Thank you.
I'm glad to hear that people are looking at Canada, which is a world leader on those issues and many others related to responsible resource development, particularly with regard to partnerships with indigenous communities.
I was interested in your account of the history and your attempts to continue to be able to practice controlling insects through controlled viruses at specific times of the year. I just wanted to let you know that last week a member of this committee made the suggestion that there shouldn't be any action taken. He said, “Why are we trying to manage an ecology when we don't even know what it's meant to look like...and nature will take its course? I'm trying to understand why we should not just in some sense leave well enough alone”. He questions whether or not there should be any action taken at all.
I wonder if you have any further comments on traditional practices of managing insects and forests. Also, being from northern Alberta, I know there were recently historic forest fires there that had impacts on the local communities, but also disproportionately on indigenous communities in the region. I don't know if you have any comments on that issue as well.