Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Minister, officials, thank you all for being here.
I want to start off, and we talked about this in previous meetings as well, by noting that because it was a U.S. fighter jet that actually shot down or took the shot, there was an insinuation that Canada did not have the capability. Now we have heard testimony that this was not the case, and that there was a decision made on who might be best or why a particular aircraft was sought.
Could we just get some further clarification on how that NORAD process works in determining capabilities?
Is Canada capable, in the event that another balloon or object of this nature were to enter Canadian airspace and the decision were made for Canada to shoot it down?
Could you maybe walk us through that process?