Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I'm going to try to get through this in five minutes. I do want to offer the witnesses the opportunity to send in testimony following this meeting. We have an ability to pass on a lot of what you would otherwise say here, but also following this meeting, please submit to us anything you want to add so that it gets captured within the analysts' report.
With that, I'll preface my comments by saying this—and this goes to Mr. Montpetit's comments with respect to strategy, and of course, attached to strategy are plans of action.
We have already drafted an interim report on establishing a Canadian transportation and logistics strategy, with about 31 recommendations attached to that report. We are doing the supply chain study right now, within this committee, presently. We have the ports modernization review that we're also doing. With all of that said, and with respect to maximizing multi-modal ports, it's incumbent upon us to take all of those strategies to ensure that all of the recommendations, including the one that we're doing now, are all brought together to do exactly what Mr. Montpetit is saying. We need to have that strategy established—and, of course, attached to the recommendations that we receive from you and others, we need action plans.
Budget 2022 has signalled, in this case through Minister Alghabra, that the NTCF is going to be directed more to supply chains—so much so that the budget also identifies that he might change the name of the NTCF to reflect the priority of investment towards supply chains.
Once again, when we look at the national and strategic direction that you're taking in particular, that need to make it more robust is critical. When we look at capacity and at integrating distribution logistics, once again, it's critical that we receive recommendations from you folks, not only in five minutes or at this meeting, but obviously a lot more that I'm hoping will follow this meeting.
I know that in the Niagara region, for instance, right on the Great Lakes, we've established the Niagara Ports trade corridor in partnership with the Hamilton Oshawa Port Authority as well as through the municipalities. It's a multi-modal hub that takes advantage of the Welland Canal, main and short-line rail, air, road and, of course, ultimately, the location of the Niagara region. The Hamilton Oshawa Port Authority has now been delegated management of certain lands within the Welland Canal corridor, some in partnership with the private sector, as well as other modes of transportation.
I guess there are two questions that I would like answered here, if time permits. Following this meeting, you can send to us your responses in correspondence. This goes to Mr. Labbé's comments, with respect to capacity and resilience. To establish the capacity and resilience as well as the fluidity, do CN and others entertain opportunities to partner with the public and private sectors? How do you do that, and when do you do that?
To Mr. Brazeau, I ask the same question, and to Mr. Montpetit, the same question, especially as it relates on Mr. Labbé's side to shunting, expanding those operations and then having the ability not only to expand operations for CN but also, in relation to the multi-modal aspect of it, to promote further economic development.
Mr. Brazeau, to your comments with respect to that multi-modal network, and to Mr. Montpetit's comments, especially in relation to the infrastructure investments, what recommendations do you have with regard to the former NTCF, now the supply chain fund? How do you see that rolling out?
We'll start off with Mr. Labbé.
