Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you to all of our witnesses for joining us this morning.
As the member of Parliament for Victoria, I would like to extend my appreciation to you, Ms. Skidmore and Ms. Bourke, for your opening comments, which emphasized the important role that BC Ferries plays in providing critical infrastructure to B.C. coastal communities. You also emphasized that the interest all of us on this committee really should be in prioritizing how we can ensure BC Ferries has the capacity to meet the needs of British Columbians while doing everything possible to support Canadian jobs and Canadian industry through its procurement processes.
I also note and appreciate the statement that was just made about how critical federal government support is to sustaining Canada's shipbuilding industry. I'd like to ask you to elaborate on that part with respect to the national shipbuilding strategy. Now in its 15th year, this strategy has been integral to channelling federal government support towards shipbuilding across this country.
Could we please hear you speak to how the national shipbuilding strategy has supported job creation and the shipbuilding sector in British Columbia? Perhaps we could start with Mr. MacPherson, but I'd love to hear from all three witnesses.