Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you guys for coming and presenting to the committee. Your knowledge is greatly appreciated.
I listened with great interest to Mr. Connors' initial comments regarding the growing threat of wildfires and their robust and apparently growing nature throughout this country. I'm from Calgary, Alberta, but we were under siege up in Fort McMurray, Alberta, where we had the fire that was called “the beast” because of how intense it was, how it kept growing and how it threatened not only the natural landscape but almost the town of Fort McMurray. I'd like to applaud the first responders and firefighters up there who did such a great job.
I have a question for you. Although you can't put a specific, exact cause on any one fire, is it your organization's opinion that climate change is the cause of increased fire breakouts and disasters throughout this country?