Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I would like to thank all the witnesses here today. This is very fascinating.
Urban conservation is an enormous challenge. It is part of the larger challenge of conservation on a national level. We conducted a study on this and it was published in a report. Of course, we were in disagreement. We mentioned that the committee did not acknowledge significant contributions made by science and scientists, environmental groups, aboriginal groups or communities. Moreover, the National Roundtable on the Environment and the Economy recently tabled its report.
As for urban conservation, there are always problems related to urban development. For example, where I am from, in Drummondville, the city wants to grow. It is natural for a city to want to grow, however it does so at the expense of forests. So we are faced with the difficulty of balancing conservation and housing or industrial developments.
That brings us to the question of climate change. You touched on this when you spoke about the problem of droughts and what not.
How can the federal government provide tools to better reconcile the environment with the economy? What are these tools?
I think that Mr. Manderson and Mr. Cullen have some good ideas on this. Go ahead, gentlemen.