Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you to the witnesses for being here today.
When I hear the Department of Transport officials describe Canada's rail transportation system as one of the safest in the world, despite the deficiencies, I'm certainly glad I don't live anywhere else, to put it mildly.
In previous studies, the issue of railway auditing by inspectors came up. Am I right to think that the majority of inspectors—who aren't all that numerous—do more inspections on paper? In other words, they flip through railway reports, ticking boxes before giving the green light.
Of the total number of inspectors, how many are on the ground checking whether the tracks are in good condition or the wheels of the cars have cracks?