Transport Committee on Feb. 23rd, 2026

[Xavier Barsalou-Duval, Bloc, Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC]

The report says that Canadian National is responsible for the railway tracks.

[Steven MacKinnon, Liberal, Gatineau, QC]

All these people can coordinate to respond. I think it's absolutely reasonable to share the specific plans that can affect the everyday lives of people in your riding.

[Xavier Barsalou-Duval, Bloc, Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC]

Thank you very much.

[The Chair, Liberal, Peter Schiefke]

Thank you, Mr. Barsalou‑Duval.

Next, we'll go to Mr. Muys.

Mr. Muys, the floor is yours. You have five minutes.

[Dan Muys, Conservative, Flamborough—Glanbrook—Brant North, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Minister and department officials, for being here.

Part of the mandate of this meeting, of course, was to talk about Via Rail delays, so I want to make sure that we give a bit of love to it, because we haven't done that yet.

[Steven MacKinnon, Liberal, Gatineau, QC]

I was wondering when that would come up.

[Dan Muys, Conservative, Flamborough—Glanbrook—Brant North, ON]

Exactly. I was on this committee back in January 2023, when we had severe weather events across the country. We had an emergency meeting of this committee at that time, and we had the then president of Via Rail here. We were shocked to learn that the minister of the day—that was five ministers ago—was not in contact during that moment of national crisis, when people were in an egregious situation and stuck on a train for quite a length of time, and there were many issues around that.

I have faith that that would not be the case with you, Minister, but as you referenced in your opening statement, we had additional delays and incidents in 2024. It was apparent during those meetings we had at this committee that a lot of the lessons from 2023 were not learned and that changes were not made in 2024.

I think a lot of doubt still remains in terms of train delays in the corridor. We hear that constantly. While high-speed rail is probably many years off—I think the timeline is ambitious—what, specifically, are you going to do to ensure that this is actually addressed and that those changes are made and publicly reported back to Parliament so that we can measure whether there's actually been an improvement?

[Steven MacKinnon, Liberal, Gatineau, QC]

Via Rail is an important service. Let's agree that the service has not been as customer-friendly, reliable or punctual in recent years as it needs to be.

Let's also agree, I hope, that we live in a northern country with sometimes unpredictable weather. We also live with a situation where, along many segments of the so-called corridor, Via Rail shares tracks with CN Railway and in fact does not have priority over those tracks. Within those constraints, because we certainly want Via Rail and CN Railway to collaborate, to the extent that it is possible, and to make that situation better, I have made my expectations clear in no uncertain terms to the new senior management at Via Rail that this must improve. Customer service and communication with customers must improve. There must be reliability of service. People want to know that trains are going to depart on time and arrive on time.

Everyone understands—you do, I do and Canadians do—that storms happen and freak incidents occur, but beyond that, the things that are controllable I expect Via Rail to control.

[Dan Muys, Conservative, Flamborough—Glanbrook—Brant North, ON]

Thank you, Minister, because that's an important aspect for the ridership on those particular lines. It isn't just during storms; delays are actually more constant than should be the case.

Let me switch back to ports for a moment, Minister. The national ports association says Canada needs “greater agility”, “more flexible financial tools” and “streamlined project reviews”. We heard that amplified this morning by the Hamilton-Oshawa Port Authority, the Nanaimo Port Authority and the Quebec Port Authority, among others.

There was Bill C-33, which, again, five ministers ago, was woefully inadequate in addressing some of those particular issues. That died, of course, when the Prime Minister called the election last year. The industry is still asking for these particular issues to be addressed, so what reforms are you planning to implement so they'll actually get done?

[Steven MacKinnon, Liberal, Gatineau, QC]

All of them.

[Dan Muys, Conservative, Flamborough—Glanbrook—Brant North, ON]

Excellent. When can we look forward to seeing those?

[Steven MacKinnon, Liberal, Gatineau, QC]

Soon.

[Dan Muys, Conservative, Flamborough—Glanbrook—Brant North, ON]

Can you be more specific than that?

[Steven MacKinnon, Liberal, Gatineau, QC]

There are extremely active deliberations going on right now.

