Thank you, Mr. Chisu.
Yes, as I mentioned, in 2008 the government formalized an annual 2% escalator for the DND budget. We've announced an increase in this year's budget to a 3% escalator, beginning in fiscal year 2017-18, which we estimate will represent an accumulative 10-year increment of $11.7 billion, which is very considerable. You ask how this will be used. Well, it will be used on, of course, the basic operations, but any incremental funding will be reflected in the priorities of the military.
The most important thing here is that this represents long-term stable, predictable growth in funding. That's what our military commanders need for planning purposes. This also means that the defence budget will grow in real terms—that is to say, typically the consumer price index in Canada is at 2% or below, so this means real long-term, sustained growth.
I should mention that this is in addition to the accrual envelope that we have as a set-aside, a lockbox fund for capital procurement, which is in the range of $107 billion over the horizon of 20 years, or two decades. Most of that $107 billion over two decades has been committed, but some of it still is available. I believe that $17 billion is not yet committed for future equipment that is identified as a priority for procurement.