Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you for coming, Ms. Charron. You made a very good presentation.
Some of the comments you made are interesting, and I truly believe that this so-called threat we are under and the rhetoric by the present government.... We saw that with the defence minister not too long ago: “The Russians are coming.”
I think all Canadians know the Arctic is very important. It's very important that we give them the right message about what we're dealing with, and the priorities. It's not only sometimes the wrong message but how it's portrayed. This Arctic distraction disorder you're talking about...I believe it's happening.
We are going to be chair of this council in a year. I think it's very important that as Canadians we set the table in a responsible way so that our messaging is right and we get some respect when we are chair.
What is your concern about how the present government has portrayed this to Canadians so far and how that's going to translate to how the rest of the countries on the Arctic Council are going to see this? Maybe we're going to be discredited in some respect, and we may not be able to achieve what we should be able to achieve at this very important time for the Arctic.