Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you for appearing before the committee, Minister. I am going to make a comment and ask two questions.
My comment deals with what was said by my Liberal colleague, Mr. McGuinty. You are quite right: Bill C-11 does not deal with security problems, including problems at the Pierre-Elliott-Trudeau airport, and neither did Bill C-44, which was introduced by the Liberal government.
This morning, there were again problems on the tarmac with smuggling. There has been infiltration by organized crime and concerns about employees. I think that this is worrisome, Minister, but I am sure that you will address these problems in upcoming legislation. But that is not the thrust of the bill that we are considering here today.
I will now go to my two questions.
Transit authorities are asking some questions. I know that you understand the situation because of your experience at the municipal level and in the transportation industry. Will this legislation make it possible to somehow force the hand of companies that have abandoned rail lines, so that they can be used for public transit? Could that be done through mediation? It is not because they have abandoned rail lines that companies will necessarily decide to negotiate in good faith. Have you thought about that, or is this something that the committee might look at improving?