I have been asked that question several times and I am certainly aware of what appears in the report and of Mr. Emerson's recommendations. As I'm sure you know, every year the federal government gives Via Rail about $370 million to maintain its profitability. Some lines are more profitable than others. Passengers are more concentrated in the Montreal-Ottawa-Toronto corridor, which is why Via Rail just made us a proposal.
Other lines elsewhere in the country cost the federal government more per passenger, and we need to hand over some money to Via Rail. If you look at the number of passengers between Toronto and Vancouver, for example, and the cost of that service, the ticket price definitely does not cover the cost of the transportation itself. This is the current policy and the one that has been in place for many years. Mr. Emerson made some recommendations in that regard. We are going to have a closer look at all of his recommendations, and all the others. I cannot say right now what our decision will be. We recognize the importance of passenger rail service. We also recognize that there are some places where it is used a lot more, and other places where it is used less, and this costs the Canadian government and taxpayers a lot of money.
We have to make a decision with all that information and all those considerations in mind, and we will examine the Emerson report on this matter.