Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
Mr. Picard, this is a fascinating discussion. Thank you very much for your testimony.
Mr. Chair, we're not just talking about caribou today. We're also talking about biodiversity and species at risk. One of my constituents asked me why it's so important to talk about caribou and diversity. It's important because biodiversity supports us, just as it supports our economy. By preserving and protecting caribou, we protect our health, our economy, and our well-being now and in the future. If we don't protect it, the entire environment will deteriorate. We're part of that environment, though, and so is our economy. That's why we're talking about caribou.
Mr. Picard, thank you also for talking about disinformation. Some people are fearmongering while we are looking for a solution to protect our environment, the environment on which our economy depends, and to give us and our children human dignity.
With respect to the disinformation you mentioned earlier, a forestry company representative told us earlier that it's not true the boreal caribou are in danger.
You talked about an independent commission that looked at the issue and actually published a report. There's also the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada, an independent committee made up of experts in biology and wildlife from academia, the public service, non-governmental organizations and the private sector.
Scientific voices have already been raised. We've been hearing them for years, not just this year. People have been talking about this species at risk since 2004. The reason the alarm is blaring now is that we haven't been listening to them since 2004.
In 2022, an independent commission asked the Government of Quebec to present a plan, a strategy to protect the caribou. The federal government has been asking for this for years.
What was the outcome of that?