Thanks, Mr. Chair.
Welcome to our witnesses.
Mr. Ford, I'll start with you. At the beginning of this study, I asked witnesses about the politics of space in terms of the relationship between some of our commercial sector suppliers and those we rely on. You've emphasized that our allies have integrated their commercial sector into their defence strategy. I think you've both touched on the whole issue of the increasing reliance on the private sector. There are tremendous benefits that come from that in terms of cost savings. It drives innovation. I think it's important that we have those partnerships with the private sector.
If I look, though, at the issue of Mr. Musk and the politics of some of the positions he has, whether they're related to Taiwan or to Russia...some in the media, some in government positions, some in the U.S.... A NASA administrator just called for an investigation into the claims that Mr. Musk has been in regular contact with Mr. Putin since 2022. It's a sticky situation. There's the increasing reliance of the government on the private sector, and when the private sector has these political positions that may not jive with the government, there's an issue. There are security issues there.
Can I get your response on how governments, whether they're Canada's or allies' governments, deal with an increasing reliance on the private sector, when the private sector entity may have different positions from ours from a security perspective or otherwise?