Mr. Chair, I would like to continue on from where I was in terms of search and rescue aircraft. I want to notify the Chair that I will be sharing my time. I will use the first 10 minutes for questions and answers. My colleague, the member for Halifax, will take the last five.
It is clear that there is no real champion for search and rescue aircraft in the Department of National Defence. I said at committee that it appears that search and rescue really is the orphan child of the defence department, so I want to ask the minister about this.
Will the department champion our domestic needs to have adequate search and rescue, or should it, in the opinion of the minister, be moved to another government department?