Agriculture committee  I can. I hear you in English.

Agriculture committee  Yes, if bees develop in a particular environment, they are more adapted to that particular environment. If we raise bees here in Canada, they will be more adapted to our conditions. If bees are imported from other regions of the world and raised in those regions of the world, they will be adapted to those regions of the world, so what's important is that we import bees from locations that have similar conditions to ours.

Agriculture committee  I'm totally in favour of that option of being self-sustainable. I'm totally in favour of promoting the strengthening of our bee breeding industry. There are obstacles, of course, that we must consider. We have a short season for queen breeding here in Canada compared to the U.S. or other countries.

Agriculture committee  I understood only part of what you asked because I don't speak French—

Agriculture committee  It sounds good, but I need help from a technician to set up the system.

Agriculture committee  I don't have that option here. I'm working with a Mac, so that's probably the issue. I don't have that option of translation.

Agriculture committee  Yes, it's going to be one minute.

Agriculture committee  All right. These tech transfer teams are trying to establish programs at the national level working on sustainability issues with the Canadian Honey Council. We need to aim at sustainability and self-sufficiency to reduce colony losses. The government could lead this effort and provide economic support for these activities.

Agriculture committee  Thank you very much for the invitation to speak to you today. I was invited to speak about about honeybee mortality. I'm not going to repeat much of how important bees are for agricultural and ecology, only to say that they play a critical role in the production of food and in sustaining ecosystems and biodiversity.