National Defence committee  I think it would be wisest if I did not offer an opinion on that particular question. What I would say is that the Royal Canadian Navy is a global force. Yes, in Australia's immediate neighbourhood there are a number of countries that are making investments in submarines, but we also operate in those environments, even though we don't necessarily live there.

National Defence committee  In terms of reciprocity? In terms of being able to contribute...?

National Defence committee  In general terms, I would say that the Five Eyes relationship is of essential importance on the intelligence front. We gain far more than we give out of that relationship just partly by its nature, partly because of the capabilities of our partners. It is fundamental to our success and our ability to operate globally, that close, really unprecedented co-operation among five different countries.

National Defence committee  I'm trying to recall what I said we had limited resources for precisely. At the end of the day, in intelligence we have—to quote my former boss—two weapons systems really. One is our computers and the other is our brains. The resources that we need and that we rely on heavily are fundamentally people-based, so getting the right people with the right expertise in the door, trained, security-cleared people you can trust to do hard things and to think about hard questions and come up with clever, innovative answers.

National Defence committee  I really can't.

National Defence committee  My domain is about the resources we need to do the diagnosis when there's a problem. That's done and it's done again. It's looked at on a constant basis, and issues are flagged up to base commanders and to security people as they arrive. I'm confident that we have the resources to do that appropriately and to the right level of certainty.

National Defence committee  Unfortunately, no. I'm just not the right guy for those kinds of questions.

National Defence committee  I'm afraid I may disappoint you, again. There's no question, getting to the comment about submarines earlier, that being able to monitor what's happening under the sea is an important capability from an intelligence perspective. I can't get into specifics around what you get and what you don't get out of specific capabilities like that.

National Defence committee  As I mentioned earlier, in response to Mrs. Gallant's question, the issue of investment in information technology, generally, and the ongoing need to deal with massive amounts of information in a sensible and reasonable way so that I don't have analysts spending all their time looking for things and they are actually able to get access to what they need, is a constant struggle.

National Defence committee  I do not know. That is the short answer to your question. I know there are some environmental groups, as you said earlier, that are observing the effects of climate change and talking about the possibility of islands in the Pacific disappearing, for example. Obviously, this change has repercussions on migrations, particularly for our allies in Australia and New Zealand, which see the direct effects of it on movements of peoples.

National Defence committee  If I may, Mr. Rioux, I would say that the question mainly depends on the number of years before the situation in question arises. Forecasting for the next 20 or 30 years is worthwhile, but I would say it is more a matter of scientific research than of intelligence work. I think that when it comes to purchasing or procuring, we have to look ahead 20 to 30 years to foresee what may happen in technological terms, in order to combat the possible threats our forces may be subject to.

National Defence committee  I think the threats that come by sea are certainly terrorist in nature. You see that mainly in other countries. There have been several cases of terrorist attacks in ports and in essential passages, for examine, in areas like the Strait of Malacca. These are very narrow canals that ships have to pass through.

National Defence committee  We have the resources needed for analyzing threats and raising a flag in that regard. In terms of whether we have the resources needed in order to take action, I cannot really answer that.

National Defence committee  All I can tell you is that we work very closely when it comes to intelligence. We communicate information. To be able to work together, we have to have the same picture of the situation. I understand your question, but...

National Defence committee  I am unfortunately not an expert in the operational field.