Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I want to thank all the witnesses for their presentations. I also thank them for being here to answer our questions.
My first question is for you, Mr. Ferguson. I think this is my first opportunity to put a question to you. I will use the opportunity to congratulate you and tell you what a great deal of respect I have for the role all your office's employees play and for the responsibilities they assume. I am a new member—I was elected in 2015. Every time your office produces a report, it provides us with so much insight and helps us play our role as representatives of constituents. Thank you for that.
I am the new critic for infrastructure and communities, so I considered this report in particular. What I found interesting in the report was how much it is focused on the future. It talks about lessons that can be learned from this tremendous project and the steps that led to the building of the Champlain Bridge. It enlightens us on decisions we will need to make in other infrastructure projects, as this will not be the last one.
In your report, you say that costs will be higher and, even worse, that the government was unable to say how it came to the conclusion that a public-private partnership would help it save $1.75 billion as announced. According to you, a traditional model would have cost less.
Since we will have to make these types of decisions in the future, I would like to know how much money could have been saved by using a traditional model. In addition, what makes the costs escalate when a public-private partnership is used, as in this case?