Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
I appreciate the discussion that we've jumped into about this study. I appreciate it from multiple angles. There is value that comes with the studies that we do and the reports that we produce that we're able to then share with our constituents if they reach out and have questions. Like you, Mr. Chair, I chair a committee, so I also understand the value from that perspective.
If you look at my own background, you'll see that I was in the environmental field for 10 years before coming into politics, and I had many careers before that, which we won't get to. I did my graduate studies in renewable resource sciences at McGill University. For me, building an economy that provides economic opportunities while also ensuring that we're leaving a positive, lasting legacy for future generations is extremely important. This is highlighted by the fact that I have two children now, and I think about their futures.
This study, for me, was incredibly important. I wanted to learn more about every aspect of this project, and I think we were able to do that over the last couple of weeks with the wide breadth of witnesses who appeared before us. I appreciated my colleague Mr. Jowhari's remarks. They focused a lot on the economic components of this project, what we learned about the costs incurred by the government, what the projections are and how Canadians are going to get that money back.
Above and beyond that are secondary effects, positive effects for Alberta, British Columbia and the workers who were involved in this. We had witnesses come in and talk about every single aspect of this project. I don't know if this has been done before in this committee; I'm relatively new to this committee. I sat on the public safety committee prior to this. As far as I know, this is the most in-depth analysis of this project done by any committee in the House. I appreciated it. I had questions once I found out that we were doing this. I reached out to my constituents and asked them if they had questions that they wanted me to ask the witnesses who appeared. I was able to ask those questions of the ministers themselves. I was able to ask those questions of the multitude of environmental organizations that came in. I was able to ask questions about things that mattered most to them. I very much appreciated that. I got the responses that I was looking for. It's fair to say that I think each and every one of us learned something new about this project as a whole. I learned a great deal. I appreciated sharing that with my constituents, Mr. Chair.
One of the things that I have taken great pride in and that has facilitated my work as a member of Parliament is being able to use the work that is done in committee, particularly those reports, when responding to questions put forward by my constituents.
We're doing great work in the transport committee. We just finished a study on high-speed rail in Canada, which a lot of people in my community have asked me questions about. I'm able to now respond by saying, “We did a study on this. Here's a synopsis of the study. You don't have to look through 100 hours of debate in the House of Commons on this. We just did a study and brought in ministers and experts from across the field. Here's everything you need to know compiled in a document that you can read over lunch.”
We did the same thing for a study on accessibility, which was an incredible study about whether or not our transport sector in Canada is accessible for those with physical disabilities in Canada. When people reach out to me and ask what is going on and whether there is any work being done to make their life easier, I'm able to take that report and say that we did a study on this. It gives them a great idea of where we are, what's been done, and what we're recommending to the government that we do moving forward.
In this case, we spent dozens of hours studying this very important project. Mr. Clerk, I don't know if you had the opportunity to give a ballpark figure, but most studies cost in the tens of thousands of dollars when you take into consideration inviting the witnesses in, the time that we spend here, and the salaries of the incredible staff and interpreters who are working for us here. We put a lot of effort into this from a time perspective and a monetary perspective. We have a vast array of information now that we can compile into a report that doesn't just talk about the finances of it but talks about what's been done to help protect the environment, as well as what was done during the production and construction of this project to help workers across the country.
We had unions come in and talk about the benefits of the work that was done, and how proud they were to have built a project that, for all intents and purposes, was one of the most difficult projects to construct.
What I would like to see is this: Take the fruits of our labour and all of the information we've compiled on a wide array of issues surrounding this project, and turn it into a report that every single one of us can share with anybody who's interested in learning more about this project. Some say, “Well, we'll be discussing this in the House.” With all due respect, I don't know how many of my constituents, if they have a question for me, want me to respond by saying, “Do you know what you should do? Here are the 120 hours of debate in the House of Commons. Please read that. It'll give you a good idea of where we are on this project.”
We have an opportunity here to do both. We can do this study and have this great report that will give everybody a pretty good synopsis of—