Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, witnesses, for being here.
We heard a lot of mention this morning about how Canada needs to have a reasonably strong military. That is part of the reason for the protection of trade links, disaster mitigation, and rapid response. All these terms are used to mean “functionally operational” in times of emergency.
There's another component that I feel is very important, which is that a lot of the innovations, tools, and products that come out of the military, out of combat, currently have civilian applications, for example, the Internet, GPS, composite materials, and safety features that are put in cars, such as ABS braking, and so on.
Perhaps you can share with us how Canada as a nation, as we move forward in the 21st century, can best adapt itself to that model of industrialization without having a bad name, as the United States does with the military industrial complex. Could I have your comments, please?