Thank you, Mr. Chair.
My first question goes to you, Mr. Mackay. I am surprised. In your presentation, I sense some disappointment with the bill that has been tabled today.
But if the presentation that the Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communitiesmade to us last week is anything to go by, the situation that you are experiencing today has been known since 2000-2001. According to what he told us about Transport Canada, discussions on these questions have been going on since then. In 2006, he asked to hear your opinion and for you to come up with a commercial solution to these disputes. He told us that, unfortunately, the two camps had not been able to find common ground.
That concerns me greatly. Today, we have to discuss this bill. I too would have preferred you to have come to an agreement for a commercial solution. It is as clear as day that the shippers would feel that you are taking advantage of them. That is the reality. You are probably right in saying that the situation has changed and that you have practically no more capacity on the network. That puts you in a monopoly situation. From time to time, it looks like you are asking for a higher price for things than perhaps they are worth.
I have difficulty understanding why you would not have taken the hand that the minister was extending to you and come to a commercial solution.
Explain that, Mr. Mackay.