There's a more basic debate that we often avoid in this country, which is whether we actually want the world to use the Northwest Passage. That's really it. If we want the world to use the Northwest Passage, we have a lot of research to do to figure out the bathymetry of the region, to select safe routes, and to invest in infrastructure to make it attractive. Otherwise I think the world is, as Mr. Bevington said, literally going to bypass the Canadian archipelago, our internal waters.
We see some investments by China and others going into Iceland. Iceland would love to see itself as a major transshipment port for the over-the-top route. Depending on the way the ice melt occurs—and again, scientists are showing that these are not simple linear patterns, that this is a very complex environment to try to gauge what's happening—it does look like the over-the-top route is actually going to open up before the Northwest Passage does, in theory, if not in practice.
The Russians, of course, have served as a model, looking at their northern sea route, investing in a lot of infrastructure, such as icebreakers, as you said, to try to make it attractive to international shipping.
The basic question for Canada is, do we want to see the world come and use the Northwest Passage? Do we see benefits to Canadians and to northerners? Otherwise, if we do nothing, I happen to think that it's probably going to be bypassed.