Mr. Speaker, I am very proud of the work of the Canadian Forces, particularly those who take part in search and rescue.
Canada has a rescue area of responsibility of over 18 million square kilometres of land and sea, the size of continental Europe. Our Canadian Forces and Coast Guard partners respond to more than 8,000 incidents every year, tasking military aircraft for over 1,100 cases, and in fact save on average 1,200 lives each and every year.
I think that as Minister of National Defence I should familiarize myself at every opportunity with the important work of those who perform these daily heroics.