Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Although I have been in my new role for barely two weeks, I have decided to join you this evening, and I will try to answer your questions as best I can. My colleagues are obviously here to support me.
What convinced me to join the team to develop this new modern service to link communities in the Quebec City-Toronto corridor was its next-generation-of-public-service aspect. The success of this project depends on many factors, starting with its social acceptance. As much as I am here to speak, I am also here to listen. Openness and collaboration are key to its timely development. In fact, the project's acceptance requires that we listen to indigenous communities, stakeholders and our future passengers.
As you know, we are a new Crown corporation, almost 10 months old, and our mission is to revolutionize travel by delivering a superior railway service in the Quebec City-Toronto corridor. However, our mission is to bring people closer together and to open doors because that's important. It is to provide an environmentally sustainable, punctual and affordable service to improve the passenger experience, because that's required now, for tomorrow and for generations to come.
We will bring the country's three capital cities closer together, including these two major cities, to strengthen the connection between Canada's two largest economic lungs, and to serve 15 million people in a growing corridor. We will shorten the distance between cities and communities and among friends and families.
Allow me this one personal comment. I've been developing major infrastructure projects for more than 25 years, mainly in the project corridor. I'm not an expert on trains, but, in all that time, I've essentially been driving my car to Quebec City and Ottawa and taking the plane to Toronto. Why? Because the trains don't run frequently enough, aren't on time enough and aren't fast enough. We can't just add extra trains these days. We don't own the railway tracks, unlike the railway companies that carry freight. More congestion has an impact on the transportation of freight, and that's not good for the economy. I learned a little about that in a previous life. Our mandate isn't to keep doing the same thing. Providing an appealing solution is.
This project provides choice by shortening travel times and connecting communities. It's about running twice as many trains faster and on time.
Many people ask about speed—understandably so. We will reach high speeds where it's feasible, safe and affordable. For information on the current procurement process, each team bidding on the project must provide two solutions. First, they must be able to achieve speeds up to 200 kilometres an hour—so faster than current services—but, second, bidders will propose services to go even faster.
Allow me this comment. The objective is not top speed for the sake of speed. It's about saving time. Faster average speed that shortens travel time is the way to go. You all already know how frustrating it is to get to Ottawa by plane or car in crowded airports and on congested highways. Ultimately, this project is about a more flexible, faster and convenient way to travel.
On another front, passenger transportation will remain an important source of GHG emissions as the population grows unless we offer a true, better, sustainable choice that affects behaviour—or the situation won't change. As well, putting passenger trains on dedicated tracks provides more capacity for freight, so oil and grain will then reach ports faster also. In our solution, we benefit people, the economy and the planet.
I know that this project is undesirably complex. It's also ambitious, but with the participation of the private sector, we think we have chosen the right approach, and our project is gathering momentum. The government is leading the procurement process to find a best-in-class team that will work with us. In July, three bidding teams qualified for the government request for proposals. The goal is to pick one of those consortiums by next year.
As I mentioned, since I've only recently taken up my new role, I am mainly spending my time listening to you and to communities, the public and stakeholders. I definitely intend to deliver this project in a fully transparent way, and this committee will regularly be kept informed of our progress.
Thank you for listening to me. My two colleagues and I will be happy to answer your questions.