Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I'd like to continue on the topic of search and rescue. I do have to challenge Mr. Bagnell's analogy of a lifeguard in a pool. I mean, people don't decide to drown or not drown because there's no lifeguard or because there is one. Aircraft don't decide to crash or not crash because there are SAR assets there or not. It's a simple fact.
I would love to have the capacity to put aircraft in all kinds of bases across the north. I think we all would. Statistically, based on history, they would be very underutilized most of the time. Well over 95% of the SAR incidents happen in the south, not in the north.
There is the ultimate risk of the doomsday scenario of a major airliner crashing in the north. That's there for sure, but do we position all our assets or a disproportionate number of assets for that doomsday scenario? Or do we have strong plans, as we do with the MAJAID planning that the Canadian Forces has done, along with our allies, including the Russians, who are a significant part of that?
There are finite resources. If we took a Cormorant away from Gander, I'm sure Jack Harris would be all over us. We'd love to have the assets to do that. If we had support for funding that level of defence spending and if we had the people, I'm sure we'd do that. But I do have to challenge the wish to do all of this with limited resources and without the historical evidence to back up the need.