Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I will begin with two comments.
My first comment is about what my colleague Mr. Poilievre said. I think it would be important for the severance pay of the Canada Infrastructure Bank's former CEO to be made public, since that is public money. We must be transparent. At the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and at Hydro-Québec, among others, compensation—including premiums and indemnities—is disclosed. In my opinion, the public would benefit from that. We have no reason to hide it.
My second comment has to do with what my colleague Ms. Koutrakis said about the high-frequency rail. I don't have the right words like the ones she used about that project. It in no way replaces the high-speed train. As far as the environment goes, a high-speed train would directly compete with air connections. There would be several advantages to pass along. That's not really the same thing.
As far as cars go, they will be built in California rather than in Quebec or in Ontario. In Europe or in the United States, rail projects support rail companies set up on their territory. It would not have been complicated to impose a minimum of local content in order to maximize Canadian economic benefits. It was not a great idea.
I now go to my question. As I was saying earlier, the CIB is essentially used for project funding. Does the CIB eventually plan to undertake direct participation, such as a portion of infrastructure.
If so, I would like to bring your attention to the following issue. If the bank became a direct partner and had an interest in a municipal infrastructure project, the infrastructure would become federal in terms of jurisdiction because the bank is a federal corporation. When infrastructure under federal jurisdiction is involved, municipal regulations and provincial laws no longer apply. What should be done to guarantee that municipalities will still be masters of their own domain to establish environmental requirements, for instance?
Do you intend to accept direct participation? If so, what will you do for municipalities and provinces to remain masters of their own regulations?