Thank you, Madam Chair.
I'm happy to be here today with the committee to discuss report six of the Auditor General. This focuses on water surveillance in the Arctic, obviously.
We are one of the five organizations identified in the scope of the audit. We are not directly involved in traffic monitoring, but we obviously play an active operational role in supporting transportation in the Arctic.
We have offices and staff in all three territorial capitals, and we provide support in smaller and more remote communities, such as Fort Smith, Resolute Bay and Inuvik. We deliver programs and initiatives across the north, most notably—probably—in areas such as weather prediction, nature conservation and protection, biodiversity, and climate change and adaptation.
Our work also focuses a lot on reconciliation—a significant priority for the department—as well as research monitoring and international Arctic co-operation. As an example, the meteorological service of Canada monitors weather and ice conditions, uses world-leading computer models to predict the evolution of these conditions and provides services that support Canadians and Canada's sovereignty in the Arctic.
Data from these networks underpin the accurate and timely weather forecasts and warnings available to Canadians. This includes daily marine weather forecasts for the navigable waters of Canadian territory as well as marine weather and ice information for a broad area of international waters north of 60 degrees.
The data also feeds into specialized weather forecasts and information that are provided to the Canadian Armed Forces on an ongoing basis, domestically and internationally, and include mission support for the Arctic offshore patrol ships when they are in the Arctic.
There's also the Canadian ice service from Environment and Climate Change Canada's meteorological service of Canada. It has specialized expertise in monitoring sea‑ice and icebergs, ice detection and modelling. It also provides operational support for maritime activities seven days a week to help ensure safe ice operations. This includes direct support to Canadian Coast Guard and Royal Canadian Navy operations.
With longer and more widespread ice‑free conditions in the ocean, and sea‑ice decline, in some areas, as high as 20% per decade, it's a critical service.
In addition, the department's expertise in the north also supports our work to sustain Canada's northern water resources and freshwater ecosystems.
I'm going to stop here. At this time, I'm happy to take questions from members of the committee.