Thank you, Mr. Kamp.
When discussing search and rescue, it is critical to understand that there is no one asset, no one element of the program that ensures a safe rescue. We are very confident in the decision that has been made, and that the system, and SAR is a system of systems, that is in place is effective.
There have been a few incidents over the last few days, the largest one occurring yesterday with the rescue of two people out of the water. The system worked exactly as it should. A mayday call was relayed to our marine communications centre in Victoria. It took the information that it should, in the way it always does—professionally, calmly—and assured the two individuals in the fishing vessel that we would have assets on the scene shortly. They called the JRCC, and they did exactly what they should do. They analyzed the situation, looked at the assets that were available, tasked two vessels of opportunity, tasked RCMSAR, the auxiliary, and tasked the hovercraft in Sea Island.
The hovercraft was under way in five minutes. This was at 5:15 in the morning. They got up, got dressed and were gone, exactly as we expect them to do. They were on scene before the tug that was in the area was able to deploy its life raft. They rescued the two individuals, got them on board, and transported them directly from the hovercraft ashore to the ambulance.
The system works exactly as we expect it to. We are very proud of the rescue that was effected yesterday in Vancouver, and we're proud of the work that the coast guard crews are doing in the Vancouver area.