Thank you, Chair.
Minister, it's really good to see you.
Before my question, I actually just want to take a moment to congratulate you, your department, and your officials for their rapid response to the chaotic situation in the Philippines. It was remarkable to see government assets being moved quickly into theatre, and I think taxpayers can know that if the Government of Canada is going to spend multi-billions of dollars on this type of military hardware, it's going to be put to good use.
In that same vein, while Canadians are a generous people and have no problem with helping people around the world, they also want to know that when there's trouble on our shores Canada is ready to respond. Here I'm speaking about our search and rescue operations. Could you tell us, please, what you're doing, what the government is doing, to ensure that our search and rescue operations are ready on standby to be there when Canadians might need those services along our long, long coast?
Thank you.