I call the meeting to order. Good morning, everyone and welcome to our witnesses.
Pursuant to the order of reference of Wednesday, February 3, 2008, the committee will resume its study of Bill C-20.
Today, we are fortunate to have three professors as witnesses.
Today we are joined by a delegation from Kingston, Ontario, the old capital of Upper Canada. We have Ronald Watts, professor emeritus at Queen's. He's a former director of the Institute of Intergovernmental Relations and president of the International Association of Centers for Federal Studies. As we all know, our federal system needs a lot of study these days, so welcome.
We have Richard Simeon, by way of video. Mr. Simeon was also a professor of political studies at Queen's and was director of both the school of public administration and the Institute of Intergovernmental Relations. Among his many national and international achievements is his publication, Small Worlds: Provinces and Parties in Canadian Political Life. We always say it's a small world here on the Hill, so we're fortunate to welcome Professor Simeon.
We have with us Andrew Heard, the author of many publications, including Canadian constitutional conventions: The marriage of law and politics. Of course, around here lately, the two have been on trial separation. Welcome.
Without further ado, we'll begin with Mr. Watts.