It was $6 billion. Okay, so we're talking grosso modo $16 billion of gross revenues last year.
Gentlemen, it's hard to slice this. There are so many moving parts. As I said, you're the regulated and Transport Canada is the regulator. You have the Transportation Safety Board issuing new standards. You have a scathing Auditor General's report that cannot be skated around. You have your insurance companies, and you have shareholders and shareholder value. You're under a lot of pressure.
My first opening comment would be that I'm a little bit surprised at the response by the railway companies, because I look to other examples of crises in recent Canadian history. For example, I look at the listeriosis crisis and the way McCain handled it, and it's very different from how the railways have handled Lac-Mégantic. I think McCain got out in front of their issue. I think they were extremely forthright, I think they were transparent, and I think they admitted their mistakes. They held press conferences, one after the other, and I'm not seeing that in the railway sector.
One of the issues I want to raise with you that jumps out loud and clear in the Auditor General's report, which Mr. Bourque referred to, is the whole question of audits. It is important to get on the record that the Conservative government spends more money, each and every year, on its economic action plan advertising than it does on railway safety. I've raised this repeatedly. I even went to the Minister of Finance and I asked him to stop it in a budget, which he wouldn't do. They're spending more money on advertising than rail safety. It's important for Canadians to know that.
I want to ask about the whole question of Transport Canada's role.
Mr. Bourque, you alluded to this partnership between the regulated and the regulator, the instrument being the safety management system. I think Canadians understand that it's a shared responsibility, but when you see that only 25% of the audits that Transport Canada said were necessary to keep your railways in compliance were actually performed, that's a really big problem for Canadians.
Let me ask the two corporate representatives here, what do you make of Transport Canada's performance? I'm sure from a shareholder value perspective, you want to assure your shareholders, your investors, and your insurance companies that you're putting the right amount of pressure on the regulator to make damn sure it’s actually doing its job. What is your response with respect to the audits that were not performed?
Mr. Vena.