Thank you. I'm glad you agree with me. I want to make it absolutely clear that a whole range of things can be done to facilitate search and rescue at reduced cost.
Emergency satellite beacons are being given to Inuit hunters in northern communities, so when they go out on the land they can activate the devices if they are in trouble. This enables search and rescue teams to find them quickly. It's very cost-efficient and should be supported and made much more widespread. It doesn't get away from the need for a helicopter, but certainly there are ways we can deal with these challenges if we recognize the reality of accidents and that they can be extraordinarily serious.
If we are a serious Arctic country engaged in all of this diplomacy and making it such an important part of our foreign policy, and an accident happens and a couple of hundred elderly German tourists die in the Northwest Passage because we can't get to them in time, our entire Arctic foreign policy will be shot. We have to balance the risk, not just to life but to the entire dimension of Canadian Arctic policy and the perception as to whether or not we're a serious Arctic country.
We absolutely need the fixed-wing search and rescue aircraft you mentioned. Having four Twin Otters in Yellowknife simply doesn't cut it in the 21st century. We need to have planes that can move quickly and drop SAR technicians from the air. They need to be placed in the Arctic so that response is timely, instead of waiting for very large, expensive aircraft to fly in a long way--from Comox, Trenton, or Greenwood.