There will certainly be impacts, and we need different kinds of expertise to assess those impacts. I mentioned our European colleagues, but our colleagues at Natural Resources Canada, who have the necessary engineering expertise regarding the installation of wind turbines, are also involved.
As an example of a direct impact, there can definitely be use conflicts. Navigation is one example. Our department's expertise allows us to conduct spatial analyses to assess these impacts.
There will certainly be impacts. Any new offshore infrastructure that interacts with the seabed, with currents and, by definition, with winds, is bound to have an impact on the ecosystem. The key is to be able to model and quantify the actual risk that these changes pose to the marine environment.
