Mr. Speaker, the hon. member has raised a very good question, namely how has the situation improved.
The situation has improved in this way. Previously, before abandonment, with the heavy and very complicated mechanisms that were laid on the railways, they had to show it was an uneconomic route. Once they had showed it was an uneconomic route, sometimes we suspect, occasionally on certain lines they tried to help to make it look bad, no one was interested in buying the short line.
With the new system, there is an opportunity of having the route given a fair chance of being analysed by some potential buyer, being put forward and turned into a functioning railway.
The previous system deliberately discouraged the type of entrepreneurship of which, I hope, the hon. member's party is in favour.