I think it's a combination of both, quite frankly. I will tell you that right now, with the Canadian dollar strengthening against the United States dollar, we are starting to hear from some of our bridge and tunnel users. I know from talking to my colleagues that just about everyone I'm aware of is ready to address that situation.
We went from a significant disparity between the two currencies not long ago to now climbing very close to parity. But we are not insensitive to that, particularly those of us who have been established with public benefit corporations. We have to respond.
I will give you the example of how the Niagara Falls Bridge Commission began. I wouldn't be with you today if it weren't for a terrible accident. There was no loss of life, but when the Falls View Bridge--the Honeymoon Bridge--collapsed into the gorge in January 1938, it was owned by a private operator. At that time communities on both sides of the river were having some issues with the operator, and they said they had an interest in having a quasi-public entity do this because they wanted the entity to be responsive to the community. That's why the Niagara Falls Bridge Commission was created. That is why we have four Canadian commissioners and four American commissioners, to be sensitive to the interests of the communities we serve.
Finally, we perform many public purposes. In Canada, under section 6 of the Customs Act we provide hundreds of millions of dollars of infrastructure, usually at no cost whatsoever to the government. As I say, the border infrastructure fund of late has been an incredible tool in improving border operations, but generally speaking we pay to build these facilities for CBSA, and even more important, we continue to pay to maintain them. In the instance of the Niagara Falls Bridge Commission, I would estimate that cost to be about $4.5 million a year that we bear.
So obviously it is not an inexpensive pursuit operating an international crossing and making sure that it is done in a safe and efficient manner that is responsive to the interests of the people of Canada and the people of the United States. We are asking the committee and your colleagues in Parliament to clarify this language on fees and tolls so that we are able to do that efficiently and at the lowest cost to toll payers.