Thank you, both of you, for coming in.
As you can tell by the comments you've alluded to from others as well as some of your own, this is a contentious issue between the parties, quite frankly.
To be perfectly candid with both of you, the tenor and tone of your comments is such that it doesn't bode well for trying to work out the problems. I would agree with Mr. Mongeau that the idea of finger pointing is not always helpful. If one wants to actually do something here, I would suggest that we all need to take half a step backwards and take a deep breath. I would say that to all players, not just the railroads, so that folks can get to a place where there's a conversation happening.
Without a conversation, there will be no solutions, unless of course we impose them, which we have the absolute right to do. As the governors of this country, all of us in this Parliament get that right through the Canadian public. We don't suggest that everyone always loves what we do or agrees with what we do, but we have the absolute right to do it. I would suggest that folks need to think about that as we head forward.
There needs to be a solution to this issue in the short term, and indeed over the longer term, where all players are a part of the solution and not simply standing idly by saying, “It's not my fault. It's their fault.”
I think you've raised some interesting points about the grain handling system. I believe they are part of the problem, quite frankly. I would agree with you, sir.
I heard what Mr. Creel just said. He floated around some numbers.
The first question would be on whether you have those numbers. If you could table them with the committee, on the port of Vancouver, I'd appreciate it. The information I have, which was just given last Wednesday, by the way, in Saskatchewan, by the head of the union at the port of Vancouver, is that it's not true that it's backed up, and it's not true that they're not available to go to work. There may be an issue about the grain companies asking them to come to work, but he's saying that's not his members' situation. They're saying that they're ready to work the weekend as well in those ports in Vancouver.
If you have the numbers, sir, that you just quoted, and you can get them to committee, we'd appreciate it.
The minister said the other day that their expectation is that commodity movement across the country will go up. The question for both of you would be what the long-term plan is for the railroads as far as this excess is concerned. I'm not suggesting a surge here. I understand surges are hard to play with; they are hard to figure out, hard to anticipate.
What is your long-term strategy? I'm not asking you to divulge to each other; you may have different things. Do you have a long-term plan? Let's be truthful: you're an integral part of the economy. There's not anybody in this room who doesn't know that. There's no Canadian who doesn't know that. The railroaders are iconic, in a way.
We see surge and we see excess capacity. Do you have plans for this? Is this simply going to be, “Well, we did our best, and that's about as good as we're going to do. We made money for our shareholders and we don't have to make it any better”?