Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Mr. Chair, members of the committee, thank you for welcoming us here today.
I've been asked to step in as the interim CEO at Via Rail at a moment when trust in passenger rail is being tested. My mandate is clear: Improve the performance of our trains, provide a service people can count on and maintain trust.
I'm here to be transparent on progress and accountable for results. That means trains leaving on time, equipment that performs to expectations and respectful care for passengers, including when things do not go as planned.
I'm joined today by Marie-Flore Ducrot, vice-president, customer experience, railway and network operations; by Graham Blackwell, vice-president, mechanical operations; and by Denis Lavoie, chief legal officer.
Together we are here to speak plainly about what happened on December 10, what we are doing to prevent similar incidents and how we will continue to earn the trust of our clients.
To be clear, the events that occurred on December 10 are unacceptable to us. The passengers who were affected deserve a sincere apology, and I want to express that to them once again. I know this committee has heard similar statements from my predecessors. I understand that trust is being tested today.
We always learn lessons every time an incident occurs and we strengthen our emergency response framework. However, the incident involving train 669 shows us that that is not enough. We must do more than just improve our processes. We need to deliver results, now.
Reliability is the foundation of trust. That's why ensuring that our service is dependable is my number one priority and the top priority of our entire leadership team. Via Rail operates in a complex environment and some constraints are outside of our direct control, but where we do have control, we must raise the bar—and we will.
Following the December incident, expectations on fleet reliability have been expressed very clearly to our supplier, Siemens. Short-term measures are in place to address immediate issues, and we're working together to develop long-term improvements.
Before answering your questions, I want to remind you of our public service mandate.
VIA Rail serves communities from coast to coast, both major centres and regions. Gaspésie is an important example of this. Our intention to return there has never changed.
We are open to the idea of planning a partial return, but several conditions still need to be met to achieve this. That is why I will be visiting the region very soon to engage directly with the concerned communities.
In closing, I want to put the December 10 incident into context, without minimizing it in any way.
In the Quebec City-Windsor corridor alone, Via Rail runs over 19,000 departures a year, and most trips unfold without incident. What happened on December 10 demands full accountability. My commitment is the following: We'll track our progress, using clear performance indicators. We will have more open dialogue with the communities we serve, and we will be transparent with Canadians about where we are making progress and where we are falling short.
Our duty now is simple: Deliver a service people can count on and prove through action that we deserve the trust of our clients.
Thank you for your attention.
We are now ready to answer your questions.