Thank you, Madam Chair.
We are pleased to be here with our colleagues from Infrastructure Canada to take part in these discussions.
Officials from Transport Canada, the Crown corporations, agencies, and administrative tribunals that make up the Transport Canada portfolio work every day to make Canada's transportation system safer, more reliable, more efficient, and more environmentally responsible.
We are also committed to sound fiscal management and solid stewardship of government resources, while delivering results for Canadians.
ln the supplementary estimates (B) for 2018-19, Transport Canada is seeking an increase of $17.8 million. Most of that amount, $13.8 million, would help to complete upgrades at rural and remote airports, such as in Wabush, Newfoundland and Labrador; the Îles-de-la-Madeleine; Sandspit, Penticton, and Port Hardy, in British Columbia, as well as upgrades at the port of Gros-Cacouna, in Cacouna, Quebec.
Transport is also seeking to access $1.95 million from the revenues generated by the 2018 sale of some surplus St. Lawrence Seaway properties in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. These funds would be used to contribute to the assessment or remediation of federal contaminated sites in the Transport portfolio. This assessment and remediation work is necessary to reduce the risk to Canadians' health and to our environment.
Transport Canada's request also includes $1.3 million for the Trans Mountain expansion pipeline reconsideration. Transport Canada is participating as a technical expert on the marine shipping issues in both the National Energy Board and the indigenous consultation processes related to this proposed project.
In the interim estimates for 2019-20, Transport is seeking $380.7 million to cover the first quarter of the new fiscal year in advance of tabling of the main estimates.
VIA Rail is seeking $106.8 million in the supplementary estimates as well. This includes $105.3 million of new funding for fleet renewal and $1.5 million transferred from Transport Canada to advance due diligence work on VIA's high frequency rail proposal.
Funding for renewing VIA Rail's fleet was announced in budget 2018. The procurement process that VIA Rail ran last spring went quite quickly, and a supplier was selected in December. As a result, a procurement process was completed ahead of schedule. As a consequence of that, VIA now anticipates making payments earlier, and so some payments have been moved up to fiscal year 2018-19, which is actually good news.
Madam Chair, these are selected highlights of the requests from the organizations in Transport Canada's portfolio. I can say as deputy minister that we're fully committed to managing the Department of Transport Canada and working with the portfolio partners to ensure that the transportation system is safe, secure and environmentally sustainable and that it supports trade and economic growth.
My colleagues and I would be happy to answer questions as we proceed today.
Thank you very much.