Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Admiral, I heard your first comments about the shock you felt coming from Victoria. I am a British Columbia native myself. The tulips are coming up in the flower beds. I'm starting to tune up my lawn mower. It was about 10 degrees and sunny when I left Vancouver on Sunday. I'm looking forward to getting back on Friday already.
I was honoured to be at CFB Esquimalt earlier this month with the Chief of the Defence Staff to welcome home the HMCS Vancouver from their mission in Libya and their patrol on the high seas. It was good to be in Victoria. I know that the general was going out the day after that event to tour and participate in exercises on the submarine. I understand that you were vice-chief of the defence staff when the government of that day purchased the four Victoria-class submarines. Perhaps I'm wrong there.
Are you able to provide some insight as to why the decision was made to purchase the submarines? Perhaps you could give us your opinion as someone who's worked so closely with the navy as to whether you think that program is turning a corner or whether, as some witnesses have stated, it should be scrapped?