Thank you very much for those questions.
There's no question that we have faced some challenges, from a Coast Guard perspective, in implementing the shipbuilding strategy. If we go back, I think it's important to note, as you have referenced, that starting in 2010 the national shipbuilding strategy was launched because there was recognition that Canada didn't have the strategic shipbuilding capacity that we want as a nation, particularly when we have two large government fleets that have to be supported, particularly when we note that Canada has the longest coast line in the world, particularly when we note that Canada is responsible for three ocean domains.
It's of unquestionable importance to the government and of particular importance to the Coast Guard. We went into shipbuilding recognizing very much that the shipbuilding industry needed to make a commitment. The yards were selected through the NSS, and as Lisa referenced earlier, they've made large investments out of their own coffers to build the infrastructure that they need.
Perhaps we on the government side—and I think it's particularly true for us on the Coast Guard side—didn't recognize how much our own capacity and experience had dissipated over time. We have certainly faced a challenge internally in rebuilding our own capacity in shipbuilding. We have developed a team of engineers who are now...you made the play on words about the plan of attack, so I'll call them a fit fighting unit of engineers who do really exemplary work, there's no question about that, and we're building our cost capacity on the government side and our leadership capacity.
At the same time, concerning the Vancouver shipyard, I think everyone involved suffered from what our external expert calls a conspiracy of optimism. Everyone thought it would move faster than it did, including the yard. They have taken a very measured approach, in my view. They have quite a mature approach to taking lessons from the rebuilding, the implementation of their shipbuilding capacity, and learning from these and improving as they go.
We have seen their capacity, since the first cutting of steel on the offshore fishery science vessel last June, really develop, grow, and mature. They've brought in world-class equipment. They have continued to develop their management team, and most important, they've continued to develop the processes in the yard that will lead to stable, predictable, and high-quality shipbuilding.
We have faced challenges; there's no question about that. Both the Coast Guard and the shipyard have taken steps to address them, and I think we feel the progress that is every day now being made on the shipbuilding.