Thank you. Yes, I will be splitting my time with Mr. Longfield.
Thank you all for being here today.
Rail companies have looked after railroad farm crossings since 1894, as my colleague mentioned. When they severed farms, they were required to find a way to let farmers cross over the railways so they could get to the other parts of their farm.
In Waterloo region, I have 15 private and farm crossings on the CN line and 12 on the CPKC line. The farmers are justifiably nervous. They've been told that they have to pay $600,000 to up to $2 million in costs, and that's just unacceptable. Farmers cannot afford a bill like that.
It sounds to me like you are taking action, and I appreciate that, but it sounds like it was forced upon you. Can each of you tell me on what date your company decided to walk away from the agreement from 1894? What date did you say that you weren't going to pay? Can you also tell me when you changed your mind and said you were going to work with farmers and cover those costs?
Maybe I'll start with Mr. Cato.