Hon. Donna Dasko: Thank you, minister, for being here. I’m going to give you one more chance to talk about that great rail line that’s going in between Toronto and Quebec City. You have expressions of interest. Can you tell me which firms or partnerships have expressed interest in the project?

Also, just a couple of quick questions to clarify. First, is this double track all the way between Toronto and Quebec City? Second, how are level crossings dealt with in the proposal?

Hon. Paula Simons: I know that my colleagues who live in the Montreal-Toronto corridor are very keen to have a high-frequency train, and I know how they feel. I have a dream of a train that connects Edmonton and Calgary. I don’t need it to be high speed, I don’t even need it to be high frequency, I just need it to be there. I’m wondering, as your department is looking at other rail priorities, what you have to say that might fill me with hope and joy about the prospect of a study into an Edmonton-Calgary rail link or, indeed, a Calgary-Banff rail link.

Hon. Pierre J. Dalphond: Welcome to the Senate, minister. This anticipated Quebec City-Toronto high-frequency rail project has been in the news. You announced it on the train that I take regularly, so I’m pleased to see that this project is finally being started. I hope that it will be completed before I retire so I have the opportunity to take it.

In any event, minister, have you planned for the participation of provincial and municipal authorities in this massive project? All the route changes required for a rail system that is more frequent, efficient and attractive than travel by automobile or plane must be coordinated.

[English]

Indeed, this is going to be a massive and complicated project that will need to involve provincial governments, municipal governments and Indigenous communities. For example, we’ll have to negotiate with municipalities about access to their downtown cores for the trains to stop there.

So there is still a lot of work that needs to happen. It is going to be complicated, as large projects of this scope tend to be. However, it is exciting to be involved in this work, because for decades, Canadians have heard governments talk about it; now, they’re seeing work being done.

Unfortunately, it takes time, because of everything involved in such a project. There is no magic button to push where we’ll find that such a project has materialized in front of us tomorrow. Like you, I hope I can use it before I retire, but we’re going to follow the process and we’re going to make sure that it is built, senator.

Hon. Leo Housakos (Acting Deputy Leader of the Opposition): Minister, in May 2022, the President of VIA Rail Canada, Cynthia Garneau, made a surprise announcement that she was resigning after being on the job for only three years. We don’t know why she resigned. VIA Rail has had an acting president for more than five months. VIA Rail will soon start a megaproject for high-frequency trains between Quebec City and Toronto, and we’re hearing about investments in the billions of dollars.

Minister, I’m very concerned. What is going on with VIA Rail’s governance? When will you appoint a president for VIA Rail Canada?

[English]

Hon. Dennis Glen Patterson: Minister, you know that in Nunavut we have no road or rail connections to the South, so Nunavut’s capital investment in transportation infrastructure is critical. I know that Nunavut’s Department of Economic Development and Transportation welcomed the opportunity the National Trade Corridors Fund, or NTCF, provided to replace a number of outdated 1970s-era undersized and deteriorating airport terminals to support our only year-round method of transportation.

However, as you know, post-COVID cost increases in supplies and labour are creating cost overruns that have led to increases and a threatened delay in tendering some of the planned NTCF activities.

Will your government commit to additional funds to address the shortfall created by inflation and post-COVID pressures on the supply chain and labour force?