Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you to all of our witnesses for being here this afternoon with us. Your testimony and your expertise are very much appreciated.
My first question is for Mr. Leblanc and Mr. Lamarche.
The 850 km corridor between Quebec City and Toronto has 12 million people and the two largest metropolitan areas in Canada, two provincial capitals and the national capital, not to mention many smaller cities.
Professor Richard Florida at the University of Toronto has written in detail about the fact that projects like this would essentially create a more competitive “super metropolis” owing to its four distinct metropolitan areas and many smaller ones, like Trois-Rivières, making travel much more efficient than anything we have today in terms of work, education, business, tourism or even simply visits to see family and friends.
Do you agree with him?