Welcome, everyone. I'm glad to see the agency with us as we begin our review of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act.
We have the agency with us today. But just before we begin their presentation, I'm going to read from our procedural manual, O'Brien and Bosc. It says: Particular attention is paid to the questioning of public servants. The obligation of a witness to answer all questions put by the committee must be balanced against the role that public servants play in providing confidential advice to their Ministers. The role of the public servant has traditionally been viewed in relation to the implementation and administration of government policy, rather than the determination of what that policy should be. Consequently, public servants have been excused from commenting on the policy decisions made by the government.
So as they make their presentations, followed by your questions, perhaps you could keep that in mind and to respect the position the agency is in.
Again, we thank the agency for being here.
Who will be our first presenter? What time would you need? We have up to 30 minutes.