Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I'd also like to thank my fellow members for requesting this very important meeting to address the grain transportation issues facing farmers in western Canada.
Further to the actions taken by our government and the joint letter from the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and the Minister of Transport, we are pleased to learn that CN has already put out a press release. It therefore responded before the March 15, 5 p.m., deadline we had set.
CN intends to take a number of measures. It plans to offer incentives to key members of its operations staff who delay retirement and postpone vacations, as well as to recently retired employees who return to work. It also plans to deploy qualified managers to operate extra trains and add crews in western Canada. Approximately 250 conductors were deployed in the last three months of 2017. Some 400 conductors have been deployed in the first three months of 2018, and an additional 375 will be deployed between April and June. CN has also leased 130 locomotives, nearly all of which are currently in use, to increase capacity in western Canada. In addition, it is investing more than $250 million this year to build new track and yard capacity in western Canada. Clearly, CN is taking numerous steps.
There is obviously a lot of work to do, but the company has taken all of those actions to prevent a crisis like the one in 2013-14, which cost the economy $8 billion.
We are all glad to meet on March 21 to hear from CN, CP, and Grain Growers of Canada representatives. We will keep working together to advance the interests of Canadian farmers.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.