Thank you for the question.
Yes, we have the resources we need. Certainly, during particular weeks in the last outbreak in the fall on the west coast, we had up to 10% of the agency deployed to respond to avian influenza.
You referred to the gas supply. We have a system whereby we prioritize which establishments need to be depopulated, based on risk. We were close to having not enough gas, but we were able to depopulate.
There was some waiting time, as you said. Some farms were depopulated in a longer period—up to 10 days—but those farms were also identified as the lowest risk, where the death rate was very, very low.
Of course, when we arrive on site and we see that 30% or 40% of the birds are dead, it's at the top of the list. When we see only some signs of distress in some birds, we can wait, because the birds are not suffering, and then it could take several more days.
It's not ideal to be at 10 days. We try to respond faster than that. It was only in two or three situations over the last year that it happened. It was not made at the expense of birds suffering, and we were there to give support.
The other thing I want to mention is that collaboration with industry and with the province was key there. Having the industry help us get gas supply was essential, particularly in B.C., where we had a lot of depopulations happening at the same time. Having the workforce from industry help us depopulate was also key.