Finance committee  You'll be very pleased, Mr. Mulcair. There was a document, apparently, that made its way into the public domain that talked about parliamentary legislative changes to the federal Environmental Assessment Act, and it used the $10 million figure. In fact, the government has no plans to come forward with legislation on environmental assessments.

Finance committee  That's about navigable waters, not environmental assessment.

Finance committee  I can be very clear that we're not coming forward with any legislative changes to the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act.

Finance committee  We're going to work under existing authorities. Under the Navigable Waters Protection Act, which is a transport piece of legislation, we have identified that this is a major problem. I don't believe for a moment that Premier Charest, that Premier McGuinty, that Premier Doer, that Premier Campbell--

Finance committee  I've always respected areas of provincial jurisdiction. I do not intend to wage a battle with the Premier of Quebec.

Finance committee  I think your comments are somewhat alarmist and over the top. I don't believe Gary Doer would support anything of the kind.

Finance committee  Of course.

Finance committee  It will not be restricted to the Montreal-Quebec corridor exclusively, but will also be applied to Montreal-Toronto corridor. The proposal was made by VIA Rail. As a minister, I would be pleased to ask VIA Rail to organize a three-way briefing session, if you would like one.

Finance committee  I do not have the percentage.

Finance committee  I do not have that piece of information, but VIA Rail will be making the proposal regarding the Quebec and Windsor corridor. The majority of the land is located in Ontario, but this matters for Montrealers who are travelling to Toronto.

Finance committee  I think all provinces and territories and a significant number of municipalities told us it required a significant amount of paperwork that could delay projects anywhere from nine to 17 months. The Standing Committee on Transport did a significant study of this issue in the last Parliament.

Finance committee  Let me correct the record. When I talked about a 300 kilometre stretch of highway, I talked about there obviously being a need for substantial first nations consultation if it was going through a first nations territory, as opposed to a $1 million upgrade or a $25,000 repaving of a road.

Finance committee  We haven't brought the proposal forward.

Finance committee  Since my appointment as Minister at the end of October, there was an election in the province of Quebec. Since then, I've not had the opportunity to meet with Minister Jérôme-Forget, who is responsible for major infrastructure projects. However, I did meet with her in Montreal at the beginning of January.

Finance committee  Good morning.