National Defence committee  I'm not aware exactly how many studies have been done by National Defence already. They started their UAV program at the end of 2005. My guess is that a lot of the studying has been done. This is one of the platforms that has not moved forward for financial reasons.

National Defence committee  I haven't been to a PJBD meeting, but as I understand it, every important continental defence issue since 1940 has been discussed in that venue. In the aftermath of the BMD decision in 2005, it was debated, and the United States was not happy. All of these issues should definitely be discussed within the PJBD.

National Defence committee  It is an area of cooperation. The interesting thing about climate change in the Arctic is that it will make our submarines more relevant and give theirs less of an advantage, because theirs can travel under ice for extended periods of times and ours can't. Assuming climate change continues and there's more open water, our submarines will be up there.

National Defence committee  I think the big environmental change on territory in the north is around mining. The concern there is terrorism, smuggling, those sorts of things. It's already opening up. That's obviously something that Canada is going to have to be watching for. It's still more of a coastal maritime issue because the land mass is still huge.

National Defence committee  I don't have a number but the Rangers have been augmented a fair bit in recent years under the Harper government, and given, again, that a bucket of money can only go so far, I wouldn't spend more resources in that area. I think it's the right way to go with the Nanisivik naval facility and also the Canadian Armed Forces arctic training centre that's been set up.

National Defence committee  Some of you may have looked at a book I wrote a few years ago. My information is a little bit out of date, but I think that the NORAD capabilities in the north are really quite limited. We have the north warning system, which is along the 70th parallel, and when you go north you're looking at satellite coverage.

National Defence committee  Oh, China and Russia.

National Defence committee  Just to confirm, you're asking about China and Japan?

National Defence committee  I personally do not see China and Russia working together. Just historically, it would pass 50 to 60 years. We thought it would happen and it didn't happen, and I don't see it happening in the future. Perhaps Professor Lagassé has a different perspective.

National Defence committee  Russia, of course, is already in the Arctic. China is going to the Arctic, no problem, without Russian help. In my view there's a threat to Canada, if you like, in terms of increased traffic. I'm not sure of the link you're making between China—

National Defence committee  Yes, they both have expansionist interests. Are you asking about them working together? I don't see them working together.

National Defence committee  I don't see them working together. Historically, of course, you know since 1949 it made sense that they worked together, and then they had a big break in 1962. I don't see two expansionist powers working together to the extent that they had different cooperative regimes—the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and those kinds of things.

National Defence committee  I see them as individual threats but not as a combined threat, working together.

National Defence committee  I did not understand everything. I understood the other question.

National Defence committee  Probably working within the Canadian military, it's the signals communication classification, and beefing up that area is where I would focus. I didn't answer your question on offensive warfare abroad.