Transport committee  One of the things that's very clear, and this is really not a point of controversy, is that there is a real need to keep working on the connection points between the modes, particularly with regard to provision of infrastructure. Enhancements in the marine and rail connection poi

Transport committee  This is a dynamic that I'm sure the committee has been witness to across a number of different modes, in that it's endemic to Canada's population structure versus its land mass. With a large land mass and a small population base that's dispersed, the infrastructure needs to be ma

Transport committee  Yes, certainly. We can provide you with more detail on that, I think, and Randy can speak to it. Generally, our experience has been that the use of the extended interswitching has definitely been greater at the shorter distances, and certainly as we got closer to 160, or one yea

Transport committee  Yes.

Transport committee  Yes. I couldn't speak to that, unfortunately, because I wasn't part of setting that number, but certainly it's intended to disincentivize negative behaviours. We have not had occasion to issue an administrative monetary penalty in that regard to this point, so parties are worki

Transport committee  I certainly can't do the math, so, yes, it's complicated. We have a team of economists at the agency who do that. As Randy said, it does become an exercise in art, not science, because what you're trying to do is to determine that sweet spot of distance whereby the maximum amount

Transport committee  In preparation for the meeting today, I talked to my colleagues who are economists and asked them the same question. They said that the research has not identified a magic distance. In other words, they have been unable to determine whether demand would be lower with a longer dis

Transport committee  We can provide you those figures later on. We do not have them right now.

Transport committee  Yes.

Transport committee  Perhaps, but that is a policy matter for Transport Canada. I can assure you though that the rail companies are also increasing their efficiency. We have witnessed an increase in the efficiency not only of farmers but also of rail companies, and the link between them under the agr

Transport committee  That could be one of the factors, but I cannot say for sure that is the case. It is like tasting a good soup but not knowing exactly which ingredient makes it so delicious.

Transport committee  My colleagues and I have the tools we need at this time to carry out our mandate under the act and the regulations. Should the committee or the minister decide to increase our role and mandate, we would of course need additional tools.

Transport committee  We consider it effective. The interswitching rules are beneficial not only because the companies have the right to use them and can ask the agency to participate in discussions to ensure that they have access to them. That also has an impact on market conditions. If the rail comp

Transport committee  I think—being careful to defer to the policy question you're raising because that's in the purview of Transport Canada—in terms of our operational experience, it's important to note that the railways do have some financial exposure. You mentioned that for the legislation, the dif

Transport committee  Actually, I would suggest, in reference to my last answer, that it has probably reduced conflict because of what it does to create market balance. On the narrow question of interswitching, knowing that they must provide access and that this is not a debatable point, what it actua