Senator Cordy: Thank you very much. That’s an excellent question. I recall that incident in New Brunswick, and when you brought it back up again, a shiver went up my spine as to how this could happen.

I was particularly alarmed, as I said in my speech, that between 4,000 and 7,000 big cats are found in private ownership, and that to me is very scary. Big cats are not meant to be living in homes and having private ownership. The same thing that happened in New Brunswick with the snake could conceivably happen again. I think this bill contains measures for protecting the public from privately owned exotic and potentially dangerous wild animals.

I don’t know the bill as well as Senator Klyne does, but from the research that I have done, I would say that is the case. I know that currently there are provinces like British Columbia that have stringent controls, some like Ontario that have none and probably a lot that are in between. My understanding is that this bill will go a long way in preventing big cats from being owned by private individuals.

Senator Mockler: That is a fundamental issue that is in the spirit of Bill S-222. I will go back a little and talk about tree planting in North America. Canada was, and still is, the leader in the forestry industry, especially in northwestern New Brunswick, with the large industrial family of the Irving Group of Companies. There are also many other companies across this country that are part of this industry.

I was impressed by the current government’s efforts to create and implement a program to plant 2 billion trees across Canada. Every province, no matter where we live, will reap the benefits. These trees will restore balance to the forest and lead to the development of new wood products, such as laminated lumber. However, we will have to be very careful. In some areas of the country, certain tree species grow better than others.

I will conclude by mentioning that we will have to prove to stakeholders, whether they are industries, small and medium‑sized businesses, or workers in the forestry industry, that Bill S-222 will have major benefits that will lead to a better economy.