National Defence committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. Very briefly on our role, when local capacity has been exceeded, the RCMP or the local search and rescue authority—because Nunavut operates a little bit differently in that regard with their EMO—will contact us and request assistance, at which point I will activate Canadian Rangers in the area, based on their availability, to augment the search parties to locate and assist anybody who has not reported back on time and who needs to be located.

National Defence committee  Thank you, sir. We believe that consultation is vital for the success of our operations in the north. We do this in multiple ways. First, each year we send an annual letter of notification to all indigenous governments in the north to advise them of our planed activities across the three territories.

National Defence committee  I'll be quick, Mr. Chair. No, infrastructure has not been the issue. The main issue has been that our Rangers very often have multiple roles. When they cannot participate, it's usually because they are committed to another critical activity, either their own activities or the well-being of the community.

National Defence committee  Thank you. Regarding activities in the north, what is important is synchronizing activities and messages. In the case of NATO exercises, while those activities were going on, a number of operations and exercises took place at the same time. One example was Operation Nanook-Nunalivut, which took place in the Canadian north.

National Defence committee  Thank you, Admiral. I really was talking about the challenges associated with the civil infrastructure that exists in the north. With respect to search and rescue activities, I am going to focus on ground operations. As a means of communication, many people in the north are equipped with satellite communication terminals, such as Garmin or GPS devices.

National Defence committee  I don't have the figures to show the total costs. For National Defence, requesting the Canadian Rangers' assistance does not involve a financial cost itself; it depends on the Rangers' availability in a specific community. Often, the Canadian Rangers wear several hats in a community, so it may be that they are already involved in search and rescue activities, but under another responsibility.

National Defence committee  Thank you, sir. Good morning, Mr. Chair and members of Parliament. Thank you for this opportunity to speak about Arctic security. I am Brigadier-General Pascal Godbout. I'm the Commander of Joint Task Force (North). I am speaking to you from Sǫǫ̀mba K’è on Chief Drygeese Territories on Treaty No. 8, the traditional home of the Yellowknives Dene and the North Slave Métis.