I'd like to call the meeting to order.
Pursuant to the order of reference of Thursday, April 10, 2008, we are dealing with Bill C-50, An Act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on February 26, 2008 and to enact provisions to preserve the fiscal plan set out in that budget.
We have with us this afternoon the Minister of Finance, Mr. Jim Flaherty. We want to thank you for coming and getting to the committee as promptly as you have. We have you for an hour, and we don't want to waste much of that time, so we want to get right into your dialogue, and then we'll move on to questions.
I want to remind the committee that with the minister being here, the questioning is a little bit different. We'll start with the opposition members first, seven minutes each on a round, and it will go all the way down through to the NDP and then to the Conservatives. That's according to the rules of this committee. With that, we'll proceed.
Yes, Mr. Dykstra.