Thank you very much to all of you for being here today. Great witnesses.
I was a former regional manager with the ministry of environment for southeastern B.C., responsible for ecosystems, fish and wildlife. Then I was manager of the East Kootenay conservation program involved in purchasing private land for conservation; so inherently, I care about every species.
The challenge we have is that many people look at life through economics rather than conservation. I'm wondering if we're starting to do a better job.
I know, Professor Kerr, you started to talk about the economic importance of species winking out, but why should people care about species winking out, from an economic perspective as well as a personal one?
I'll start with Mr. Chan and Mr. Kerr, and then I'd be interested in hearing from all of you on that.