It's a very difficult and challenging question.
The fiscal environment in Canada right now requires that, when we are spending Canadian taxpayers' dollars, we do it carefully and thoughtfully. I've always looked upon the expenditure of tax dollars as an investment in creating public value for Canadians. It is incumbent upon all of our departments to make sure we're doing that as carefully and appropriately as possible. At the same time, I also want to assure you and every member of this committee of our unwavering commitment to make sure that we support the Canadian Armed Forces, the people who are doing the work, and that we get them the equipment they need. We are looking very carefully at expenditures. It may require, for example, that we make different choices.
The first thing I would offer in response to your question is that we would start to reduce significantly the professional services that we sometimes contract, and then you and I had a conversation about the excellent work that a private company does in supplying services to the college at Saint-Jean. I went back and shared that with our colleagues and said that we need to be careful that we don't cut something that's producing real value and is a good expenditure.
I wanted to share that with you because I thought it was a very good intervention, but we do know that we have to look very carefully at expenditures. It may actually require that, for some of the investments we know we have to make, we make them over a longer period of time in response to the current fiscal situation, but I want to assure you of our commitment to still get that job done.