Mr. Burt, the first time you testified before our committee, during our study on the air force, we were left with a somewhat bizarre impression, because you said there were no threats from state actors. The committee has met with several other people and all of them were of the opinion that there was some degree of threat.
You represent the Canadian Forces Intelligence Command, and to our mind, you are the key person in terms of the Canadian government. You have come back here today to talk to us about the Royal Canadian Navy and you are again saying that, at this time, there is no state actor that has both the capability and the intent to do harm to Canada using military force.
So I think I have understood your arguments and I would like to have that point clarified for the committee today.
If we take Russia, for example; it has demonstrated its capability and its intent. You say that if Russia does not have malicious intent, we cannot consider Russia to be a threat. I would like to divide the question in two. First, do the Russians have the capability to deploy forces, if then have the intent to do so? The intent could emerge today or in five years, we do not know. Is the Russian navy's capability effective enough? According to the eight pages of information that follow, if the intent is there, there is a real threat.
I would like this to be clear for the committee, please.