Let's start with the federal S and T strategy, because I think what the current government has done—and clearly it builds on the previous government's initiatives through the innovation strategy—is establish some areas in which this country wants to position itself internationally as amongst the leaders, if not the leader. These are broad areas, admittedly, but nevertheless I think they give some direction, because when we talk about these major facilities, we have to make choices. And I think now we're distinguishing between major facilities or major programs like the astronomy program, which obviously have major capital and operating investments associated with them. We can't possibly think about covering every area and think that we can succeed and afford to succeed as a country in that international arena. It's highly competitive. International collaboration is now the name of the game.
In the case of oceans, we have enviably now taken a lead position in having NEPTUNE Canada as the world's first regional cabled observatory. Nobody else has one. I've been in Japan, I've been in Europe, and I've been in the U.S., even in the last few weeks in each case, speaking about NEPTUNE Canada and its sister observatory, VENUS, and everybody is envious because we've taken that position. And people understand why Canada has taken that position: we've built a scientific cadre of expertise, and we are bordered by three oceans. With the Arctic obviously now opening up in the way it is, it's of profound consequence to our understanding.
So here's a basis on which, then, I think the federal government rightly has a role, which is to work with the scientific capacity in the country and identify those areas in which we have comparative and competitive advantage and say that these are the areas in which we want to make these big investments and create these national facilities. But having made that decision, as we have done, either in part with the astronomy investments or in whole with SNOLAB and NEPTUNE, we have to follow through.