Professor Ebrahimi also told us that the most lucrative airports, the ones that perform the best across the board, are public airports. That makes it reassuring to hear you say that private airports aren't the cure-all. They won't solve every problem, because we know that there are public airports elsewhere in the world, and they're the best.
That said, I would like to move on to intermodality. You know how attached I am to the maritime sector. Your government has announced a program that's going to fund 50% of the cost of transporting Canadian steel by rail. I was surprised. I asked you about this in the House, and I know that you're currently thinking about a solution. In fact, this puts the maritime sector at a disadvantage.
As you know, there are currently 122 Canadian vessels transporting steel, and their owners are confused as to why they would be disadvantaged because rail gets 50% funding. We're more of the belief, Minister, that if you want to help steel transportation, which is a good thing, maybe you should let the customer choose their mode of transportation.
Is the program in effect? Has the money started to be paid to the rail industry?
When I talk about the rail sector, I'm talking about Canadian National Railway or Canadian Pacific Railway. I don't think these companies need financial assistance.