In the first place, the coast guard is not directly mandated to ensure safety. Our role consists in assisting other departments that are directly mandated, mainly the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Clearly, our role consists in making sure that ships are available for their activities.
As the deputy minister mentioned a few minutes ago, we received funds, two or three years ago, to carry out a program with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police on the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River. We have already begun implementing it. We have received the resources for doing this work, but of course, we still have to acquire new vessels. In the meantime, we are using the ships that we have.
The first season went quite well. However, aging ships are similar to old cars. As time goes on, they need more and more maintenance.