National Defence committee  I think we certainly could be there. It comes down to political will. If the Prime Minister is willing to take this on as one of his main efforts, seize this as a flagship, and leave his indelible imprint on the country, then indeed, this could be an appropriate time to take this

National Defence committee  Certainly, there has been a lot of misapprehension. First of all, we had Pierre Leblanc mention that the Rangers are a program. They're certainly not a program; they're an element of the Canadian Forces reserve. I was including Nunavik, which actually technically would push the n

National Defence committee  I think what is interesting is that the plans for expansion are promoting bringing the Rangers up to 5,000. This was a number that was talked about in the late 1940s when the Rangers were first created. It has never been realized historically. Most of that growth, I presume, base

National Defence committee  And isolated communities--

National Defence committee  Certainly along the British Columbia coast and in Newfoundland, there are a lot of Rangers serving very proudly.

National Defence committee  Once again, historically, every time we've engaged in boundary limitation discussions, it has always involved a certain number of concessions. For Canada to think that somehow we should be making our claims, and that everybody in the world is going to accept them, to me is a bit

National Defence committee  Again, we have commentaries from Michael Byers and Rob Hubert, who are always coming up with worst-case scenarios. This is what they thrive on. The media absolutely love it. I'm not sure what evidence there is or what the probability is that we're going to have some sort of for

National Defence committee  I understand, but I will answer in English.

National Defence committee  I think you're raising a number of important issues. Certainly, in terms of the timeline, I think partly it's.... I'll tie this back to the issue of rhetoric. We have to be careful not to get ahead of ourselves in political grandstanding vis-à-vis the Americans or the Russians. W

National Defence committee  I'm not as critical as you are of the Arctic offshore patrol vessels. It could be a versatile platform if it's coupled with a recapitalized coast guard and the Nanisivik facility. I have questions about the Nanisivik facility, but about the location. I think Lancaster Sound is ac

National Defence committee  On the absence of an integrated strategy, since 2005 there was a strategy being unveiled. It hasn't.... There have been promises have been repeated over the last number of years that one was going to be coming out. We're still waiting. I heard rumours that it was to be as early a

National Defence committee  Thank you very much, Mr. Chair, for the invitation to appear before the committee. As Canadians we find ourselves in the midst of yet another so-called Arctic sovereignty crisis, this time precipitated by climate change, an alleged international race for resources, and uncertain