It's good to see you here.
I'm glad this bill is finally in front of us. I'm very happy that we have a chance to deal with this Railway Safety Act. It's been in front of committees several times.
We know that the voice recorder and the positive train control system will improve the safety of both passenger and freight trains. My concern is that VIA Rail has had one-third of capital projects cut in terms of funding, and the ongoing annual cut is at 4%. I believe it's close to $20 million that VIA Rail is going to lose every year from the government.
This recent talk about privatization of their profitable lines would make matters worse. Even if they want to put in the voice recorder in the locomotive cab, and I hope they will soon, and serious consideration is given to the positive train control system, they won't have the money to install them.
How do we go about giving VIA Rail the financial muscle to improve its safety system?