Thank you, Mr. Chairman. We are not directly involved in the polar route assessment for air services. The responsibility is currently being led by Nav Canada, a non-profit organization set up under the federal legislation. Nav Canada is working with a number of international agencies from Russia and from China, and from other locations to establish polar routes. Studies have been conducted in terms of the viability of establishing polar route traffic between North America and Asia. Some of those studies have been published as recently as just before Christmas.

There are many technical and economic issues that play a part in the decision for airlines to pursue a polar route. In most cases, what we are dealing with here are long distance over-flights that originate in North America, predominantly in the United States, and travel over the North.

Nav Canada, in concert with Transportation Canada, is dealing with the other agencies that would have an interest in the administration of these polar routes, including the transport branch of the Transportation Safety Board, the issues that pertain to the Department of National Defence, for instance, the search and rescue operations, and of course other regulatory and economic groups under the Department of Industry.

Overall, it is a very complex issue that has been underway. It is not anticipated that we will see a significant change in the near future, but subject to all things lining up correctly from an economic perspective, it could happen in the next two years. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.