We could start with that. When the meeting's over, we're going to go around and take a small collection to get us going.
First, I'll start with why. I thought CN did a good job this morning of outlining why they want to get off some lines. I'm not convinced that those lines they want off of are still not productive, and I think short lines have demonstrated right across Canada that, given the opportunity, we can make a go of it. Part of our problem has been that maybe we overpaid for these lines nobody wants, and that put us in a hole at the beginning. Then we get into trying to finance a loan and trying to maintain the railway.
I think, given the opportunity, short-line operators are very innovative. They're very customer-focused. They do a very good job, and they allow our customers to expand. I always said to the folks there when we bought our short line that the key to it is this: if you allow your line to disappear, be it a short line, a producer car site, or a siding, it'll never come back; it's gone. That is the key. We have some stories, especially in Saskatchewan, of where short lines were given up on. However, at the far end of the line they discovered that was a great place to load oil or to do that type of industry, or some grain customer came in there and put in there. Those lines are very valuable and viable now and will be for the conceivable future. What we have to do is figure out how to do that with the other lines.
With regard to your last point, we are very customer-focused. I think our customers really like the idea that they can phone and somebody answers. That's kind of unique. We listen to what our customers need. We're able to be a little more nimble than maybe the class 1 railroads and are able to help them out. This is especially true when we're trying to entice new business to Canada. I think it's critical that we are the points that really could get them off on a good start with good service and a low-cost start-up compared with some of the requirements on the class 1s.