Environment committee  Thank you. That's a good question. One easy answer is that Asian carp produce a lot of waste. They're taking in 20% of their body weight in a day, in terms of food, and then they're excreting a lot that in an undigested form. What happens is that they make the water much more murky, and that also makes it harder for native fish to see in the water.

Environment committee  I might refer you to a great document called “Changing the Flow”, written by a group called the Forum for Leadership on Water in 2007. It outlines specifically seven priority areas and a number of recommendations for where the federal government might want to start thinking about it in terms of developing a water strategy.

Environment committee  Absolutely. You've heard from a number of different witnesses who've talked about climate change and the impacts it will have on the Great Lakes. There are some really basic things. You're going to have warmer waters and more intense rainfall events, and both are going to lead to an increase in algae growth, especially in Lake Erie.

Environment committee  It's a big question. At least one part of the answer is that I would like to see a national water strategy that coordinates some of the work that's happening at the local level and directing it in the same direction through some common goals that are established thorough a national water strategy.

Environment committee  My response to this is that a research poll that was done by Environics found that two-thirds, or 69%, of Environment Canada's scientists believe it was doing a worse job at protecting the environment than five years ago. So scientists within Environment Canada believe they're not able to be as effective, and I think that's an important thing to consider.

Environment committee  The trick with environmental indicators is that sometimes they need to change to adapt to new circumstances. So our indicator for phosphorus on Lake Erie we may have met under the Great Lakes Water Quality Protocol, but what we're finding now is that we're still seeing algae blooms, and the reason is because the context is changing.

Environment committee  The IJC has a really critical role to play. You guys have heard from Gordon Walker, who is the acting co-chair. It was Joe Comuzzi who left that chair as of January, so we have a vacancy as of January. The IJC has played an important role in water management since 1909, when the Boundary Waters Treaty was signed.

Environment committee  Under the Canada Water Act there used to be a fund for water management in Canada, called the Canada water fund, I believe. It was an important amount of money that could be distributed for water management across the country. I don't think there is any more funding available through that fund.

Environment committee  I think there are a couple of things. One is perception. When we're trying to be a good partner to the U.S., and ACOA is part of the Great Lakes water quality protocol, if we're going to demonstrate that we're doing our part then we should have our agreements in place in order to demonstrate to the United States that we are good players.

Environment committee  Thank you for catching that. Yes, the cost to the army corps was $15 billion to $18 billion.

Environment committee  Thank you very much.

Environment committee  Thank you. Good afternoon and thank you, Mr. Chairman, for giving me the opportunity to be here this afternoon. I'm honoured to be here today. From what I've seen from the transcripts, I am hopeful that the recommendations from your report will be positive. l'm encouraged by the calibre of your questions and the witnesses who have been before you, so congratulations.