late at night.

Canada already has some of the highest standards for the export of conventional arms. The items included in the ATT are already subject to export controls in Canada. Furthermore, Canada already applies the criteria set out in the ATT when considering arms export.

Despite the high standards set by Canada, international trade in conventional arms remains poorly controlled in many parts of the world. Providing arms to insurgents, terrorists, transnational criminal groups and rogue regimes undermines international security and trade interests. It is for this reason that Canada participated in the negotiation of the Arms Trade Treaty that would help curtail illicit and irresponsible arms transfers.

Our Conservative government supports the rights of legitimate law-abiding gun owners and to that end, we eliminated the unfair burden of the wasteful and ineffective long gun registry. It was and remains very important to Canada that an ATT not hinder legal and responsible international trade in conventional arms or create new burdens for Canadian industries or firearms owners. We played a key role in ensuring that the ATT acknowledges the lawful ownership of firearms by responsible private citizens.

The government supported the inclusion of anti-corruption language in the ATT. In fact, Canada already considers corrupt practices when looking at the risk of diversion associated with the proposed export. This is consistent with the government's anti-corruption efforts in domestic and international spheres, including our work within the G20 and the United Nations.

Canada worked closely with our friends and allies in an attempt to negotiate an instrument that would help keep weapons out of the hands of criminals, terrorists and human rights abusers, while at the same time recognizing and protecting the ability of the law-abiding private firearms owners to enjoy the recreational use of their firearms in a responsible manner. The government is now consulting all interested stakeholders on the ATT in order to gain their insight and analysis.

The views of all interested parties in Canada will serve to better inform the government as we decide our next step.

Deepak Obhrai

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