Good afternoon. I would like to thank the committee for inviting us today.
I am a biologist by training. I started working with the Conseil régional de l'environnement in the summer. My mandate requires me to study the wetlands of Laval. I have discovered that there is a very rich biodiversity in southern Quebec and southern Canada. Actually, most of Canada's biodiversity is in the south, but so is a lot of the urban sprawl. Let me just say that we are doing a lot to protect the north and we are exerting a lot of pressure, but we should pay attention to the situation in southern Canada.
We talked about urban conservation initiatives that can be taken into consideration. There are greenbelt initiatives. I am not sure if you are familiar with that concept. There is a greenbelt in Toronto and Vancouver, and we are in the process of creating one in Montreal. As part of the studies that are under way right now, we are trying to assess the ecosystem goods and services of a potential greenbelt in Montreal. We are talking about more than $4 billion a year in services provided by the environment.
All this to say that ecology can be of service to us. We are part of this ecosystem. I feel that Canada has what it takes to lead the way on the world stage, given that we still have many of our native natural environments, which are still viable. Unfortunately, I get the impression that there are not a lot of regulations in place to protect this heritage. In my view, this is a natural heritage that we can pass on to future generations.
Finally, I would like to say that we often talk about forests, meaning land areas, when we talk about conservation. But we should also talk about aquatic environments and farmlands. They are all part of the same system. We have to work toward biodiversity, which also includes the diversity of available habitats.