Mr. Chair, we should let Mr. Drouin speak more. Indeed, the more he speaks, the more we realize that he should pay more attention to what was done in the past. First, the first grain crisis was settled by a minister through a decree. I can't get over it. All the member is suggesting is inaction. He suggests that we write a letter to the Senate, which owes us nothing, to ask it to accelerate things, even if the result is imperfect. This makes no sense.
I want to say to my colleague Mr. Peschisolido that we are not really the government here. We are the committee. You acknowledged that holding that meeting allowed us to put pressure on CN and CP to find solutions. Our role at the committee is to exert pressure on the government, and that is why I want us to send a letter to the government to remind it that in the past, the government has used the power of cabinet to act immediately. It did not have to wait for legislation to be passed. That is why we have to send this letter to the ministers. We want to act and send a clear message to the cabinet and the ministers. The Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food, which is not the government, must play its role by exerting pressure on the government.
The letter sent by the two ministers asks both companies, without imposing the least consequence, to present a plan so that we may perhaps see a solution soon, and that is all. For our part, we want to remind both ministers of the importance of their role. The Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food may have forgotten that he has a seat at the cabinet table. We are here to remind him as often as possible of the fact that occupying that seat allows him to make decisions, and that we want to see him make one to resolve this situation. He does not have to wait for the railway companies to take steps. He can act right away to settle this crisis.
It is important that we remember our role. Announcing that this emergency meeting would be held today did produce some effects. All of a sudden, a lot of people reacted, including CN, CP and the government. The government began to write letters, which we had been asking it to do for more than a week, to no avail. We all seem to like to write letters; remember that the first proposal requesting a letter was made by the Liberals. The only way this committee can act to solve this crisis is to write to both ministers to ask them to use all of the tools and powers at their disposal to have the railway companies respect what is in the letter we received today, or deal with consequences.