Thank you, Madam Chair.
I want to begin by acknowledging all of the witnesses here today.
My first question is for Ms. Hogan.
Ms. Hogan, it is a pleasure to see you again today.
There are precisely 75 railway companies in Canada. Their role under the Railway Safety Act is to ensure the safety of their own operations. Yet, as we read your report, we find that the railroads are not able to fulfill their responsibilities and ensure that the railroads are safer. While Transport Canada has stated that there is more monitoring activity, it cannot demonstrate whether there is an improvement in rail safety.
You are certainly getting to know me, Ms. Hogan. I made it a point to review the history of the Railway Safety Act. I found that the Railway Safety Management System Regulations were not created several years ago, but in 2001. So since 2001, railroads have been responsible for implementing their own systems of field audits by federal inspectors.
During the preparation of your report, did you obtain any data that might have shown a correlation between the changes made by the various governments, this deregulation, frankly, and the disastrous rail safety situation that we currently have?