I'm going to pick up from where Mr. Toet left off. He was talking specifically about wetland loss. I would like to broaden it to habitat loss.
Maybe what I'll do is pose my three questions, and if you can answer any of the three or if you have perspectives on any of the three, I would like to hear them.
When it comes to habitat loss, if we are to protect hunting and trapping and ensure that we can continue to hunt and trap in the future, from your perspective what are some of the biggest threats to habitat loss? Sometimes I hear it's cities, and sometimes I hear it's resource development or farms, but what is it from your perspective and the perspective of the work you do with your organizations?
Then, if you're able to, perhaps you could give an idea of what could be some opportunities. I think about, for example, hunters. One might think that hunting could contribute to...that we are over-hunting and end up in a situation in which we're putting undue stress on a species. In fact, the opposite is true. Hunters want to ensure that a species is viable and will naturally conserve.
Are there other groups for whom there is a sort of unexpected opportunity to work with particular groups who actually want to engage in conservation?
We are federal policy-makers. At the federal level, what are some policies that we can really put our efforts behind? Naturally my mind goes to SARA, the Species at Risk Act, but of course that's only species at risk. Many of the other policy options I see are provincial or municipal, so I wonder if you have federal advice for us.
Mr. Mack, do you want to kick it off?