Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Mr. Brisson, in your opening remarks, you described Canada Post as a lifeline for rural and remote communities. I wholeheartedly agree with your characterization of the important work of Canada Post.
I want to talk a bit about the impacts of climate change on that lifeline for rural and remote communities.
Last year, we saw what was the worst-ever record, in terms of wildfires, in Canada's history. Seventeen million hectares of forest burned in Canada. The majority of that took place in provinces like Alberta, Saskatchewan and New Brunswick. Ironically, we had three premiers here two weeks ago talking about climate change and the lack of any action on their parts to address climate change. Nonetheless, 17 million hectares were burned. A recent analysis was conducted, and 90% of those wildfires were the result of climate change and drought conditions.
Have you seen the impact of climate change on the work of Canada Post and its ability to continue to deliver services to rural and remote communities? I ask that because I understand that over a six-month period last year, 150 mail delivery interruptions took place. Virtually all of the active interruptions were related to things like wildfires and floods.
Can you speak about the impacts that severe weather events and climate change are having on service delivery to rural and remote communities?