National Defence committee  Thanks. I'll just add to what Marie said. I share her assessment of the effectiveness of the DART. Your question was whether it is better to have a unit there all the time ready to go or to do it the way we're doing it. I think successive operations have shown that by doing it the way we're doing it we can respond quickly.

National Defence committee  Yes.

National Defence committee  We think there's—

National Defence committee  It's back to the normal operating situation.

National Defence committee  I would just add quickly—and Kerry and Marie can jump in—that the northern foreign policy, the government's overall approach to the Arctic, provides the broad framework within which CFDS and the Canadian Forces play out our part on Arctic sovereignty. There's a very close linkage here: the work that Foreign Affairs does on the Arctic Council, for example.

National Defence committee  Yes, some academics have said that there's an arms race in Asia. Is there arms spending? Absolutely. Is it part of a modernization point? Yes, absolutely. Is it driven by certain players in the region who are modernizing and who always said they were going to do this modernization?

National Defence committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. In terms of reaching out to the international partners, I think I said, in response to an earlier question, that Canada's mission in Afghanistan, the way in which we have engaged with local communities and the way in which we prepared our folks before they went out, is the gold standard.

National Defence committee  Very quickly, we have our defence attachés. And we prepare for readiness by understanding what the dynamics are, who the players are, and what might be useful or not if we were needed to do something or directed to do so.

National Defence committee  There is always room for more training, of course. Within our capabilities to deliver training we're doing a fabulous job, and we do it as a whole-of-government team.

National Defence committee  If I could, Chair, I'd like Foreign Affairs to start, because your question shows very clearly that it isn't at DND or the CF that we decide to take that action; this is a foreign policy decision. Kerry, why don't you lead?

National Defence committee  I think this points out how there are a number of ways in which you intervene to affect a situation. In this case it's diplomatic, it's social, it's through development assistance. There are a number of countries that are working on it as well as NGOs on the ground. So we would wait to hear whether there is a need for anything—in this case capacity-building or whatever—on the ground that the Canadian Forces particularly could bring to this.

National Defence committee  I am, a little bit, and thank you for the question. I don't have statistics on the reduction or not of the number of child soldiers, but what I can tell you is that since the negotiation of the convention on child soldiers, we have at least succeeded in establishing a new norm, so I think the debate and the awareness of the issue—and obviously we have some extraordinary Canadians who have made people aware of this issue, with General Dallaire....

National Defence committee  I would like a little bit more time to consider the answer to this question. Are you asking about a whole-of-government perspective? Is that your question? I think if we had more ability to interchange our personnel...because there's no substitute for being in each other's shoes.

National Defence committee  I have very little to add to that. I think the international presence at the moment is very important in continuing to bring this debate to Afghanistan, but at the end of the day the society has to embrace it themselves. So I think that continuing international presence, our trainers...there are still 40-odd countries that are there that are trying to inculcate so that it is irreversible.

National Defence committee  Yes.