Public Accounts committee  Profitability by train is an important one. The other issues have to do with, for example, absenteeism and health and safety in the workplace, which has come down as well. In terms of our rate of absenteeism, it's down. Our sick leave time is down. Productivity is up and employee engagement is up.

Public Accounts committee  It's part of what I was answering earlier, that the lack of in-house expertise at VIA at the time of these investment decisions meant poor planning, to start with. The reality of planning the infrastructure investments at an estimated cost of $1.6 million per kilometre, versus the reality of $4.5 million, is a planning deficit.

Public Accounts committee  Exactly.

Public Accounts committee  Thank you very much for that question. You're right. The Auditor General's comments were absolutely accurate, and they were my own findings when I became the CEO of the corporation. That is why initiatives such as profitability by train are now a way that we have to look at the cost of operating a given train and its profitability or its financial viability versus looking at it as an average rail service.

Public Accounts committee  Between 1992 and 2006, there are different years where it was zero. The point I was leading to was that VIA had no expertise. Then, all of a sudden, money started to flow, but there was no expertise. That's why projects ran late and ran over budget. We professionalized it by having a project management office and having professionals who know how to manage projects.

Public Accounts committee  Again, depending on if it's VIA establishing trackage over a road, then it's our responsibility, but if the road is already there, the grade separation is the road authority's responsibility.

Public Accounts committee  The owner of the railway track must make the necessary infrastructure investments so the tracks can be used safely. In the case of the Gaspé, the Quebec government acquired the railway track from the local authorities. The Quebec government is thus responsible for upgrading the infrastructure using its own funds or funds from other sources.

Public Accounts committee  For over 12 years, Canadian infrastructure has often been funded at the municipal, provincial, and federal levels. Each of the three levels of government must establish its list of priorities and include the project. My understanding is that, if there's no funding for infrastructure upgrades in the Gaspé, the reason is that the local authorities in Gaspésie, the provincial authorities in Quebec City, and the federal authorities have not included it in their list of priorities.

Public Accounts committee  Absolutely. Since the VIA Rail service ended, we have been consistently lobbying provincial and local authorities about the infrastructure. The public have been asking us, like they have been asking you, when we plan to restore the service. We give them the same answer. We also tell the authorities involved that it may be time to invest in the railway track given that the demand is there.

Public Accounts committee  The reality is that separating the railway from road crossings is a road authority responsibility, because the road authority, or whoever owns the road, puts the road crossing over the trackage to seize the tax revenue of the land being developed. That's the genesis of it.

Public Accounts committee  On VIA's side, there are no plans to build or fund grade separation in Ottawa. What we've committed to do is share the cost of the study—

Public Accounts committee  The cities all over Canada, when they do grade crossings, seek funds usually from their own funds, the province, and usually federal infrastructure funds. My point is, the financial framework, the financial montage, of those investments, is the responsibility of the road authority.

Public Accounts committee  No, because we're not aware that the City of Ottawa is planning to build a grade crossing.

Public Accounts committee  Because we're hoping that the study will nudge them into pursuing grade separation. We're trying to support those who want to see grade separation, because that is what we would like to see happen.

Public Accounts committee  We would support any proposal that the city brings forward to any authority for funding for grade separation in Ottawa.