Thank you, Mr. Chair.
General Bowes, our mission here is to make recommendations to the government on what Canada's role should be as it pertains to peacekeeping, not in one area in particular. I want to start by trying to get a sense of where we've been and how we've gotten to where we are. The briefing that we were provided by the Library of Parliament noted there has been a gradual decline in Canada's contributions to peacekeeping since the 1970s; I think we would all agree on this. Looking at the data, it suggests that a decay in the support has taken place under both Conservative and Liberal governments, so this isn't a politically motivated question by any means, but it does hint at a shift in national priorities between the 1970s and today. I'm wondering if you would say that this is a shift in Canadian foreign policy and security priorities since the 1970s. Would you agree with that, for starters?