I call the meeting to order.
Colleagues, thank you very much for your attendance here today.
Welcome to our distinguished guests. Let us first apologize for the brief interruption for votes, but as everybody here well realizes, this is something that does not always consistently control our time.
This is meeting number eight of the public safety and national security committee, and today's meeting is and will be televised, as agreed upon by all parties. We all should recognize that this meeting is dedicated to supplementary estimates (B), 2013-14.
Appearing before the committee today, we have the minister for the first hour, and in this particular case it was 11 until 12, so it will be up to the minister himself to decide whether or not he can stay after 12 o'clock, depending on what his commitments are. That latitude will remain with the minister.
So for the first hour we have the Honourable Steven Blaney, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness. As well, of course, we have a number of respected senior officials here with us today, and we're delighted to have you all here for the examination of the supplementary estimates.
From the Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, we have Deputy Minister François Guimond. From the Canada Border Services Agency, we have the president, Luc Portelance. From the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, we have Commissioner Bob Paulson; and from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Public Complaints Commission, we have Ian McPhail, interim chair. From Correctional Service Canada, we have Anne Kelly, senior deputy commissioner; and from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, we have Jeff Yaworski, deputy director.
Welcome to all of our guests, and thank you very kindly for coming to this meeting here today.
The prompter says we are in camera, but of course we are not in camera. I just reference that for any of my colleagues who had a concern.
Now, without delay, we welcome the opening comment from the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness.