National Defence committee  You just have to take a look at the nations that are operating icebreakers and the like in the Arctic. They might obviously have interests there, but for more detail, I guess the Coast Guard would probably be the ones to ask.

National Defence committee  No. With the Arctic, as we say in Leadmark 2050, just as all lines of longitude converge in the Arctic, so too are a number of nations' interests converging on the Arctic. Other than the five Arctic nations and the Arctic Council, you're seeing other nations operating in the Arctic.

National Defence committee  The overall naval budget is approximately $2 billion, of which the operating and maintenance budget of the navy is approximately $500 million. About a quarter of our overall budget is governed by the navy, and the research and development that takes place, as it pertains to the navy, is delivered by ADM S and T under assistant deputy minister Marc Fortin.

National Defence committee  I can elaborate on the importance of innovation and experimentation. One of the things that we've recently stood up is X-Ship, an experimental ship. We've taken one of our frigates, HMCS Montréal, and in anticipation of receiving our future fleet, we are trying to discover where we can embrace innovation and experimentation in order to ensure that all facets of what we are doing at sea can be incorporated into the Royal Canadian Navy before we accept those new ships.

National Defence committee  It's not black and white like that. We can't say that it's going to be lost. From my perspective, what you'll see is a reorientation of the focus to leverage the strengths of what our fleet maintenance facilities can deliver. We'll lean into their strengths in terms of that new model.

National Defence committee  To begin, safety and security obviously is a concern in the Arctic. In terms of threats, there are two elements to threat. There is capability and there is intent. As you take a look at the capabilities and intents that currently exist out there, that begins to frame your assessment of the threat.

National Defence committee  The opportunities will change. You will need the capabilities to operate in the Arctic. I think the competition for resources in the fullness of time is something that we'll need to continually be aware of as a nation. Given that we have the fifth-largest economic exclusive zone and the second-largest continental shelf in the world, those are areas of sensitivity.

National Defence committee  I think what we're seeing globally, as people understand the links between the sea and prosperity and security, is increased naval presence on the world's oceans. You're seeing increased proliferation of forces in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region. You're seeing other navies increasing their capabilities more broadly.

National Defence committee  It's a challenge. In the last three years, we've done an extraordinary amount of work in terms of trying to baseline the numbers currently working at our fleet maintenance facilities. Right now, we're currently at about 900, plus or minus anomalies from each of the two coasts.

National Defence committee  Obviously the maintenance of our ships is really important. As a country, we're very fortunate to have our fleet maintenance facilities because of the second- and third-line maintenance activities that they're able to provide to us in terms of delivering readiness. Three years ago we had a paper commissioned by Captain Don Smith, who was a commanding officer at one of the fleet maintenance facilities.

National Defence committee  I can't see why not.

National Defence committee  The chief always gets seen off.

National Defence committee  The surveillance of all of Canada is important. As you indicated, it's very much a system of systems. It's a whole-of-government requirement in doing that. That's why I was really happy that Commissioner Jody Thomas and the navy were standing side by side on Navy Day. I don't know if she was quite happy with that title, but as I said then and as I'll say now, we're two sides of a coin and indivisible in looking after the safety, security, and defence of our country.

National Defence committee  There are two aspects to recruiting. There's recruiting for the reserve force, and we're takings steps with the Canadian Army to expedite that activity. The commander of the army and I are working with our teams to come up with a model by which, in our perfect world, someone would be able to enter the door of a militia unit or a naval reserve division and within a month be recruited.

National Defence committee  In terms of maritime warning and maritime control, I know that as we look at the evolution of NORAD, we have a number of factors and considerations. As for where we currently find ourselves right now, I just had a conversation with Commodore Angus Topshee, who is currently working in NORAD and is taking a look at what that command and control structure would look like if we moved more from maritime warning to maritime control, as you've articulated.