Thank you, Mr. Chair.
My first questions will be to the Transportation Safety Board. I'm well aware of the value of your work, having suffered through the largest freshwater spill in history, at Lake Wabamun.
My concern goes to the move for fiscal austerity and the ability for continued program integrity. I've looked through all the reports by the Transportation Safety Board, the report on plans and priorities, the strategic plan, the supplementary (B) estimates, and so forth. I'm reading—either it's forthright or between the lines—some concerns expressed by the Transportation Safety Board, and I think they are deserved.
You've reported that approximately 20% of rail staff in rail investigations will be eligible to retire within 24 months. Then, in your strategic plan, you state a concern with the high number of staff retirements. You have a concern that with the need to keep pace with the changes in industry, you will need to operate within limited resources to effectively deliver your tasks. You also reported, in plans and priorities, significant decreases in pipeline investigations over the next three years, which seems a little puzzling given the mounting concern by the public with the age of pipelines and potential accidents. Then you express that you are not able to meet half of your air investigations on time.
Could you speak to whether or not you have any concerns with...? Has PCO actually done a careful review of whether you're going to be able to deliver these critical services to Canadians within these cuts?
I have a second question for you, but I see that the bells are ringing.