National Defence committee  I agree with that. I am not sure what Ferry thinks, but I am completely influenced by the American model. We must make good use of resources. Coast Guard vessels patrol some Canadian coasts and northern Canada. If we could arm the Coast Guard, that would be an effective use of r

National Defence committee  It's no different from what we do with NORAD right now, and I would even go so far as to say that de facto we're getting a free lunch because one of the U.S. missile sites is in Fort Greely, Alaska, 70 miles from the Canadian border.

National Defence committee  It's precisely because of what Ferry just told you.

National Defence committee  If we are a freeloader, I guess they'll have to take care of the border on their own, won't they? Therefore it is self-defeating in terms of other strategic aims of the country, which involve being an equal partner with them in order to free up things that are in Canada's strateg

National Defence committee  Yes.

National Defence committee  Two more, and I think they're available.

National Defence committee  I think one of the things we mentioned quite clearly in the five options, which is fairly consistent on most of them, is how that surveillance is done. We're almost platform agnostic, whether it's a maritime patrol aircraft, or larger UAVs. The ability is to patrol our own airspa

National Defence committee  Absolutely, in my mind. Which one is much more important than others? That's again one of the reasons for a white paper that we've been asking for, because that's where the things are weighed.

National Defence committee  We cooperate because of necessity. I can't remember the figure off the top of my head, I don't know if you remember, Ferry. But it's about 150,000 flights that do the polar route every year. So irrespective of the things that occur in Europe, and I understand that influences the

National Defence committee  Will he test us? Yes. But for different reasons than a military conflict in the Arctic.... It's just another area where he can test reaction, he can test resolve—

National Defence committee  —which he does everywhere else. But absolutely there will be—

National Defence committee  You have to have some ability to prevent power. Let me give you a hypothetical scenario from Crimea. At about day four, day five—we knew they were within reach because they were pre-deployed for Sochi—had a NATO vessel sailed into the Ukrainian part of the naval harbour at Sevas

National Defence committee  As you've read, obviously, the air defence of North America is primarily conducted by reserve squadrons in the United States, the Air National Guard squadrons. The primary disaster response resides in national guards, which are controlled by the states but can be federalized at a

National Defence committee  Well, the nature is different in Canada than it is in the United States. In the United States, guards or reserves belong to the governors of the states, and the governors of the states have the ability to trigger their mobilization. In Canada provincial premiers have that capabi

National Defence committee  I think Ferry has covered everything. The only thing I would wish to add is that we have to be very careful how we encounter him. He's certainly played the best of a bad hand that he's been dealt. The only thing I would ask all of you to consider is how we, as the west, respo