Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
My questions are about the process. I am trying to understand why you insist on having the committee travel across the country. I do not have a problem with that, because I think we've come to that stage. As you undoubtedly know, duplication between Quebec and Ottawa has often been deplored. This is one case where Quebec, through its Department of Sustainable Development, Environment and Parks, could very well issues the necessary approvals without the federal government having to intervene. That is not a problem and I think the consensus in Quebec is that the time has come to modernize the act.
However, I do see a problem with the table in guidance document. You note that in 2007, Transport Canada received approximately 5,000 applications. Between 2,500 and 2,800 of these applications were approved and some, fewer than 1,000 I believe, required environmental assessments. That means that 2,300 applications were not approved. You say you received 4,500 applications. So then, several thousand applications were rejected. Correct?