Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
Thank you very much, Professors, for being here today.
I would like to set the stage. In 1949, when NATO was created, Canada had a major role. Canada was a contributor to two world wars, in which somehow, through NATO...it established peace in Europe. Now, two generations haven't fought a war in Europe, with the exception of the Balkans. But still, NATO contained that situation. Now NATO has 28 nations, and most of the eastern European nations were formally in the Warsaw Pact.
I am from eastern Europe, and I know for sure that NATO is still a warranty today against the ambition of Russia to maintain political hegemony and political influence in that part of Europe.
What can we do, as Canadians, to maintain our role that we had at the foundation of NATO? How do you see this role, that we still have something to say in the business of NATO?