Thank you very much, Mr. Chair, and through you to the witnesses thank you for appearing today.
The first question, hopefully with a short answer, as sort of a retort from Mr. Huebert is for Mr. Lackenbauer, and thanks to the Library of Parliament for this question.
Jane’s Defence Weekly says Russia is in the process of renewing “70% or more of its weapons and equipment by 2020”. The Russian government is planning to raise defence expenditures by 32.8% in 2015; the largest annual increase in defence budget in 10 to 12 years. In addition there are new plans to further expand the Russian defence expenditures by 2025. Some of the funds are being used to bolster the military capabilities in the Arctic, which includes building new air bases and stationing additional troops in its polar regions, as well as expanding the size of its northern fleet. This is coupled with the information we just received from Mr. Huebert.
How do you continue to defend your claim that this is nothing we should worry about especially with Mr. Putin and some of his most recent expansionist policies in eastern Europe?