Procedure and House Affairs committee  Here, too.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  We'd really have to see. We have to wait to see how well it has survived the winter and what condition it's in. I would like to clarify something about arborist reports. In May 2018, in the spring, the first report concluded that the elm tree was in good condition. The second re

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I certainly agree with you. That northeast quadrant, up until last week, was a green space on Parliament Hill. You're up here all the time and you know that in the summertime it's a pretty impressive place if you're standing in the sun out there. It's nice to be able to get a lit

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Yes. I think only a full assessment of its condition, a complete real general exam with appropriate testing, would answer that question. We just need to take the time, I think, to address that.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Yes, unless assumptions that are currently held about the size and location of the visitor centre are reconsidered, then, yes, that's the case.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  No. This is really the sole survivor. There were many elms on the Hill. I'm old enough to remember that there were elms all along the front right by the walls on the Wellington Street end. At every 50 feet maybe there was a large elm shading the front of the Parliament Buildings,

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Our request is that we wait until leaf out to really see if the tree has survived the winter, how well it has survived the winter, and then do proper investigation of its health so there is complete, conclusive, non-controversial information about that topic.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I've looked at a number of examples of historic elms like this and it's surprising how many you can actually find. Just around the table here there are examples that I could refer to. I have not seen the Washington tree itself, although I think it's in the book on the trees of D.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I think that's a very good comment. Many of these historic trees are in fact braced, trussed and filled in ways that preserve them and keep them alive. They're extraordinary measures, if you will, but people care about and want to have these trees—are awed by these trees—enough t

Procedure and House Affairs committee  It's been kind of kept alive that way. There's other examples like that. The "Comfort" maple near St. Catharines is a huge maple thought to be over 300 years old.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  You're welcome.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I would agree with you. It's for the people locally, but it's also a strong symbol. It's a strong message.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  That is one of our requests: Can we just wait until it leafs out and see whether it has, in fact, survived the winter, and if it has, in what condition?

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I would think so, although, again, I don't have that expertise myself. However, I think that probably at this point the sap has already started to rise in that tree, and I would think that whatever opportunity there was to cut it down for that purpose is probably lost at this poi

Procedure and House Affairs committee  The critical root zone of the elm right now is partly a parking lot. There's pavement and cars parked there. The rest of it, up until very recently, was very publicly accessible. There's a lot of foot traffic and a lot of vehicular traffic right around it, so that will cause comp