Transport committee  First, on the consultation on the bill, I've been through other bill consultations in the past, and this was nowhere close to the same standard. If we go back to 2007 and the enactment of Bill C-11, we were highly included and contacted directly by Transport Canada. That is not t

Transport committee  My own take on this is that through the relationship between Transport Canada and the class one railways, we're of the belief that there's nothing that can't be handled through the class ones for those who run on their tracks, including commuter rail operators. The class ones own

Transport committee  I had raised that issue.

Transport committee  I don't think they need the authority. They just need to ask, as exemplified by past practices.

Transport committee  In the case of West Coast Express, no.

Transport committee  I would very much echo Mr. Percy's comments. I would also add, from an oversight perspective, that there is a very good trail of due diligence in the relationship between the federal government, Transport Canada, and ourselves around the existing relationships that go on, inspect

Transport committee  Consultation is a relative thing. I would suggest that the consultation on this bill has been minimal, frankly, behind the scenes, with us. I would really question the degree of consultation here. For me, the fact of the matter--and the reason we're here today--is that we weren

Transport committee  I'd be happy to tell you. On West Coast Express, I run a contract-out type of operation. I have it reduced to only 12 full-time employees who are fully active on all kinds of elements of the business. If I go back to what I would consider to be a very successful Olympic Games

Transport committee  The West Coast Express in Vancouver is 100% on Canadian Pacific Railway.

Transport committee  Right now the indirect costs are reasonable. But if you look at the bill as it's written today, you can see the legislation as taken in proposed subsection 17.4(2): A railway operating certificate may contain any terms and conditions that the Minister considers appropriate.

Transport committee  That, to me, is carte blanche.

Transport committee  I'm of the belief, as others have already commented, that, again, it's not required. I think we've all tried to approach our business as if the taxpayer were sitting in the room with us as we conduct our business. What is reasonable and appropriate? Looking at this legislation, v

Transport committee  I'm sorry. I would also like to add that if we go back to the 2006 Railway Safety Act review, I believe there were something like 56 recommendations specifically in that extensive piece of work, and not one of them was related to the need to shape new behaviour for our agencies.

Transport committee  I would like to add that part of a monetary penalty, I would have to believe, is intended as a consequence for poor behaviour. I believe, in our case, that we have other significant accountabilities and checks and balances so that this in fact is not warranted. Let me explain, if

Transport committee  To help add to the response, I'm just going to hold up here an example of a Transport Canada inspection sheet on West Coast Express here in Vancouver, where in fact Transport Canada has inspected us directly, not even through the railways. So in this case it's just a small list o