Mr. Speaker, it is always a pleasure to sit with the member on the transport committee. Yes, as he knows we did not have a lot of meetings on this bill at committee.
It is true that consultation is important, but what was mostly of concern to me is the lack of information. Again, when I asked about the liability issue, especially how much the class 1 railways were paying, we did not get the answer. It is hard for us as legislators to be able to say whether this bill is the best one in terms of how it was drafted, why it was drafted or why those provisions are there. Some of the comments we made were not acceptable for the other side.
There could have been more consultation and discussion, but at the end of the day I do agree that this bill is a step in the right direction. It talked about polluter pay and we have always said that Canadians should not have to pay for this, but there will be unintended consequences. What I was saying in my speech is that we will have to follow up. We will have to ensure that this legislation and the regulations that come with it are correct.