Global security risks are growing, including interstate conflict and terrorism, the threat of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and mis- and disinformation. With global attention focused on the status and future of Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium, the full scope and true status of the former Assad regime’s chemical weapons program in Syria is still being investigated even as the conflict in Ukraine grinds on amid documented cases of chemical use on the battlefield in contravention of the Chemical Weapons Convention. Rapid developments in disruptive technologies require deft management of the heightened risks they present, particularly at the nexus with weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) security, without jeopardizing the many beneficial opportunities they offer.
The discussion will review lessons and explore the challenges that lie ahead for Canada’s role in almost a quarter of a century of cooperative efforts to reduce the threat from proliferation and terrorist use of WMD as a leading member of the Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction (GP).
Featured Speakers
Troy Lulashnyk, Director General, Peace and Security Programs, Global Affairs Canada
Mr. Lulashnyk previously held the position of Director of the Global Partnership Program, where he helped manage the Cold War legacy of weapons and materials of mass destruction and related expertise in the former Soviet Union (2002 to 2006). He has also served as Director General of the Non-Proliferation and Security Threat Reduction Bureau, responsible for international security programming related to threat reduction, counterterrorism and combatting international criminal activity (2006 to 2011) and as Director General of the Israel, West Bank and Gaza, Egypt and Maghreb Bureau (2017 to 2021). Abroad, he served as Canada’s ambassador to Ukraine from 2011 to 2014. From 2014 to 2017, he served as Canada’s ambassador to Egypt and, from 2021-2025, Mr. Lulashnyk served as Canada’s Ambassador to Austria and Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations Organizations in Vienna.
Timothy Edwards, Director, Weapons Threat Reduction Program, Global Affairs Canada
Timothy (Tim) Edwards was appointed Director of Canada’s Weapons Threat Reduction Program in August 2022. Prior to that he was Canada’s chargé d’affaires and head of office in Vientiane, Laos for three years. He has also served abroad as Canada’s deputy permanent representative to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in The Hague and as head of public affairs at the Canadian consulate general in Hong Kong. A career diplomat, Mr. Edwards joined Canada’s foreign service in 2003 and has worked at headquarters on human rights, North Korea, Iran’s nuclear program, and national security policy. He holds a BA in history and political science from McGill University and completed a Master’s thesis in international relations at York University in Toronto.
Brian Finlay, President and CEO, Stimson Center (Moderator)
Brian Finlay is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Stimson Center. Brian previously served as Vice President, Managing Director, and Senior Fellow at Stimson. Prior to joining the Center, he served as executive director of a Washington-based lobbying initiative focused on counterterrorism issues, as a researcher at the Brookings Institution, and as a program officer at the Century Foundation. Prior to emigrating to the United States from his native Canada, Brian served with the Public Health Agency and the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade.