Mr. Speaker, I wanted to make a definite promise but unfortunately I will not be able to keep it since, of course, I will not be sitting in this Parliament long enough. However, I can promise you that the day a train will link Montreal to Ottawa in 45 minutes, I will be delighted to take it with all the others who will want to come to Ottawa.
A high-speed train in the Quebec City-Windsor corridor will naturally be used by people who live along that corridor. Now, that area has a population of ten million people, industrial areas and many industries. That project will create almost 130 000 jobs. It is no small matter. People who work pay income tax instead of receiving unemployment insurance; so this is actually something fundamental and if the government waits too long to act, I agree that some interests have to be protected, namely those of air carriers.
When a country is in such financial difficulties as Canada, we obviously have to make the choices that are the most advantageous from an economic point of view. When a mode of transportation costs 50 per cent less than transport by air, I think that option deserves to be considered.