The case of the mountain pine beetle is a little different from that of the forest spruce budworm. The mountain pine beetle is a bark beetle, so it goes under the bark of trees. You cannot necessarily treat mountain pine beetle by spraying insecticide in the air, as you would for the spruce budworm, which is basically a larva feeding on tree needles.
We do make some advances in terms of better understanding of how the beetle behaves, and we can improve the effectiveness of more traditional control options for this insect. This greatly helps focus efforts to help slow the spread eastward in Alberta.
Another example where we are making some advances is with the emerald ash borer. The Canadian Forest Service has developed a systemic insecticide, TreeAzin, which is used to treat high-value trees in urban areas. It protects these trees from the emerald ash borer. That's an option that tree owners or municipalities have in order to protect their trees from the borer, but it's there to stay.
We are also exploring other options to manage insects over the long term, and the CFS is leading the deployment of a biological control program in Quebec and Ontario. We are basically releasing parasitic wasps coming from China that we know are natural enemies of the emerald ash borer. We hope to lower populations and mitigate the impact that these pests can have. It's a field of study that is never-ending. We are always trying to improve the way these pests are managed.
Thank you.