Honourable members, I call this meeting to order.
Welcome to the 15th meeting of the House of Commons Special Committee on the COVID-19 Pandemic. This will be a hybrid meeting. Members will be participating via video conference or in person.
I will remind you that in order to avoid issues with sound, members participating in person should not also be connecting by video conference. In order to ensure that those joining the meeting via video conference can be seen and heard by those in the chamber, two screens have been set up here on either side of the Speaker's chair, and members in the chamber can listen to the floor audio or to interpretation using the earpieces on their desks.
Before speaking, please wait until I recognize you by name and please direct your remarks through the chair.
For those joining by video conference, I'd like to remind you to leave your microphones on mute when you are not speaking.
Also, please note that if you want to speak in English, you need to be on the English channel for interpretation, and if you want to speak French, you should do so on the French channel. Should you wish to alternate between the two languages, please change to the channel for the language that you happen to be using at the time.
Should members participating by video conference need to request the floor outside their designated speaking times, they should activate their mic and state that they have a point of order. Those in the Chamber can rise in the usual way.
Please note that today's proceedings will be televised in the same way as a typical sitting of the House.
We will now proceed to ministerial announcements.
I invite the Right Hon. Prime Minister to take the floor.