Madam Chair, thank you for this opportunity to meet with the committee to discuss the 2017-18 supplementary estimates (C) and the 2018-19 interim estimates for the Parks Canada Agency.
I will begin by addressing the Parks Canada Agency supplementary estimates C, which is Parks Canada's third and final opportunity to make adjustments to its 2017-18 main estimates.
The agency's submission amounts to an increase in appropriations of approximately $27.5 million, bringing the agency's total appropriations to $1.7 billion in 2017-18.
Parks Canada is seeking adjustments to its appropriations for three items. The first is $27 million relating to emergency responses to natural disasters and associated health- and safety-related costs due to extreme weather and weather-related events. In 2017, British Columbia and Alberta saw a series of record-breaking wildfires in terms of size, severity, duration and risks to people, infrastructure and economic activity. These fires resulted in Parks Canada having to engage in its largest fire response season in history.
In addition to fires in western Canada, eastern Canada experienced several major flood events that required higher than normal emergency water control responses.
Second is approximately $700,000 to implement activities to pursue a national marine conservation area in the Canadian portion of the Last Ice Area within Canadian Arctic waters and complete a feasibility settlement and negotiations for an Inuit impact and benefit agreement.
The Last Ice Area is a large region within the high Arctic of Canada and Greenland. It is the area where the oldest Arctic multi-year ice is found and is the most likely to retain its summer sea ice into 2050 as the planet warms up due to climate change.
The third is a transfer of $405,000 from Parks Canada to Library and Archives Canada in return of a parcel of land in Gatineau, Quebec, to serve as the future site of the agency's national collections facility.
Next I would like to address the Parks Canada Agency's 2018-19 interim estimates, which are approximately $321 million. These estimates represent the agency's spending requirements for the first three months of the fiscal year and include a list of grants to allow the agency to make grant payments as of April 1, 2018.
I'd like to thank you, Madam Chair and the committee, for your time today.
We'll be happy to answer any questions.