Hon. Mary Coyle moved third reading of Bill S-9, An Act to amend the Chemical Weapons Convention Implementation Act.

She said: Honourable senators, I am honoured to be speaking to you today from Ottawa, on the unceded and unsurrendered territory of the Anishinaabe Algonquin Nation, whose presence here reaches back to time immemorial. Today is National Indigenous Peoples Day, a day to reflect and celebrate the First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples of each of our regions, and, in particular, our many Indigenous Senate colleagues who enrich the work of our chamber and our lives.

Honourable senators, I am pleased to speak to you today at third reading of Bill S-9, An Act to amend the Chemical Weapons Convention Implementation Act, an act that, at its core, is about life and the security of persons here in Canada and globally. My second reading speech highlighted the importance of this legislation, given our ever-changing world order.

The bill was sent to Standing Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade on June 20. The committee heard from senior officials from Global Affairs Canada, including the Acting Director of the Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Division and the Deputy National Coordinator of the Canadian National Authority to the Chemical Weapons Convention. As our committee chair, Senator Boehm, said last evening in his report to the Senate, the committee considered a previous iteration of the bill in the last parliament and adopted it — again, without amendment.

Colleagues, it is more important than ever to have effective rules, structures and systems in place to help guide states and businesses in the international system. The work of the United Nations over the past 77 years has helped solidify a rules-based international order — a set of norms, institutions, treaties and arrangements — that has provided rules of the road for managing competing national interests, facilitating international cooperation and fostering peace.

The Chemical Weapons Convention, or CWC, is the perfect example of what the world can accomplish when it comes together for peace. Adopted in 1997, it was the world’s first multilateral disarmament agreement to provide for the elimination of an entire category of weapons of mass destruction.

In November 2019, as a result of significant effort by Canada, the United States and the Netherlands, the Conference of the States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention took the decision to add four new categories of toxic chemicals to Schedule 1 of the convention’s Annex on Chemicals. Included among these new chemicals was the Novichok-type nerve agent used in the attempted assassination of Sergei and Yulia Skripal in Salisbury, United Kingdom. A variation of this poisonous nerve agent was used in the assassination attempt on Alexei Navalny.

The term Novichok means “newcomer” in Russian and has been applied to a group of advanced nerve agents developed by the Soviet Union.

This addition to the CWC annex renders Canada’s Chemical Weapons Convention Implementation Act out of date. This is the very issue which Bill S-9 seeks to resolve. Bill S-9 is a simple yet essential bill. It amends Canada’s Chemical Weapons Implementation Act in order to clearly align our act with the Chemical Weapons Convention. Bill S-9 amends our act to remove the old, out-of-date list of prohibited chemicals appended to that act and makes it clear that the current, up-to-date list of prohibited chemicals under the convention is kept by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and is readily available on its website.

During second reading of Bill S-9 on June 14, Senator Ataullahjan, the critic of the bill, said:

I believe Bill S-9 shows good governance, provides clarity for Canadians and reaffirms our engagement to putting an end to the use of chemical weapons.

She also cited the risk of Russia using chemical weapons in its illegal war against Ukraine.

It is clear, colleagues, that Bill S-9 demonstrates Canada’s commitment to the Chemical Weapons Convention and, most importantly, solves the issue of our act being out of date.

Unfortunately, Bill S-9 alone does not reduce the risk of a foreign actor, like the Russian Federation, using a Novichok for nefarious purposes. It does, however, make it fully clear which chemicals are subject to control within Canada.

Honourable senators, Canada has been a proud leader in the fight against chemical weapons. We were one of the first countries to sign the convention on January 13, 1993, and we remain faithfully committed to the work of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.

Colleagues, as Senator Ataullahjan has said, amending the Chemical Weapons Convention Implementation Act is an act of “good governance.” It has two main benefits. First, it makes clearer which chemicals are prohibited to Canadians without explicit authorization, and, second, it underscores our commitment to the Chemical Weapons Convention and, more broadly, to the rules-based international order.

Honourable colleagues, I would like to conclude with these thoughts. We cannot forget that real people are behind the stories that fleetingly captivate the headlines about dangerous and deadly chemical-weapons use and the threat thereof, as in the case of Ukraine. People from Syria, Iraq and other nations have had their lives ripped apart by the cruel and arbitrary actions of states and, in some cases, non-state actors that ignore the laws, the norms and the obligations — including the prohibition of chemical weapon use — that have evolved over time to help foster and maintain global peace and security for all persons. Many of these people have come here to Canada seeking a peaceful and secure place to live.

Colleagues, yesterday was World Refugee Day. Let us think of the now more-than-100-million people who were forced to flee conflict, violence, human rights violations and persecution and our many fellow Canadians who have come here over the years seeking refuge as we weigh our legislative and political responses to the very real threats they have faced.

Honourable senators, I believe that the Chemical Weapons Convention is a powerful disarmament instrument. Let’s support Bill S-9 and its swift passage to the other place so that Canada’s act implementing that convention is clear and up to date as we advance one of Canada’s important contributions to world peace.

Thank you. Wela’lioq.