[Dan Muys, Conservative, Flamborough—Glanbrook—Brant North, ON]

I would note that a representative of the Hamilton-Oshawa Port Authority is in the row back there, listening. I'm sure that she, as well as her organization and port authorities across the country, will be making sure that you follow through on that commitment.

If I could, I'll sneak in one last question. I asked the president of Alto at the finance committee last week about the use of Canadian steel in the project. He committed to that. I asked in an Order Paper question in 2024 about a federal project using Canadian steel, and the answer was, “We don't track that,” which was shocking. Are you committed to making sure that we use it, that we track it and that we report it back to Parliament—and not just steel—in all projects from the transport perspective?

[Steven MacKinnon, Liberal, Gatineau, QC]

One thing that surprised me—and I'm sure it would surprise all Canadians—is that we don't make rail steel in this country anymore, at least up until now. Alto has launched a process with our steel producers to see what we can do about that. We have a buy Canadian policy. Obviously, steel is an iconic, important, vital and essential part of that project, and we expect the provisions of the buy Canadian policy to be respected.

[The Chair, Liberal, Peter Schiefke]

Thank you very much, Mr. Muys and Minister.

We'll end today with Mr. Lauzon.

Mr. Lauzon, you have the floor for five minutes.

[Stéphane Lauzon, Liberal, Argenteuil—La Petite-Nation, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Mr. MacKinnon, thank you for being with us at the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities.

We've heard from many witnesses that our ports' supply chain needs to be reliable, and that international competition is important for the country. You also talked about this in your presentation. We even talked about resilience in response to climate change.

Ms. Farman told us about the consequences of progress supported by rapid investment. She spoke to us about two aspects: maintaining infrastructure and innovation. She also told us about innovation in terms of feasibility, software and technology, among other things.

What is your position on maintaining existing assets? In your opinion, is it necessary to invest heavily in aging facilities built more than 100 years ago?

[Steven MacKinnon, Liberal, Gatineau, QC]

I thank my colleague from the Outaouais.

We both understand how important it is to optimize the use of existing infrastructure. Indeed, as we've seen from the comments made by Mr. Barsalou‑Duval and others, it can be disruptive. When there's infrastructure in place, as in the case of the Port of Québec, we obviously want to optimize its use. In the case of the Port of Québec, there are aging wharves, and some facilities are no longer sufficient to operate this very important infrastructure.

You also heard me talk about the St. Lawrence Seaway, a strategic infrastructure that is underutilized. Using the infrastructure we have and getting the most out of it costs less, is faster and more optimal. It makes it possible to create wealth based on what we already have.

That said, this measure alone is not enough to achieve our trade and economic ambitions. That is why the expansion of the Port of Montreal, a key infrastructure, is essential for the entire Canadian economy. Expansion on the Pacific coast, particularly in Vancouver and elsewhere, is also essential.

We focus first on optimizing existing infrastructure, but we are also embarking on long-awaited expansion projects at some major facilities.

[Stéphane Lauzon, Liberal, Argenteuil—La Petite-Nation, QC]

You also work with private sector partners. Is that correct?

[Steven MacKinnon, Liberal, Gatineau, QC]

The financing of these projects is always complicated. Ports have a certain borrowing capacity. Sometimes, they have to be provided with additional financial support, as is the case for the Port of Montreal, and as will obviously be the case for the Port of Québec. The Canada Infrastructure Bank can participate. There are other stakeholders, including the private sector, and so on.

Every project is developed on a project-by-project basis.

[Stéphane Lauzon, Liberal, Argenteuil—La Petite-Nation, QC]

Each project is developed at its fair value, based on needs. Is that correct?

[Steven MacKinnon, Liberal, Gatineau, QC]

Absolutely.

As for the process to help diversify corridors, the $5 billion will be made available quickly to assess all projects at the national level.

[Stéphane Lauzon, Liberal, Argenteuil—La Petite-Nation, QC]

Minister, it's important to pass the budget as quickly as possible so that the file can move forward.

[Steven MacKinnon, Liberal, Gatineau, QC]

We definitely want to move into “action” and “implementation” mode as quickly as possible. It will benefit Canadians, jobs, our economy and everything else.