Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
My first question is for you, Mr. Desrosiers. Thank you very much for coming. I am going to start with a short introduction. It was important for us that you be here as mayor of Montmagny, because you have experienced certain situations in recent years. First of all, I must tell you that the study this committee is undertaking is non-partisan. All parties believe that there is a problem with railway safety, and we must understand the situation. Transport Canada, above all in the area of railway transportation, particularly over the past five years, has put in place a safety management system. The same is being done for air transportation, and the committee discussed that at other meetings. As part of these safety management systems, the company takes charge. The way things are done has changed. There are fewer visual Transport Canada inspectors, and the company is responsible for the safety of its equipment and its rails. It must establish a management system, and Transport Canada audits it. Transport Canada audits the system, instead of conducting the visual inspections on-site as it did in the past.
I was listening to Mr. Anderson. It is accurate that there are fewer inspections. We would like to see more visual inspections. Everywhere else in the world, when a safety management system is put in place, the visual inspection must not be set aside, as that is what makes it possible to detect problems if the inspections are done systematically.
I want you to tell my colleagues what that can lead to. Over the past five years, you have been through two derailments. So the safety management system... I asked the acting director of the Transportation Safety Board a question on that, and he could not confirm that the famous management systems had reduced the number of accidents. There was some wonderful reduction in the number of accidents, but there was not a reduction for you. More occurred. I would like you to give me an overview about how people are feeling and about the relations you have with the operator who, to my mind, does not always seem to listen to your recommendations.