Okay. Sorry.
The well-founded criticism of some management practices and a lack of satisfactory progress on previous audits, which the Auditor General has delivered in a measured and very effective way, is deserved. However, it is also important to recognize that the men and women of the Canadian Coast Guard deliver excellent operational results, whether in marine search and rescue, consistently maintaining NAFO patrol vessels on the nose and tail of the Grand Banks 365 days a year in all weather conditions, responding to unique emergencies such as the highly successful Hurricane Katrina relief operation in the Gulf of Mexico with the ship, the Sir William Alexander, whose control systems were designed for operation in cold northern waters, or routinely maintaining six to eight ice breakers in the Arctic for six months a year, despite always-present technical and logistical challenges. As this committee well knows, there are countless other examples I could use.
Finally, as our minister has emphasized publicly, notwithstanding the management issues correctly raised by the Auditor General, the Canadian Coast Guard has one of the best records in the world for marine search and rescue, with a 98% success rate in cases with lives at risk during the same period.
I offer these observations not as excuses for the slow progress in some management areas, for which I take responsibility, but rather as examples of ongoing significant achievement in challenging and very important operational areas by the members of the Canadian Coast Guard.
I now will ask Mr. Da Pont to say a few words to conclude the statement.
Thank you.