Madam Chair, I thank the minister of defence for his speech. Before I ask my first question, I just want to thank him for doing such a great job as Minister of National Defence. Contrary to what my Conservative colleague said, the Department of National Defence has been doing much better since the minister was appointed and since the Conservatives left government. I also want to thank the officials who are here tonight to lend us a hand. It is important to thank these people, as well as our women and men in the Canadian Armed Forces, for the terrific work they do day after day.
In his speech, the minister mentioned our new defence policy, “Strong, Secure, Engaged”. I would like him to tell us more about it. This policy puts our men and women in uniform first. When we visit military bases, we see how happy our military and civilian personnel are with this policy. I would like to hear the minister tell us a bit more about the defence policy we implemented.