National Defence committee  I will bring forward options for the government to decide, to consider the way ahead after that. Right now there are no plans for the mission to come to an end.

National Defence committee  We would intend to have everybody deployed in June or July of 2017, with the battle group we would consider operationally capable later, in September or October.

National Defence committee  Yes, sir. We are the nucleus of the command and control in the various enabling functions of the battle group. We are also providing a LAV-equipped rifle company in the battle group. They've announced our partners: Poland and Italy, with Slovenia providing a small part, and together the battle group rounds out.

National Defence committee  Thank you, sir.

National Defence committee  Thank you for the question. I will answer the question in English because it's a somewhat sensitive matter. It is entirely the decision of the Government of Canada, taking all factors into account, to decide how much it spends on defence. I think, though, that it would be premature at this point in time to make any conclusions about where the U.S. will be in the days and months ahead.

National Defence committee  I can absolutely confirm that we are conducting operations at a role 2 medical facility. We are conducting flight operations out of Kuwait, and with our rotary-wing helicopters. We are conducting train, advise, and assist mentoring tasks with our partners, and we are conducting additional training to Iraqi security forces, as we have been all along.

National Defence committee  Thank you for the question. The decision to reinstate the four-year university level program and perhaps another year for CEGEP at the Collège Militaire de Saint-Jean will be carried out. That's what I know about the situation right now. It is absolutely necessary to continue to have a good level of bilingualism within the Canadian Armed Forces for a number of reasons.

National Defence committee  Absolutely.

National Defence committee  In fact, I would say that one of the best uses of a military is to set conditions for something more enduring to materialize after the strict military phase.

National Defence committee  Okay.

National Defence committee  Thank you for the question. I will answer it in English. I can confirm to you unequivocally that the use of force by our soldiers on this operation—armed force, lethal force—has only been used in a defensive mode to ensure that our partners were not subject to an attack that they couldn't deal with.

National Defence committee  It does.

National Defence committee  In particular, Russia is developing, and has developed, basing in its part of the Arctic in northern Russia. It is, as many are, taking advantage of ice-free time in the Russian Arctic. That activity has increased in last five to 10 years.

National Defence committee  I am not prepared to talk about submarine activity here due to its classification. I can tell you that Russia has accelerated its long-range aviation activities. I can't define it for you exactly—again because of its classification—but Russia has spent more time in the last five years in air space around North America and Europe.

National Defence committee  At this juncture, I can only say, yes, because I deal with the force that I have with the threats that we have. We're able to adequately deal with them right now. I would just remind you that we are on the cusp of a defence policy review that will look at all things in a horizon beyond the operational horizon I deal with.