Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you to the minister for his appearance here today.
I'm relatively new to the transport committee. I came over just before Christmas. One thing that's become really clear to me is that the responsibilities in Transport Canada are massive. They're complex. But the portfolio also deals with some very critical priorities, critical responsibilities, from coast to coast.
To start, this Conservative government is addressing green initiatives in the Great Lakes Basin. We can't overlook that this is important in my hometown of Amherstburg, for example. The last primary only treatment facility on the Canadian side of the Great Lakes is now being replaced with a new $30 million facility there because of COMRIF.
We're addressing long-term structural needs with respect to international trade, and I don't think this can be downplayed. This is very significant. Not only our window on Asia, with respect to the Pacific gateway initiative, but our window on the United States, which for me is one of the most critical.... It is our reality in the Windsor region. We have the busiest border crossing, not just in North America but in the world: $1 million per minute in two-way trade with the United States at the Ambassador Bridge, at that corridor only. So it's critical to Canada's economy, all the way to Quebec. We often joke that—you may well know, Minister—there are 17 stoplights between Montreal and Mexico and they're all on an 11-kilometre stretch from the end of the 401 to the border along here on Church Road in Windsor. The infrastructure is over 75 years old there.
Budget 2007 made a commitment. It did a few things. One, it outlined the federal government's responsibilities with respect to funding the projects there, the new crossing, and it further announced $400 million as a downpayment.
First, to either you or your officials—whoever is fine—can you verify that that is included in the estimates, that $400 million downpayment with respect to the Windsor–Detroit crossing?