Thanks, Mr. Chairman, Mr. Fadden, and ladies and gentlemen.
Coming from central B.C., my question is going to be about forest pests, as you can imagine. There's a broad consensus that back in the very late eighties and early nineties, when the pine beetle was first discovered in Tweedsmuir Park, had the government of the day acted in a more prudent rather than political fashion and done some controlled burning and selective clear-cutting, perhaps we wouldn't have the disaster we have on our hands now. I suppose there were some provincial regulations, and they may have had the power to make some discretionary decisions back then.
My question is about the national parks. A little more than a year ago, this little bug was discovered. It had reached the western side of Banff and Jasper National Parks, and of course now it's up in the Whitecourt area. But my question is about the national parks. What government regulations are in place? If there is a forest pest outbreak in a national park, do the government departments have the discretionary power to go in there and take whatever steps they deem necessary, even if that involves clear-cutting or controlled burns, to try to destroy a pest?