Madam Speaker, this is where I have always said that leadership is everything. If something is not working, we would expect the minister to be there and to be immediately working with all the force that they can to identify where the gaps are and how to close them.
As my fellow member from British Columbia has said, there are externalities that are being created by the slow processing times. In my community, there are small business owners who are suddenly receiving bills from the port in large amounts that are causing them to raise their prices because they cannot afford to sell the furniture or items that they have brought in, with the shipping included, at the rate that they originally promised. This is causing inflation and it is causing aggravation.
As the member said, there are some environmental externalities that are causing negative spillovers. We should be asking the government, but unfortunately this Minister of Transport is missing in action when it comes to the port.