Thank you, Chair.
Thank you, Minister and officials, for being here this afternoon.
Minister, your mandate letter says, “Canadians require a transportation system that is safe and reliable, that facilitates trade and the movement of people and goods”. Yesterday, you were quoted in an article in the National Post. You said, “Even if the barricades all came down tomorrow and the trains worked very hard to get back up to speed, some of these effects are going to be felt for weeks and months to come.”
I think you would agree that these rail blockades have cost the Canadian economy billions of dollars over the three-week period. They have caused thousands of layoffs and have risked supply shortages of critical goods in certain regions of the country. Do you agree that these protests, the blockages, are damaging and have damaged the Canadian economy, yes or no?