Good morning. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you to the committee member for the question.
With regard to office location, you have existing buildings and staff in place, so given our virtual world and our ability, they can work transboundary in the existing watersheds that are there, being cognizant of those particular watersheds. For example, the Winnipeg office is located, of course, in Winnipeg within the Lake Winnipeg basin, which covers a large chunk of Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and northwestern Ontario. I think there should be recognition that they are working within those areas, but whether the agency is developed to work within those larger watersheds like Lake Winnipeg, the Mackenzie, the Nelson, etc., that needs to be looked at.
There also needs to be recognition that some of those water bodies here on the Prairies in the area where I work.... The International Souris River Board and the International Red River Watershed Board exist because those watersheds also extend into the U.S. The International Joint Commission, in place along the Canada-U.S. border, works on those water bodies, such as the Great Lakes or the Souris River. It's important that it also liaise with those organizations.
Be cognizant of watersheds because they all merge together. Lake Winnipeg is comprised of four major watersheds. That is going to be important, moving forward, for a successful agency.