Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I thank you both for your thoughtful and provocative presentations. I found them quite interesting.
I was looking at the Library of Parliament's statement that defence expenditure is going to rise by approximately 33% next year, and 33% of nothing is still nothing. The ruble is in free fall. The Russian economy is in free fall. It's getting some stiff resistance in Ukraine. It has a full front on the Baltic and the Russians historically are very fond of sabre rattling. No one has ever been able to initiate any conflict in the Arctic.
I'm wondering if the precariousness of the Russian economy makes some of this discussion a bit moot. It doesn't mean it is not important and it doesn't mean you shouldn't prepare, but in some respects it pushes it out further than crisis du jour.
Either one—