Mr. Chair, we've taken significant steps to date, and we're now also at a historic moment for this project.
Earlier this year, we sought an expression of interest from partners in the private sector. More than 50 organizations participated by offering questions and expressing interest.
Six weeks ago, we released the summary of what we heard from potential partners in the private sector. The next step would be to issue a request for qualification to seek interest among companies or a consortium of companies in partnering with us.
Transport Canada, with the help of VIA HFR and experts, will assess those proposals and, based on the request for qualification, we would then enter into a request for proposals.