Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from across the way for his work on this bill.
The government is trying to establish some balance between the shippers and those who provide the products that drive our economy. Of all the goods that we move in this country, 70% go by rail. When looking at the details of what has been presented, the challenge for us is striking a balance when there is a problem. As the member well knows, there have been many years of problems with shippers not being able to get reliable service from the two large rail companies. One challenge is the way in which to resolve that dispute. I am curious as to the specific measures that the government has proposed to resolve disputes between the two. There is a bit of a power imbalance. When railcars do not show up as they have been promised, what recourse does the shipper actually have?
The Coalition of Rail Shippers asked for a clear conflict or dispute resolution model. I do not see anything nearly as strong as what the shippers have asked for in this legislation.
My second question is very specific with regard to penalties. Last year CN alone turned a $2.7 billion profit. The maximum fine that the government has suggested under this legislation for a rail company to break a contract, such as promising to deliver a number of cars and simply not delivering them, is $100,000. Would that be incentive enough? Is the stick strong enough to change the behaviour of some of these rail companies that simply abuse the smaller shippers particularly in the country?