I appreciate the question. It's legitimate in the context of your work as a committee and where we find ourselves.
The global combat ship, as it is generically referred to, was intended to be exactly that. It was intended to be a ship that could be modified for multiple users, and those users would benefit from the advantages of common design, global supply chain, etc.
In theory, that was the idea. What we now have are three customers—Canada is potentially going to be the bulk of the combined fleet user—and most of the capabilities are now separating in terms of individual users' requirements. Those advantages are not necessarily playing out the way they had been initially imagined.
As it relates to the program and whether it should or shouldn't proceed, here's the problem. The first of the Halifax-class frigates was commissioned in 1992. I was a member of the crew. According to the Ontario vehicle registration requirements, a vehicle 30 years old or older is eligible for historic or vintage plates. The Halifax is 30 years old this year, with a projected life of another 10 years or so until we have these ships up and running. I would say it would only make sense to change plans if you could actually deliver a similar capability in less time.
We find ourselves now in a place where, despite a lot of noise and a lot of rhetoric, the most viable path to the future is the path we're currently on. That presents a number of challenges, which are well documented and openly discussed. Throwing the baby out with the bath water, so to speak, at this stage would be a mistake.