Welcome to meeting number 25 of the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities.
Pursuant to Standing Order 108(2) and the motion adopted by the committee on Thursday, December 11, the committee is resuming its study on improving Via Rail security and customer service.
Today's meeting is taking place in a hybrid format, pursuant to the Standing Orders. I'd like to make a few comments for the benefit of our witnesses and our members.
Please wait until I recognize you by name before speaking. For those participating by video conference, click on the microphone icon to activate your mic and please mute yourself when you are not speaking. For those on Zoom, at the bottom of your screen you can select the appropriate channel for interpretation: floor, English or French. Those in the room can use the earpiece and select the desired channel.
I will remind you that all comments should be addressed through the chair. For members in the room, if you wish to speak, please raise your hand. For members on Zoom, please use the “raise hand” function. The clerk and I will manage the speaking order as best as we can. We appreciate your patience and understanding in this regard.
Colleagues, I'd like to now welcome our witnesses for the first panel today.
From the Coalition pour le retour des services d’un train de passagers en Gaspésie, we have Ms. Micheline St‑Onge.
Welcome.
From Via Rail Canada Inc., we have Mathieu Paquette, interim president and chief executive officer; Graham Blackwell, vice-president, mechanical operations and asset management; Marie-Flore Ducrot, customer experience and network operations; and Denis Lavoie, chief legal, risk and safety officer.
Welcome. Thank you for taking time to appear before us today.
We're going to proceed with our opening remarks.
Ms. St‑Onge, go ahead for five minutes.