Procedure and House Affairs committee  Thank you for having me this morning.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  We had thought, in fact, that it was going to be a staging area in that way. If that's the case, then it would just need to be protected. We were told, that, no, in fact that tree and all the other trees that were there are in the middle of the planned excavation area.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  You're very welcome.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Elms are actually both sexes. They self-pollinate.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  It could survive and it could propagate itself.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  That's a very good point. The seeds could likely be harvested. There is a group called the elm recovery project, at the arboretum at the University of Guelph.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Have you been?

Procedure and House Affairs committee  That group collects genetic material from these centenary elms. This particular elm wasn't registered with them, and we registered it with the arboretum. We spoke with PSPC when we had the opportunity to meet with Ms. Garrett—who is here today—and we spoke about the elm recover

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Locally, it's just one tree. It has produced and continues to fix carbon and to exhale oxygen that we breathe in, but it is just one tree. In the big picture, we're not making the argument that this going to have an impact in that sense. We are saying that this is not just any

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I think that's a correct assumption, yes.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  In normal circumstances, the root ball of a tree more or less mirrors the crown of the tree. That's kind of the general rule of thumb, but it really depends on local growing conditions. If the soil is somehow in certain areas not as permeable as in other areas, the roots will fin

Procedure and House Affairs committee  That's likely, yes. Mind you, there is technology now that allows you to remote sense underground and map out the root pattern of a tree.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  There are arborists who have this equipment. In fact we've had some contact us to offer to provide that kind of service.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I can.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  As far as I know, if it's not in the immediate vicinity of the root ball of the tree—the vibrations might alter the actual structure of the earth around it and that might loosen up its roots. Unless it's very close to there, I don't know that it would have any negative effect on