Through you, Madam Chair, thank you so much for asking that question, because accessibility is very important. In the situation you have described, we just can't imagine the pain and heartache of those women and girls who didn't have access to transportation and got into these very difficult circumstances.
The federal government under Infrastructure Canada does not fund intercity bus service because that is based on a commercial arrangement. Companies such as Greyhound are responsible for providing that service, but we encourage buses and we do consultations with indigenous and rural communities.
What I can share with you is that the investment we're making in transportation networks within the cities and in helping provinces with municipal infrastructure and municipal public transit systems is freeing up resources for provinces to look at creative ways of providing intercity transportation systems.
In the case of British Columbia, I understand that BC Transit was able to expand its service to link rural communities because of the resources we made available to them within the city service. That freed up resources that they were able to use to provide service into areas in which we don't have an area of responsibility.