Canada must decide how much it wants to participate in the missile defence shield.
Right now, given the amendment to NORAD in 2004, Canada still has the right to be consulted. However, when a strong response is needed, the Americans make the decision. It's more or less the same in Europe. The Supreme Allied Commander Europe, or SACEUR, controls all aspects of the response.
We can say that Canada is placing a great deal of its good faith in the Americans. It should also be noted that, in terms of intercepting ballistic missiles, we rely heavily on the fact that we'll intercept them from [Technical difficulty—Editor]. We're increasingly able to see and calculate [Technical difficulty—Editor].
In Europe, the territories are so close together that the response time is short. It's actually two minutes. Again, we should be wondering whether, in two minutes, we can share the information, make an informed decision and still have a discussion between Washington and Ottawa.
I think that we're very idealistic.