Transport committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. Good afternoon. It's great to be here this afternoon. Thanks for the opportunity. Via Rail's high-frequency rail project is more than just a transportation initiative; it's a revolution that has the power to redefine how Canadians travel, meet one another and fulfil their potential.

Transport committee  It's a bit difficult to hear the question in French in the room.

Transport committee  The elderly might be most affected. I'm very proud of Quebec today. The mayor of Montreal announced that beginning on July 1, 2023, they will be able to travel free of charge on the Société de transport de Montréal, the STM. This will greatly facilitate intercity travel because many people have to go through greater Montreal There are also agencies like Exo, which provide service in the suburbs of greater Montreal and neighbouring areas.

Transport committee  One of the things that's been tremendously helpful through the Federal Transit Administration is that in the year 2020 the FTA funds were renewed for five years for, I believe, about $64 billion U.S., or something like that. Don't quote me; it's give or take. It does help to support the creation of transit.

Transport committee  It's been a challenge. We've worked hard to build relationships with Prairie governments on that. We've had a great deal of success with Alberta. They were meeting the federal government halfway on operating funds and then looking at expanding services. We hope that continues, and we appreciate the private sector work that's being done in Saskatchewan.

Transport committee  Even for public transit systems as well, we have to renegotiate the price for diesel. We don't have an electric zero-emission fleet yet. Going back to St. John's, Newfoundland, the amount that was negotiated between the mayor of St. John's and the province was very helpful, but a lot of that money was negated, because they have to rebid for diesel every Monday, for example.

Transport committee  With electrification, distance is always an issue. Battery life is definitely something to think about when going a long distance. However, I'm very happy to talk about the bus manufacturers, including New Flyer, which builds MCI, and Nova Bus, which builds Prevost. There is a lot of leadership on that front in the design aspect.

Transport committee  One thing that I think has been very good that the Ontario government has been doing—and that is in all parts of Ontario—is distribution of the Ontario gas tax and assigning some of that to cities that are quite small. Also, community transit grants have been very helpful in establishing start-up services in smaller areas.

Transport committee  There is a challenge. In Brampton, for example, you have an economy that's based on transporting goods and services and coordinating that across the country, and those jobs have grown and were maintained during the pandemic. That's different from around Union Station, where you have a lot of bank towers, or office space in other large cities where hybrid models have taken place, so it's more of a Tuesday-to-Thursday week or fully remote.

Transport committee  If I've understood your question properly, I'd say that's a problem outside Quebec as well. The Investing in Canada's Infrastructure Program will end on March 31, 2023. It would therefore be important to get going on the permanent public transit fund, or at least be allowed to submit eligible expenses under this program ahead of time, even if it is not yet in place.

Transport committee  Having large projects approved in a timely way has been a challenge between transit agencies that need to go through either their provincial government or through the treasury council of Quebec and then nominated and brought forward to Ottawa. It is important that money isn't left on the table.

Transport committee  They stand to lose quite a bit. It's important that funding does continue, because ridership is returning at different speeds across the country. Sherbrooke is at 102%. Brampton is at 115%. Those systems need to grow. Other systems.... I'm thinking about where workers haven't been recalled to our downtowns.

Transport committee  I think it's really good news that Red Arrow services are coming to Ontario as well, to help supplement bus service there. There are also other examples of businesses in the United States that are providing more comfortable services, such as an overnight service that provides some sort of bedding.

Transport committee  I can certainly talk to you about work that we've done in New Brunswick in trying to secure operating funding so that systems could grow outside the urban areas. I'm thinking about Miramichi, Saint John, Fredericton. They've been working to expand their service, but they've been finding difficulties in partnering with the Government of New Brunswick, so that's made it a little bit difficult.

Transport committee  I think there are lots of technological opportunities that exist out there that can connect them. It's a matter of creating the economic argument to do that. That would be an opportunity in terms of innovation. The federal government could step in and look at innovative solutions whereby technology providers could help to connect existing carriers in regions.