There are 18 interswitching points in the three prairie provinces.
What we have said in this legislation is that currently, if you're within a 30-kilometre radius of one of these interswitching points, you can have the carrier that is your carrier, the one that you're captive to, bring you, at a regulated rate under the Canadian Transportation Agency, to that interswitching point, where someone else can pick you up and take you on the long haul. We've expanded that radius from 30 kilometres to 160 kilometres. As Minister Ritz points out, on the grain side it's going to.... He'll tell you what the statistics are in terms of your choice.
It always starts with the same thing. You have to do a deal with the shipper to take you to your end destination or your terminus point. This allows you to choose how to get to that interswitching point. It allows you to choose who takes you from that interswitching point. The carrier that you have will take you there at a regulated rate. Basically, that's the theory behind going from 30 kilometres to 160 kilometres.
It was developed at a time when we wanted to discourage railways running together so closely, especially in urban areas. That's why 100 years ago we came up with the interswitching concept. It was kept in the last Canadian transportation review, and indeed we're looking at it again this time.
I don't know whether or not the people who ship in your area, Mr. Payne, are going to utilize this ability to contract with another carrier at the interswitch point, but we have made it possible for them to do so if they're in that radius.