I think you're confusing a certain number of things, Mr. Volpe. First of all, my predecessor, Mr. Lapierre, did not have an action plan that was available. I just asked my deputy minister that question and that's not the case. So there wasn't something, the day that I came in and was sworn in, that I could come in with in front of this committee and say, “Here's the plan, gentleman, let's go forward.” That wasn't the case.
On the issue of the safety audit and the notices that we put forward, we did in effect do that. We went back and checked a certain number of issues in the summer of last year. We then indicated to the authorities of CN that we wanted them to abide by these enforcement measures that we were putting forward. There was some discussion. They refused. They didn't want to do it. We literally, and I'm being quite transparent here, said, “Well, if this is not the case, we're going to bring you to court on this issue.” They then indicated that negotiations and discussions were to take place. They took place, and then they slowly complied with it.
But this having been said, Mr. Volpe, at the end of the day, I did not have any intent or any idea on my part to cover this up. CN indeed had indicated to us that they didn't want this information to be made public, and we were obliged to follow what the law requires of us. Then, further and pursuant to that, they said, “Okay, fine, we'll make that information public.”
That's my version. That's the version my officials had, and that, as far as I'm concerned, is what the truth is here on this issue.
