Thank you, Chair.
Thank you, Minister, for appearing today. Congratulations on your new appointment.
I have some serious concerns, though, because after nine years we've seen some pretty significant failures with the transportation files: Canadian passengers have been stranded in airports and trains for hours, even days on end; labour disruptions have put our economy at peril at our ports, railways and airlines; and costs—the cost of air travel and freight—have gone up. At a time when Canadians are facing a record affordability crisis, there are more and higher costs coming from the transportation file.
Minister, we're a G7 country. There are billions of dollars in economic flows. Millions of passengers are counting on reliable transportation. What message does it send to Canadians and, in fact, the rest of the world, that we have only a part-time transport minister?