They are absolutely essential.
It's also important to note that these funds, such as the national commercial corridors fund, are used everywhere. I looked at the list today, and earlier I mentioned that $4.1 billion is invested in the fund and that it's allocated to 213 projects.
For example, there are 12 projects in Alberta; Mr. Strahl will be interested to know that there are 52 in British Columbia. There are also projects in Manitoba and New Brunswick. I could provide committee members with the complete list of projects. However, those projects are conceived and designed strategically. We wonder where we can take action to facilitate the distribution of goods or to solve a problem that affects it.
For example, if a train passes through town and regularly blocks traffic, and we realize we're dealing with a crossing for a large number of trucks carrying a lot of containers, perhaps it would be a good idea to build a viaduct that would prevent any slowdown in train and truck traffic.
The national commercial corridors fund, whether it be for crossings or corridors as a whole, is designed, built and funded in such a way as to make those corridors more fluid and resilient because climate change exists and has impacts. Forest fires are caused by climate change. Consider the recent forest fires, for example. When the towns were evacuated, that had an impact on both people's lives and on commerce because of the road closures. Consequently, we are investing strategically to facilitate the distribution of those goods, but also to make our infrastructure more resilient so it's less affected by climate change.