Finance committee  Frankly, sir, it is not an area that we have considered specifically. However, given again that Canada's port authorities are remarkably adept at putting together multi-partner funding models, I think opening that up to include other investment sources that would fit into the bus

Finance committee  In the Canada Marine Act they have a joint responsibility or joint mandate to be profit-making, to operate in a commercial manner, as well as to respond to the strategic economic development needs of the country.

Finance committee  I cannot give you an absolute number. What I can tell—

Finance committee  Yes.

Finance committee  The challenge with that statement is that ports become extremely inefficient at much less than 100% capacity. They tend to become inefficient at around 80% to 85%.

Finance committee  Yes, that is certainly true.

Finance committee  Absolutely. At the end of the day, infrastructure projects take a while, take a few years to get off the ground. But having the notion or the guarantee that there is federal funding that is coming in really would help get an infrastructure project put together and would help the

Finance committee  With pleasure, Mr. Chair. As I've said, the port authorities are operating in a very dynamic and changing environment. There are a lot of factors that are affecting the demand on ports, certainly in terms of the trade agreements that are being signed but also with just the chang

Finance committee  Yes. Without commenting on a specific port authority, I would say that the proposed amendment would indeed allow them to acquire such a port.

Finance committee  Exactly.

Finance committee  The amendment is worded in such a way that nothing would prevent them from doing so. However, port authorities interested in acquiring federal real property would not plan to expand their business by acquiring a property that they would then have to turn around and sell.

Finance committee  Conceivably, in the way that it is written, yes.

Finance committee  The overall system I believe is extremely effective. Part of what tells me that is particularly the comments I've received when I've gone down to do some work in Washington. At one point we met with the retired secretary of transport, whose initial words to me were that up in Can

Finance committee  Those would be extremely helpful.

Finance committee  If I understand the question correctly, you're asking why it is the federal port authorities are now being given the opportunity—