Transport committee  There were on the order of six to ten coming in—

Transport committee  It was something like that. I'm dealing with—

Transport committee  I'd be happy to do that.

Transport committee  Well, we provided our data to the Department of Transport, to the Minister of Transport.

Transport committee  No, the Department of Transport was our client and we provided material to them. A lot of the material is based on confidential railway costs, and I believe they have something in their possession that they may be able to table.

Transport committee  There were a whole multitude of questions in there, including what's an adequate rate of return. Without prejudicing how the members would deal with the case, we would look at any access movement in terms of what the average revenue gained on a particular line for a number of miles are and would try to apply something like that, so it would be fair and equitable.

Transport committee  All of our decisions can be appealed in two ways. One, if we erred in law, it's through the Federal Court, and the second way is through the Governor in Council. I guess you'd call it a political route or a policy route that can be accessed, and they can go to the Governor in Council and ask for a decision to be overturned.

Transport committee  As Mr. Dufault said, we're not really involved in negotiations, and they wouldn't be coming at us. If they were, they'd likely be interacting with Transport Canada. Our real role is to implement the law and not to actually do the policy side of it. I really can't comment on whether there's been much in that area.

Transport committee  One cannot predict the future. Obviously, one would have to ask the intent of the people developing the legislation. But it certainly provides another avenue of negotiation, if you like, to know there's backstop legislation if you can't negotiate directly with the carrier. Overall, the intent of the act is to allow parties to reach decisions themselves, and we would interfere as little as possible unless necessary.

Transport committee  If I can perhaps be helpful here, the estimate of $2 a tonne was preliminary, based on maintenance costs submitted by the railways that were based on their 2003 costs. They were not as such audited. They were an estimate. When we get the legislation, we will do the detailed cost and we'll audit the railway's material.

Transport committee  Commuter rail lines have been an issue for cities that are running out of room for automobiles--that would be Vancouver, Toronto, and Montreal. This is an attempt to provide a backstop. So if the parties can't negotiate themselves, they can apply to the agency to set a fair rate, given the cost of providing that service and any impact it has on the freight line.

Transport committee  Yes, we do have the right to order the railways to change their operation. However, in light of the existing laws, they have a right to operate and a level of service obligation, meaning that railways operate for the benefit of their clients. When I talk about clients, I mean shippers.

Transport committee  The new legislation gives us the power to order a rail company to change its operations from time to time, if possible. We did not have that power under the former legislation, but now we can do that. If I may, I will continue my answer in English. As it reads, the legislation gives us the authority on last resort.