Thank you, Dr. Dragon. Mr. O'Reilly.

Thanks, Mr. Chair. Yes, and I recognize this is an area where the federal government should be providing some assistance, as well. Am I hearing, then, that the department is going to be bringing forward a supplementary appropriation to do this work? Thanks, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. O'Reilly. Minister McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, that partially depends on what the federal government does as far as funding goes and then the release of our strategy. If we can have the numbers in place for the next business planning process, we will go through that. If there is a need for appropriation before that time, then standard practice is that the department goes to the FMB to request supplementary appropriation. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Minister McLeod. Any further questions? Seeing none, I shall call this activity on page 78. Environment and Natural Resources, environment, operations expenditure summary, $4,290,000. Does committee agree?

Agreed. Before pursuing on to the other half, the chair recognizes that supper is here, so we will take a break for supper at the call of the chair. Dr. Dragon and Ms. Craig, you are invited to join us.

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We can call committee back to order and begin with the next activity, starting on page 82 and ending in 84. Forest management. Questions to this activity? Mr. Vanthuyne.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, a couple of years ago, I think it was 2014-2015, those were those two back-to-back years where we had considerable forest fires. They were big fire years and they happened to take place the same time that we were having low water years. Unfortunately, over those couple of years, we did lose some assets. I know that we had some reviews take place, and I'm just wondering if the department or the Minister can confirm with us what the department is doing now as it relates to some of the recommendations that stem from those inspection or review reports, and are we putting appropriate funding and resources towards those recommendations to make sure that we're limiting the loss of assets in the future? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Vanthuyne. Minister McLeod?

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, the report that was done a few years ago, there were recommendations that were made. We've integrated a lot of those recommendations into how we do business as we go forward. We've been able to do that with the existing funding, and if there's a need to acquire additional funding to help us implement some of those, then ENR will come forward with the proper appropriation. I'm thinking ENR has done a good job in integrating those recommendations into the existing budget on how we deal with those as we go forward. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Minister McLeod. Mr. Vanthuyne.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I respect that we had some inspections take place and we did these reviews, and they resulted in reports that we're now learning from and initiating. Did we at the end of the day reach out as a department, not through any inspectors, but as a department, did we reach out to any of the asset holders and gain any insight from them what they might have to offer as it relates to the experience that they had in losing their assets? If we have, is there anything that we had learned from talking to or listening to those stakeholders? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Vanthuyne. Dr. Dragon.

Thank you, Dr. Dragon. Mr. Vanthuyne.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I appreciate that, and I also appreciate that we're going to put the proper resources towards hopefully preventing some loss of assets in the future. I know to some degree it's maybe impossible. With that said, let's move on to talk about our new water bomber fleet. Is there anything that the department can do to kind of inform us of how well the new water bomber fleet is working? I appreciate that we didn't have as big a season, thankfully. That's something to be thankful for, that we didn't have as big a fire season last year. How is the water bomber fleet working out? Are we sending our water bombers to other jurisdictions when they're in need of help, and have we sold off our old water bombers? What's the status on our water bomber situation for our government? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Vanthuyne. Minister McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, the new firefighting fleet that we have is getting rave reviews. They're very, very efficient, and they've done everything we expected them to do, which is good. The Member is absolutely correct. We're fortunate this year, we haven't had an opportunity to see how they really work but that's a good thing. The maintenance cost on these are practically nil for the next few years. As far as the old water bomber fleet, those have all been sold and the money is in the bank. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Minister McLeod. Mr. Vanthuyne.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Well, this is all good news. During our years that we don't have as much firefighting to contain, do we ever send our water bomber fleet to other jurisdictions, or do we typically not do that? That's just a curiosity question. Thank you, Mr. Chair, and that is my final question. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Vanthuyne. Minister McLeod.

Yes, thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, well, first of all, we look after our own territory, but if it is not a busy fire season and if we have the resources, the answer is yes, we will look at letting other jurisdictions use them. I am assuming we get paid for that, but I will confirm. We do get paid for that. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Minister McLeod. Mr. Blake.