National Defence committee  I'm not sure it actually depicts it accurately, but it's fairly close to where it is. The United States are responsible south of our line.

National Defence committee  That's correct.

National Defence committee  Yes, sir. As a matter of fact, the cooperation between the U.S. and Canada is in place, and we see it frequently, especially if you look at the Great Lakes. The prosecution of SAR incidents will take place using Canadian assets on the American side of the border, and vice versa.

National Defence committee  Yes, the current Arctic Council stood up the SAR task force. Eight nations are, indeed, Arctic nations with interests in the Arctic. They are endeavouring to come up with a common document that would provide cooperation in the provision of SAR services.

National Defence committee  Yes, sir, I can speak on behalf of CASARA. As a matter of fact, the last time I was here I did have the president of CASARA as a witness with me. It's a very mature program. We have organizations represented in all the provinces of Canada and in the territories as well. And it is, as you spoke, a volunteer organization.

National Defence committee  This is the MOU about the Arctic--

National Defence committee  Currently, we do not have any UAV capability resident in Canada. We have UAV capability elsewhere. There's no application for search and rescue at this time. I think there's tremendous potential, but it's one we have not tapped into at this time. Similarly, for satellite imagery, the principal use of satellites is currently in the detection of the beacons, which is the signal, but we have no optical capability in terms of satellite capability.

National Defence committee  Currently, all those discussions are taking place. There are no programs I am aware of that actually speak to the specifics of finding that capability. It goes to our continual internal sort of review and evaluation of our capabilities. Obviously, there's no question that the most current acquisition capability issue is the fixed-wing search and rescue aircraft.

National Defence committee  I'm not a member of that. I started, but I'm not a member any longer of that committee. I understand that the target date to have an agreement in place is the next council meeting in the September 11 timeframe, I believe. I think it's developing very well, from what my colleagues report.

National Defence committee  Yes, they do.

National Defence committee  That's correct.

National Defence committee  No. I'm not sure what the coast guard posture is, because they do have helicopters. Actually, if I may, I would take a bit of your time to say that for the Northwest Passage and the north itself the coast guard has a vested interest and responsibility. So it's not just a response by the aircraft; it's a response by the coast guard as well.

National Defence committee  First of all, we are an active participant in the interdepartmental committee on search and rescue, and it's basically a policy group. One of the things that group is tackling is the Arctic, so that's fairly relevant. We work very closely with the coast guard. I work with my colleagues at coast guard because of the joint nature of our responsibilities, if you will.

National Defence committee  That's correct. Most recently, the Arctic Council struck a task force for eight nations to come up with an agreement or an MOU for SAR cooperation in the north. Our department and the coast guard, along with DFAIT, are active participants in that task force.

National Defence committee  There would be a very substantial cost to set up some kind of an operation in the north that required a 24/7 operation, if that's what you're talking about. Statistically, so far, again, things could change over time. There is no logical place in the north that would cater to the north.