Thank you very much, Mr. Chair, and good morning to colleagues.
Good morning, Minister. Thank you so much for joining us today.
I'd like to maybe take a step back and ask you some questions about the sector more broadly rather than taking the same line of questioning my colleague has been pursuing. We know that the government has been making historic investments in Canada's marine sector, including in shipbuilding, with a variety of projects for the navy, the Canadian Coast Guard and others. We also know that no Canadian companies submitted a bid for this BC Ferries contract, largely due to the volume of work they already have under contract in the three major shipyards across Canada.
Minister Freeland, could you perhaps speak to how the federal government is going to support increasing the capacity for Canadian shipbuilding in the future and how this might have a positive impact on future procurement decisions for BC Ferries and other vessel providers across the country?