Canada wants building dedicated passenger tracks between Toronto and Quebec City to create jobs, and to produce opportunities for Indigenous communities in particular, said Transport Minister Omar Alghabra in a news conference. (The Logic)

Talking point: The government has posted a request for expressions of interest to gauge the market, which is to be followed by a phase of qualifying bidders and then a deadline for bids in fall 2024. Via Rail will lead the “HFR” effort, but the federal government wants to tap global expertise for its biggest infrastructure project in decades, Alghabra said. Last summer, Alghabra ballparked the cost at $6 billion to $12 billion. But on Wednesday he said that got him in trouble with his staff, and with so many unknowns, he didn’t want to give new figures. He repeated the Liberal government’s hope to start construction in the mid-2020s and have trains in service on new lines in the early 2030s.