Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you, witnesses, for being here today.
I am from a rural area, and I come from the agriculture sector, so I understand more than most people how vital the trucking industry is—especially for us to be fed, first and foremost. We can talk about everything else in our house, but if we don't have food, we are not in a good situation. Delivering goods, especially food to grocery store shelves for Canadian consumers, is obviously a priority.
I've heard all the witnesses today talking about shortages and breaks in the supply chain, whether it's at a rail yard or the ports. It has an effect all the way down the chain, and we've seen that throughout COVID—seeing major food spoilage, and shipping containers not arriving on time because trucks were not available to bring the food quickly enough to the distribution centres.
I am just curious, and perhaps this is a question for Mr. Rodgers. Can you comment on how this labour shortage is leading to increased costs for Canadians for their food supply? I think you said the fuel costs have gone up, and that's one of the things we've seen. What effect will increasing the carbon tax have on fuel and the already high cost of shipping goods to our store, going forwards?