Mr. Chair, thank you for your question.
The federal government does have a presence and a role to play, more in terms of certain modes than others. As we know, in Canada, the highway system mostly falls under provincial and municipal jurisdictions.
That said, we are working with the provinces in a variety of areas to get an overall view, across Canada, of the four main modes of transportation—rail, sea, air and road. The idea of a common portal seems to be very relevant and is likely to provide major benefits.
That said, the project nevertheless presents some significant challenges. Similar practices would have to be established for the management of that website, be it in terms of data renewal frequency, adoption of standards or adoption of an identical taxonomy—whereby the same terminology would be used, either in terms of secondary or connecting roadways. All those challenges must be taken into account before we head down that road.
As I mentioned, we are already collaborating very closely on certain files. We are producing joint reports with provincial and territorial governments, including a report on the national highway network. That report is the result of a federal-provincial collaboration. The information has been posted on the website of the Council of Ministers Responsible for Transportation and Highway Safety and the Council of Deputy Ministers Responsible for Transportation and Highway Safety. This could provide an idea of what types of products could be made available on a common portal.