As you know, the national shipbuilding strategy has been around for 15 years. At the Standing Committee on National Defence, we're currently studying the Coast Guard's integration with the Department of National Defence. We had a nice presentation this morning that showed 85 ships are to be built at Canadian shipyards over the next 20 years. I'd like to focus on the two most important ones.
As you know, the Arctic is an increasingly important region from a geopolitical and environmental standpoint. How will the two new polar icebreakers strengthen Canada's ability to operate in the Arctic, protect Canadian sovereignty and support scientific research in the region?