The minister, I would have to say, is very, very preoccupied with the state of grain transportation in the country.
For those of you who are not familiar with the Emerson report, it's the report of the Canada Transportation Act review that was led by David Emerson and involved a panel of eminent persons such as Marie-Lucie Morin, former deputy minister of trade, and Murad Al-Katib, who is a pulse entrepreneur and one of the biggest pulse producers in Canada, if not the biggest, and who has a global reach in that business. The panel members were very attuned to the importance of transportation and the linkages of transportation to Canada's economic competitiveness.
A significant part of the CTA review was driven by the needs of grain transportation, hence the member's quite important question about the engagement of our minister. In the minister's mandate letter, his direction from the Prime Minister is that he will undertake, with the Minister of Transport, a full grain-supply-chain examination of the CTA review report and what it means for grain supply.
I would have to say by way of context that Canadian grain travels further to tidewater than that of any competitor country in the world. On average, a bushel of wheat will travel 1,200 to 1,500 kilometres to get to tidewater. By way of comparison, an American equivalent would be probably in the 400- to 500-kilometre range, and likewise in Australia, just because there are more outlets in those countries.
Grain transportation, particularly by rail, is a critically competitive issue for our Canadian grain farmers, and the minister is very focused on it.