Thank you.
Professor Sloan, I'm very interested in your comments on the Arctic.
I have in front of me, the “United States Coast Guard Arctic Strategy” of May 2013. It's a very elaborate document. There is also a “National Strategy for the Arctic Region”, issued by the President of the United States, also in May 2013, and a document called “Implementation Plan for The National Strategy for the Arctic Region”. All three of them are talking about what the Americans plan and hope for in the Arctic.
Canada barely gets a mention, except as a member of the Arctic Council. They don't seem to think this is the way forward for them, aside from our multilateral involvement through the Arctic Council. They do talk about getting involved with the UNCLOS, the law of the sea, and part of their ongoing process is the settlement of the Beaufort Sea, with Canada, through UNCLOS and through negotiations.
However, in terms of working together, I don't see anything there. They are also on record, and we've been told, that they are not in favour of the militarization of the Arctic. They have an interest in domain awareness and other things like that, which I think we're interested in as well. They are also concerned about freedom of the seas, and serious icebreaking capabilities by 2017. We seem to be behind the eight ball on that, in terms of icebreaking capabilities and procurement.
Also, I'd like to hear more about your suggestion that AOPS as a priority for the Canadian government may not be the right way to go.
Could you comment on what we need to do to be more robust ourselves, and maybe not expect the Americans to be anxious to do all these things with us?