National Defence committee  Sustainment is not a problem, once we get this on the ground, and there are anchors, so it's not going to blow away in the Arctic gales and things. The whole notion is this is the first step in bringing somebody, especially the injured, to a medical facility. The limiting factor there may well be the lack of helicopters because of weather or whatever, but we have the capability of air-supplying sustainment, and we can air-supply medical expertise.

National Defence committee  In terms of cost, I have no idea what the dollar figure is to stand it up. There's a maintenance cost to sustain just the capability, to make sure it's primed and ready to go. Once deployed in a real-world scenario, a lot of the materials would not be recovered, so I don't know about that aspect.

National Defence committee  I'd prefer not to describe at great length the coast guard capabilities. Other than that, I did mention that we are co-located with coast guard personnel in the RCCs, the rescue coordination centres. I think it's significant that with the coast guard in a controlling agency with the military folks, they are in the very good position to decide what coast guard assets might be available, where they might be available, and how to use them.

National Defence committee  Which question, the fixed-wing SAR base? You mentioned aircraft, but I knew you were referring to the fixed-wing SAR basing. Again, I'm not familiar with the program. As it stands, my understanding is that we were replacing certain fleets, the Buffalo and the Hercules. I would assume that probably the basing plan would remain the same, because it's the replacement of an aircraft, not changing the capability, not increasing or decreasing the level of service.

National Defence committee  From a military perspective, there is a fairly significant training build, and it starts with the operational training units, where they actually convert from their other aircraft, whatever they've flown--or in the SAR techs from their schools--into the aircraft that will be their SAR platform.

National Defence committee  That's an excellent question, sir. Prevention is a very important aspect. I spoke and John spoke a little bit about SAR response, but for the prevention program actually Transport Canada has the lead responsibility, and they do it through regulations. They have regional officers that teach aviation safety, similar to the coast guard and its responsibility for prevention.

National Defence committee  It's too bad we don't have more time.

National Defence committee  I can answer the question. It's fairly straightforward. Yes.

National Defence committee  It's difficult to presuppose where you should be at any given time in this business. This is a no-notice operation we're dealing with here. You may be fortunate to find your assets are in the proximity and you can respond faster, but most likely that's not going to be the case.

National Defence committee  If I may just add, from our resource mix, I think we got where we are through a number of years of experience. Looking at the level of service that we're providing the government and the Canadian population, it is proper at this time; it is efficient. But that's with respect to the other players in the game, like the volunteer agencies and other government departments that share the burdens and responsibilities.

National Defence committee  The responsibility for SAR actually is kind of coordinated through an organization--ICAO. We are a member of that organization. Basically, all ICAO members agree on search and rescue boundaries. Those are not sovereign boundaries; those are totally different. So in the case of Canada, it's very clear: it's the American border and the North Pole, but on both coasts it actually extends beyond Vancouver Island for 1,100 kilometres and on the east coast it goes out to sea for 1,600 kilometres.

National Defence committee  Yes, sir, I would assume so. That's a representative thing over several years. But yes, if they recorded an incident, it's in the database.

National Defence committee  The exception is if it was a community activity that didn't reach our rescue coordinating centre for involvement. In other words, if it was something that was dealt with in the local area, it probably would not be, but if it was anything significant that had a federal resource, it certainly would be.

National Defence committee  In my personal view, not very long. I often wonder, when I'm flying in a commercial aircraft, what the chance of survival would be.

National Defence committee  It's within 24 hours, for sure. It will take up to 12 hours to mobilize capability, then the flying time, and the drop into the site. That is very reasonable when you consider the requirements. We have to rig a special aircraft, get the crew organized. What's significant is that prior to that MAJAID kit arriving, we would have up to three Hercules with additional SAR techs and additional tents and clothing that they would throw to the site.