Environment committee  We've had 200 years of fairly dramatic landscape change in settled areas of Canada, particularly in areas that are deriving income from the land. The land has been cleared; many of the wetlands have been drained. We have lost about 70% of the basins on the Prairies. It's unfortunately a trend that continues today.

Environment committee  Absolutely. Certainly in the Prairies we have seen a lot more water on the land than we have seen in recent years. From a Ducks Unlimited standpoint, it is impacting our projects. We build diking systems typically to 100-year floodline conditions. We have seen one in 300-year flooding twice over the last decade.

Environment committee  I think the issue of climate change is inextricably intertwined with hunting, trapping, fishing, and certainly environmental policy and overall land management. We have seen more incidents of severe weather right across the country—

Environment committee  Certainly the boreal region is one of our highest priority areas. It produces an estimated 17 million breeding ducks every year, so it's an area of Canada that we have devoted a lot of scientific resources to studying, and also funding, working with all levels of government to protect it.

Environment committee  If you wanted an example—

Environment committee  Yes. It's the wetlands loss that's the issue.

Environment committee  I would say likely not.

Environment committee  There are many. Second Marsh in Oshawa is certainly one. Tiny Marsh in Simcoe County is another. There are quite a number of examples to draw from.

Environment committee  The drainage ditches are a vehicle through which wetlands are drained. So we have been arguing for some time that if you're going to address the problem, you need to address the root of the problem, which is the loss of the wetland on the landscape.

Environment committee  Yes, we have certainly said that before this committee in the past, and again we would think that would certainly be a viable approach.

Environment committee  Can you clarify for me just exactly what you mean? Are you speaking of specific policies?

Environment committee  Well, certainly Ducks Unlimited has been active in suggesting to all levels of government that fairly broad sweeping wetland protection measures be put in place across the country. There are some policies that are in effect, and there are particularly effective policies in Atlantic Canada, where certainly the bulk of the wetlands are protected and there are mitigation sequences in place that strive to find solutions to replicating or restoring wetlands that have been unavoidably lost.

Environment committee  Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Ducks Unlimited Canada is grateful for the opportunity to appear before this committee on this important issue. My name is Jim Brennan. I'm the director of government affairs based here in Ottawa and my colleague, Dr.

Canadian Heritage committee  We support the establishment of a day to recognize and celebrate hunting, fishing, and trapping, so, absolutely. The core of our supporters are obviously conservationists but we have many supporters who are hunters, fishermen, and trappers.

Canadian Heritage committee  Certainly, I can sympathize with the problem that Mr. Falk has with his company because we have exactly the same human resources issue at the start of the hunting and fishing seasons in our organization. That being said, certainly there are an awful lot of activities that are going on across Canada right now that really we would use this to draw significantly greater attention to, particularly in our organization, with our mentored hunting program.