National Defence committee  No, this is—

National Defence committee  Do you mean relative to the Arctic?

National Defence committee  Mr. Chair, there's a lot there, so it may take a few minutes to explain the details. Let me say up front that the shoot-down occurred in exactly the way we practise, exactly the way we train. We train all the time in cross-border operations using other nations' assets—Canadian

National Defence committee  Yes, that was the one that was shot down in the Yukon.

National Defence committee  Number three, that's correct.

National Defence committee  Oh, that's correct. Yes. That was February 10. Thank you, DM.

National Defence committee  I gave direction that it would be preferable for the Canadian F-18s to do the shoot-down, but that whoever had the first best shot should ensure that we had it.... It was under the command of the Canadian NORAD region, so a Canadian officer made the final decision. Our F-18s were

National Defence committee  Yes, but I will say that they were delayed in departing Cold Lake because of freezing rain. I understand that the airstrip was a bit of skating rink, as happens in northern Alberta. In all operations, there is some friction. That's why they were somewhat delayed. The shoot-down

National Defence committee  It was mid-afternoon here in Ottawa but morning in Yukon. Our F-18s were on station shortly afterward, so hopefully this clarifies that process.

National Defence committee  Yes.

National Defence committee  Yes.

National Defence committee  Yes.

National Defence committee  Let me just say that we are seeing an increasingly assertive China in the Arctic. They have designs on the Arctic. If you take a look at their icebreaker program or at their—

National Defence committee  As they are a near-Arctic nation and given the research they're doing and the research vessels that have transited through the Arctic, which we suspect are for dual use, yes, we are concerned about China and its designs and activities in the Arctic. I'm not going to get into ope

National Defence committee  No, Mr. Chair. I have no opening statement. I'm happy to be back here. I will say that this is General Molstad's first committee appearance in his career. General Molstad is the deputy commander of Canadian Joint Operations Command, and during the time of these incidents he was