Evidence of meeting #46 for Fisheries and Oceans in the 41st Parliament, 2nd session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was lakes.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Biologist, Quebec Federation of Anglers and Hunters
Could you please make your question a little bit more specific?
Conservative
Ryan Leef Conservative Yukon, YT
Do you see any specific threat to fish species or habitat right now that the federal government needs to focus on, and are there biological benefits that we could maximize?
Biologist, Quebec Federation of Anglers and Hunters
There are threats, it's true, and they are raised by everyone. Despite this, we shouldn't sound the alarm too much. As the saying goes, nature abhors a vacuum. Sometimes, certain species are harmed by urban development, industrial development, climate change, and other things. While some species are harmed, others may flourish. We should maybe take advantage of this situation.
It seems to me that the development of our societies changes our natural environment, be it aquatic or land-based. Of course, there are some changes in wildlife communities, and we must learn to deal with that. That's perhaps most obvious in the case of game. In Quebec, for example, our new star game is the wild turkey, which has been benefiting from milder winters. We need to take advantage of this new resource. However, it's certain that other animals will suffer from the development of our society.
In my opinion, we must remain vigilant. To sum things up, our society does good work with respect to remaining vigilant and protecting species at risk. I don't want to be too alarmist, and I think that we need to benefit from the new opportunities that are arising.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Rodney Weston
Thank you very much, Mr. Leef.
Dr. Baril, thank you very much on behalf of the committee for appearing before our committee today and taking the time to answer questions and provide us with your comments as well. We certainly appreciate it.
We'll suspend for a few moments to prepare for our next witnesses.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Rodney Weston
Unfortunately, we'll have to break now as the bells are ringing.
This meeting is adjourned.