At the beginning, when we heard what was included in the economic agreement with Europe, one of our concerns was that it was going to open a crack in the Coasting Trade Act. We were afraid that the crack would grow bigger. Bill C-49 shows that our fears were justified, because we are told that opening the Coastal Trade Act to the shipping of empty containers does not just apply to European vessels, but also to vessels of all flags.
So we can already see the crack getting bigger. What is coming next? We do not know, but we are expecting other demands along those lines that will widen even more the scope of the concessions that have been made as part of the agreement with Europe.