I don't think we're at the point where we can characterize it as a collapse, but we are facing a disaster. I would agree with those who point out that our inability to meet the numbers we have set ourselves in terms of overall personnel numbers is a critical problem facing Canada, as in fact is our inability to even have that discussion about an expansion of the numbers.
It's everything. When we reflect upon what my two co-speakers are saying about what we need to do now in terms of difficult choices, we need to be preparing. Just the numbers that we officially say we're supposed to be at are problematic. When we hear, of course, these reports that the numbers are nowhere near that, that's where the crisis starts coming.
I would add that the threat we are facing is of the highest technological level. That is the type of threat. We're not talking about the boots on the ground that the Ukrainians have to deal with in terms of the actual fighting they are facing. Ours is a high-level technology threat. That means the numbers in and of themselves are important, but it also points to our inability to properly train, with the length of time that training requires, to meet these threats. I think all of this is coming together when....
Consider the fact that Russia is the major geopolitical threat that we have. They've had a GDP that on average has been less than Canada's, and yet they have created this military capability that is now destabilizing the entire international system. On the other hand, Canada, with a higher GDP, has not been able to ensure that we have adequate numbers. It points to the problem all three of us are illustrating, that we are not taking the threat seriously.