Finance committee  We don't have the numbers. It's something we have on our list to do, but we haven't gotten to that yet.

Finance committee  I do know that the port does reach the arms of the north. If you want to look at all the communities up there that it could service, then I would say it's the majority of them. Does that help?

Finance committee  The security of the north needs to be looked at. I want to push that they do need a Coast Guard base there. I hope you'll make it a separate entity, but that's another argument. I think it's very strategic that this committee look at the sovereignty of the north, the security issues, and who it services, because that is the bigger picture of the Port of Churchill.

Finance committee  I'll start by saying that the Port of Churchill is the only deepwater port in the Arctic. It's very strategically placed. Considering all the activity that is now going on in the north, it is very important for security reasons. We have the Coast Guard up there all the time and it's becoming more and more visible.

Finance committee  Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you. The Public Service Alliance of Canada and its component, the Union of Canadian Transportation Employees, is the union that represents the laid-off workers at the Port of Churchill. We want to share with you how, through privatization of public resources, consecutive federal governments failed a small northern Manitoba community.