Mr. Speaker, the question is very appropriate. The member will know that the three governments, the federal government, the province of Ontario and the province of Quebec, have spent $6 million on a further study of the high-speed proposal. That high speed proposal will come before the House and before the government some time this summer, at which point the House and the government will have an opportunity to
look at the viability of high-speed trains through the corridor from Windsor to Quebec and Montreal.
We believe there could be a future for high-speed trains in the country provided there is a willingness for the partners to work toward that resolution, the partners being the provinces, communities, other modes of travel and the private sector investing greatly in infrastructure which may cost somewhere between $8 billion and $10 billion.
The member is right that the European communities and Japan have decided to go the route of high-speed trains. We believe this country should look at those opportunities, but we will have to await the report for that to happen.
Let me say another thing about VIA. The member is right that the Conservative government slashed services some three years ago but the ridership has come back. I can only say that it is not a question of whether we will have VIA in the future but what it is we can afford. I will give one example. A person can purchase a ticket from VIA for $78 to go between Jasper and Prince Rupert. The subsidy for that one passenger for that one trip is $701 to the Canadian taxpayer.
We believe we can have a viable passenger rail service, but we need to look to the communities, to passengers, to the labour and to VIA to come up with a viable and affordable system.