National Defence committee  Yes, thank you. I'd be happy to do that. The humanitarian assistance and readiness missions, which we've been involved in, in the past, resonate very strongly not only with the Canadian public, but with Canadian naval service people. When they were off the coast of Haiti, many said that they didn't want to come back and that it was the most satisfying, rewarding work they had done in their entire careers.

National Defence committee  Yes. Certain of them have things to offer. The Arctic Five that operate in the Far North know this far better than we do. The Danes, for example, are very advanced in how they manage their resources, how they organize the logistics that sustain them. There's a lot to be learned by doing comparative studies.

National Defence committee  I am happy to do that. This is a very important issue. In the Second World War we were involved in a struggle principally against a submarine threat. We did not have submarines or submariners of our own to train with and prepare us for that type of struggle, and we lost 24 ships before we sank the first enemy submarine.

National Defence committee  Absolutely, yes. One of the last projects I was involved with when I was in uniform was a future look at the navy. One of the key recommendations was that every ship built in the future for the Royal Canadian Navy should have cold-weather capability. Currently, they do not. This third ocean is a national responsibility.

National Defence committee  As Dr. Lerhe pointed out, the People's Republic of China is the obvious problem. Their repudiation of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and its dispute resolution mechanisms has really laid bare the very blatant ambitions they have for the South China Sea, I'm afraid, and how they intend to manage their relations with neighbouring states.

National Defence committee  Thank you very much for this opportunity to speak to you and to be heard. We speak of readiness. The key question to ask is, readiness for what? National sea power spans what I call three conceptual spheres, which are safety, security, and sovereignty. Although officially a military organization that is focused on sovereignty at sea, the RCN is engaged in a very wide array of missions and tasks that range from such things as boater safety to multi-threat combat operations.