Public Accounts committee  I don't have information on that one either, but I would stress that this is the emerging area when we talk about all-domain awareness. It is where innovation and activity are going to be absolutely critical going forward.

Public Accounts committee  Madam Chair, this may be helpful to the member. I'm turning to my colleague Andrew, but I believe the Auditor General's report did not look at subsurface. Do I have that correct?

Public Accounts committee  That's actually a question for PSPC. We touched on it earlier. The negotiations are ongoing with a third shipyard, but it's led by PSPC.

Public Accounts committee  I'm not aware of one, but I wouldn't necessarily be the best person to ask.

Public Accounts committee  Perhaps I can start, Madam Chair, from a defence perspective. In Canada, we are still dealing with a shipbuilding industry that is relatively new to building these sizes of ships. As you build new and different ships.... When you look worldwide, first-in-class and second-in-class generally come with problems.

Public Accounts committee  We're beyond the one-year mark, so if you read the warranty to the letter, it's in our hands. However, I want to take a look at the technical report and maybe—

Public Accounts committee  I would be speculating because I wasn't here, but I would say that, given that we're awaiting a technical report, I would be open to looking at that and re-engaging with the company based on what it says—

Public Accounts committee  I get the sense that my co-worker here wants to chime in. I will say that the ships that are not yet in the water and accepted, whatever the investigation realizes, will be addressed. Nancy, go ahead.

Public Accounts committee  The short answer is, yes, we've looked into risk mitigation, which is what this is, to fill in a gap. That was factored into making that decision. Can I give you any specific information in terms of additional hours of flying, etc., and what it might do? I cannot.

Public Accounts committee  I understand the question. I don't have information at that detailed level here. I can absolutely take that one back. Nancy might have an answer, but I suspect not.

Public Accounts committee  It's a bit of both. The warranty—

Public Accounts committee  No, I think in this case it is. The warranty on the AOPS is after one year in service. You have two vessels that have exceeded that one-year point. Reading the warranty purely, that would be on National Defence to pay. For the ship that may have had the same design but is not yet in service, it is on the shipyard to make sure that this is addressed before it changes hands—

Public Accounts committee  Yes, but.... I'm sorry. I'm reading the warranty purely. It's one year, so that would put it in our hands. I will say that there is a technical investigation into the cause, which I'm expecting will be “causes”, and obviously we'll take a good read of that and see where it lands.

Public Accounts committee  The information flow from all lines of service up to NORAD is excellent. What I think we will see in the future, as some of these assets come online with additional radars, is that more information will be flowing. Through the MSOCs the navy is well plugged in. Any intel that is interesting and relevant gets flowed up through NORAD and through allies as well.

Public Accounts committee  All right. I'll highlight a couple of quick ones, Madam Chair. Number one is the recent contract about a year ago to maintain the North Warning System. That's important while we plan and develop polar over-the-horizon radar and over-the-horizon radar projects that are part of NORAD modernization.