Mr. Speaker, I live on Vancouver Island and we have been in pretty desperate straits with regard to rail service. Our passenger rail service has not been in operation for a number of years because of the state of the tracks and the other infrastructure. Our freight service is in jeopardy as well, although it is still operating. However, on Vancouver Island it is an important part of our transportation infrastructure.
In some of our rural communities rail infrastructure is critical for our economy and the environment as well because it helps keep some of those trucks off the road. In Nanaimo—Cowichan we have something called the Malahat and several times a year that road is regularly shut down, either due to accidents or due to weather conditions. The rail service then is even more critical for moving freight. I wonder if the member could comment on that.