Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, gentlemen, for being here today, all four of you.
In addition to being a member of the national defence committee, I'm also on the NATO Parliamentary Assembly.
I want to go to Major-General Foster first.
Thank you very much, Major-General, for your 35 years of service to our country.
I'm interested in the procurement processes. I think it was you, Mr. Foster, who said that Canada's procurement system is very complex. I think that was a bit of a “duh” moment because we've heard that, of course, under several governments for several decades.
I'm interested, specifically with regard to some of our NATO allies, in what they do well, what we do well and how we can find that low-hanging fruit to improve or simplify our processes—I know some things were talked about today— understanding that maybe not everything is apples and oranges. I know that Canada is much more risk-averse with regard to litigation. Some countries, some allied nations, see litigation as a cost of doing business, so they would add that to the price. I'm interested in your thoughts on how we can learn from some of our NATO allies.
I remember, as well, Mr. Fadden, that you said that, for some countries, some of our NATO allies, the threat is more imminent or more immediate, so they would need to, presumably, jump on things a little bit more quickly than we might have to.
I'm interested in your thoughts on that, Mr. Foster.