Transport committee  That's why there are three very specific proposals in the brief that has been given to you. They are proposals 1(a) through 1(c) that tighten up that timeline, as well as some of the specific provisions for proposed section 51.4, proposed subsection 77(5), and proposed section

Transport committee  That's a great question. Of course, data is key to the concept of accountability. Data is also key to the goal of the legislation in allowing for contingency planning and for capacity planning in advance. That data is absolutely critical. Some of the amendments we have brought

Transport committee  Just quickly, I'm not a transportation lawyer, so I'm not going to say that the amendments in Bill C-49 are perfect, but the bill does propose to tighten up or better quantify the definition of “adequate and suitable”. “Adequate and suitable” really is how the railways are held t

Transport committee  I'll just make a quick distinction between the hopper cars that the Government of Canada owns, which were bought in the 1980s, and the private cars that the railways own and lease, which are modern, high-capacity railcars.

Transport committee  Yes. The protections that the grain industry had under the Fair Rail for Grain Farmers Act were valuable tools. From my perspective it wasn't just the message that was sent to Canada, but the message sent to our customers. I visit many of our customers internationally, and one of

Transport committee  I'll give just a quick response to both of those questions. Yes, Bill C-49 will improve the competitive balance when it is passed, which is why, on balance, we are asking that the legislation be brought to royal assent as quickly as possible. This bill will improve railway accoun

Transport committee  Certainly. My name is Cam Dahl, and I'm the president of Cereals Canada. Cereals Canada is a value-chain organization covering the entire country, going from the development of seeds, and of course, including farmers, right through to the grocery shelf.

Transport committee  Certainly. On behalf of Cereals Canada, I want to thank the committee for the invitation to appear before you today. It's not usual for a committee to be holding hearings like these when Parliament is not sitting, and it's definitely not usual for a committee to be holding mara

International Trade committee  Yes, absolutely. Our initial estimates are of a 20% increase in wheat alone. Just to focus on one country, again Vietnam, it has a rapidly growing middle class and a rapidly growing economy, and we're not part of that game. A big reason we're not part of that game is because Aust

International Trade committee  I would concur with that. The growth will come from innovation. Innovation is really expensive, and it requires significant long-term investment, and for that long-term investment to occur, we need to have those strong, stable markets. The opening up of markets for Canadian pr

International Trade committee  Again, from my perspective, I would go back to the risks of opening up the agreement. To me, the risks are greater than any potential benefits.

International Trade committee  I think it's important to emphasize that there will be potential gains as well as potential losses. This is a region of the world that is not just growing in income but is growing in the middle class. It will have the largest percentage of middle class. If we leave the TPP region

International Trade committee  I think one of the areas, not opening up the agreement.... One of the areas where Canada can have a role to play is in capacity building in some of the regulatory structures in member countries, to give member countries that ability to have that strong, rigorous scientific assess

International Trade committee  From my perspective, I think the risks of opening up that agreement would far outweigh any potential benefits that I could think of. The risk of opening up an agreement that has taken this long to negotiate with this many members would be the end of the agreement. To me, that wou

International Trade committee  I think Gordon and François have addressed the benefits of modern agriculture on the environment, but let me go further with that. If we look at Canadian agriculture and the sustainability of modern agriculture practices—I say this somewhat tongue in cheek, but it's true—Saskat