Transport committee  Thank you for the question, Mr. Chair. I will address a few of those points. First, we're very proud of the people who work for Via Rail—on board the trains, driving the trains, and maintaining those trains. Without their heroic efforts every day, we wouldn't be able to run the trains that we run today.

Transport committee  Mr. Chair, I thank the member for her question. A completely separate entity will be analyzing the project, making the decisions and conducting operations, but Via Rail will collaborate with them. We are not the ones who will be deciding on the coverage and services that are to be made available.

Transport committee  Thank you for your question. The increased frequency of freight trains in Canada is very good for the Canadian economy. The railway companies that transport goods do more business, which generates more economic benefits for Canada. As all freight trains operate at approximately the same speed, it's easier to add another train to the schedule; it's like dominoes, and hence relatively easy.

Transport committee  Thank you for the question. There was an order in council, in March 2022, that created a new subsidiary called Via HFR, which is to be run at arm's length from Via Rail Canada. For obvious reasons, they'll focus on the new project, while we focus on continuing to transport Canadians from coast to coast to coast.

Transport committee  Thank you for the clarification question. My understanding at this point—keeping in mind that Via HFR is going to run the analysis and the decisions on alignment and how it's going to be run—is that there would be a dual service: the corridor would continue operating and at the same time there would be a new alignment or a new service, called the Via HFR service, which could be independent from the existing tracks today or supplementary.

Transport committee  Thank you for the question. Look, we're experts in passenger rail service in Canada. We understand the complexities of operating passenger rail on freight tracks and commuter lines. That's what we do across the country. That being the case, we do know certain aspects of what could be done in order to increase our on-time performance, which I believe is where the question is going.

Transport committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am pleased to have this opportunity to address you on behalf of Via Rail. With me is my colleague Ms. Rita Toporowski, Chief Service Delivery Officer. As you know, I started as CEO in June. It is an honour to join Via Rail at such an extraordinary time.