Thanks, Chair.
I thank the witnesses for being here.
I want to start with science; I've seen “science” repeated here many times. You've alluded to the notion of natural capital; you haven't used the term, but you've alluded to it in terms of healthy ecosystems. In the last meeting we had on the estimates, we heard that there is some work going on, although not as much as we'd probably all like to see, on the indicators initiative that would lead to a new set of national accounts, for example, at Statistics Canada. I'm sure you would like to see that, but I want to talk to you about science.
Nowhere in this entire brief have you made a reference to climate change. I don't think you have. I followed you page by page, but there's no reference at all to climate change. Can you help Canadians understand how much science is now going on in the department under the act? Give us an idea of how many scientists there are and how much money is being spent. How have you connected species at risk to the overarching threat that the climate change crisis is presenting today? It is nowhere here, so can you give us some understanding?