Thank you for the question.
As you are probably aware, we're currently in a phase in which the federal government is considering the tendering process for the second lot of Via trains. We know that our members in Thunder Bay, with their knowledge and their skills, are more than capable of building these trains. We've been a strong proponent of making sure that we build our own capacity in this country, and that we keep it and maintain it. One thing we can be doing is making sure that those Via trains are built in Thunder Bay. This will also benefit many parts of Quebec as well in terms of the engineering work.
Overall, how do we, as a country, make sure we keep our own capacity to build and manufacture? If we're to protect the sovereignty of our country, it also means protecting the manufacturing backbone of communities such as Thunder Bay. It also means we use Canadian steel and Canadian aluminum. We put all of these “buy Canadian” provisions around what we manufacture. That will employ Canadians across the spectrum, not just in building trains but in the supply chain of what's required for those trains. That is also true of how we build ships.
All of these industrial policies that we look at as a country.... We need to build things. We are an industrial country. Let's make sure we keep doing that. Let's make sure we're protecting good jobs in Canada and using good, strong procurement dollars—billions of them—to put Canadians to work.