If you look at a map and look for the best and safest way for a submarine to get to the North Pole, it is not through the Canadian Arctic. There are much easier ways of getting to the Arctic. Submariners are practical folks, like my friend Mr. Mulholland, and they wish to avoid hazardous areas. They wish to travel undetected—and as quickly as they can undetected—to get where they're going. If you look at the Canadian Arctic, everything in the Canadian Arctic argues against that kind of direct, unimpeded route and forces submarines into places they don't want to be in the first place.
You've talked about incursions this year. I know of no incursions this year in our waters by submarines.
You talked about the importance of having submarines, because of the regime that gives us. I will say that it is because we have submarines that we profit in two respects.
First, we are party to the movements of other submarines so as to deconflict movements and avoid collisions. There is a very high interest in the allied community, and in fact amongst all submariners, in avoiding collisions between submarines.
Second, it is because we have submariners that we can form the very close relationships with our allies that give us far more information exchange and understanding of one another and mutual respect, which makes for control mechanisms for movements within our waters and exchange of information. It gives us that much more confidence in the measures. It allows us a transfer of knowledge about operating in different areas that makes us better at what we do and makes others better at what they do. Wherever we wish to transfer that knowledge, it also allows us to share information on other submarines, because the whole community keeps track of this.
So we have a very effective method, first, of controlling the movements of submarines and making sure we understand where submarines will go and that we control submarines that need to be controlled in our waters, and second, for exchanging information on other submarine movements that we all track.
Does that answer your question, sir?