Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
I had the opportunity this week to speak with the mayor of Lac‑Mégantic. She would have liked to be here, but unfortunately she was already busy. A public information meeting is being held tonight for the people of Lac‑Mégantic, about the acquisition process and the bypass. On her behalf, I'm therefore giving you that information.
I have also had the opportunity to speak with officials from Canadian Pacific who made this deal. We asked them for a copy of the agreement, and while they had no objection to giving it to committee members, they told us that it was the government's decision.
We have been working with the Parliamentary Secretary and the newly appointed Minister of Transportation, who are handling the bypass and working to secure the commitments needed to get the project done on time. I applaud their work in that regard. However, the timelines are extremely tight and we want to see this commitment to complete the bypass by 2023. We believe that making this agreement between Canadian Pacific and Transport Canada public on the completion of this project would be as transparent as possible for the people of Lac‑Mégantic who suffered this tragedy.
I urge committee members to adopt this motion in support of transparency and to support the timely completion of the bypass as promised.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.