The Galápagos Islands, part of the Republic of Ecuador, are an archipelago of volcanic islands distributed on either side of the equator in the Pacific Ocean surrounding the centre of the Western Hemisphere, 906 kilometres (563 miles) west of continental Ecuador. The islands are known for their large number of endemic species and were studied by Charles Darwin during the second voyage of HMS Beagle. His observations and collections contributed to the inception of Darwin’s theory of evolution by means of natural selection.

Dear Mr. Brown,

I wish to request a leave of absence since my father has been admitted to the hospital with a broken hip. While he is expected to recover fully, he does need someone to tend to him once he is discharged, which will be next Tuesday. I’m uncertain how long his recovery will take, which is why I need to apply for a leave of absence.

I understand that you must be concerned about my work responsibilities, but as you know I had applied for leave for the last week of December and first week of January for a vacation with my family. You had approved this leave last Monday, so I have been working extra hard and putting in a lot of effort to complete my projects. I’m apologetic for this situation, but there is nothing else I can do. I do assure you that all my work will be properly handled before I leave.

Firstly, the Henderson project that was in conjunction with the Winnipeg office has just been completed. In regards to my other projects, the Wilkinson project will be finished tomorrow, i.e. Tuesday, and the Petersen job will be finished on Thursday. Then, I plan to work through Friday and then fly out that night. While I am away it may be possible to work remotely. If this is not possible, I could update Robert Beltran regarding my work. He and I have been working closely on several projects and he had agreed to take over my duties during my planned vacation.

Now, unfortunately I don’t know what to expect at this stage, but I do plan to stay in regular contact via email. I will also be available by telephone if needed. I understand that I must also speak with Human Resources Department regarding my absence. I will do this once I get confirmation from you regarding my request. I understand I must complete several forms before I leave. I will also keep you updated about the situation and try to get back to work as soon as possible.

Please let me know at the earliest so that I may make the necessary arrangements.

Yours faithfully,

A. The Canadian boreal forest is a very large bio-region that extends in length from the Yukon-Alaska border right across the country to Newfoundland and Labrador. It is over 1,000 kilometres in width and separates the arctic tundra region from southern Canada. It is considered to be the largest intact forest on earth, with around three million square kilometres still undisturbed by roads, cities and industrial development. Because it is still intact it has captured the interest of both environmentalists and conservation scientists who view the untouched regions of the forest as an opportunity for large-scale conservation that would otherwise be impractical in other parts of the world.

B. The most dominant characteristic of the forest is that much of it consists of large, even-aged stands of trees. These stands contain trees of equal age and this uniformity is due to a unique cycle of natural disturbances such as forest fires, or outbreaks of pine beetle or spruce budworm that kill large tracts of forest with cyclical regularity. For instance, within the forest there are many stands of white spruce, black spruce, and balsam fir that are vulnerable to the cyclical outbreaks of the spruce budworm.

C. Ever since the melting of the great ice sheet, the boreal forest has been through many cycles of natural death. This has been the result of fire, insect outbreaks and disease. These are always followed by regeneration. Prior to European colonization of Canada and the application of modern firefighting equipment and techniques, the natural burn/regeneration cycle was less than 75 to 100 years, and it still is in many areas.

D. The forest itself is rich in water resources and contains more lakes and rivers than any comparably sized landmass on earth. It has been estimated that the region contains over 1.5 million lakes with a minimum surface area of 40,000 square metres as well as some of Canada’s largest lakes. Most large boreal lakes have cold water species of fish like trout and whitefish, while in warmer waters, species may include northern pike, walleye and smallmouth bass. There are also vast areas of wetlands. The two predominant wetland areas are the Hudson Bay Lowland and the Mackenzie River basin. Both are among the ten largest wetlands in the world and they provide wildlife habitat, maintain water flow in rivers, and store significant amounts of carbon that otherwise would be released to the atmosphere.

E. Not given in any of the above paragraphs

Recently, an elderly couple was lost in the forest near Red Deer. As it was getting dark, Constable Ben Brooks was called in. Brooks was essential because he is in charge of the drones that were used to locate the couple. Although the drones were able to find the couple, Brooks acknowledges that had the couple walked far into the woods, their detection would have been more difficult. This is because of Canada’s rules on drones which dictate that the drones must be within line of sight of their operator. According to Brooks, this is unacceptable and could result in loss of life.

Marc Embers, a drone coordinator for a major environmental firm, agrees, ""The permission to fly beyond line of sight would open up many areas in which a drone could fly and make it possible to look into areas that are both remote and difficult to access. This would be advantageous for police, fire fighters and rescue personnel as it could save many lives.""

Constable Dave Smith, a pilot with the Saskatoon Police emergency services, who also agrees, cites that the rules governing the use of drones are problematic, especially during emergencies. He states that many drones could be flown up to 8 km, but current regulation prohibits this. According to Smith, the federal government needs to acknowledge the differences between emergency services and a hobbyist. ""The rules are truly meant to apply to drone enthusiasts, and they should be, but when we’re talking about a situation concerning life and death, the official use of drones should be broadened to allow us to go beyond the line of sight.""

It has been known that Transport Canada, the regulatory agency which oversees drones, has on occasion relaxed its guidelines under certain situations if it is in the public interest. According to a spokesman, ""Transport Canada is always ready to work with any agency that requires relaxation on drone limits. We ask that we be notified first since there is potential risk to commercial and private aircraft.""

Even so, a relaxation of the agency’s rules, even in cases of emergency, could lead to ethical dilemmas in the future, according to Susan McGee, a litigator who takes on privacy issues for the Canadian Civil Liberties Association. ""Such flexibility could potentially open the door to the use of drones for spying on individual citizens, thereby violating their right to privacy.