Thank you, Mr. Chair.
In a previous committee meeting, I asked a witness the same question that I will now put to the witnesses. If I'm not mistaken, 90% of VIA Rail's current revenue comes from the line between Quebec City and Toronto. However, creating a new line operated by the private sector and transferring passenger traffic to it will very likely eat into that 90% of revenue.
VIA Rail has not only this line to cover, but also a number of other regions in Quebec, including Gaspésie, eastern Quebec, Saguenay—Lac-Saint-Jean and Abitibi-Témiscamingue, and even elsewhere in Canada.
Mr. Kennedy, what could happen financially to VIA Rail if it was to stop operating the northern part of the network and, on top of that, it lost 90% of its revenue, which was already being used to cover the costs of other unprofitable lines?