Thank you for appearing, folks, in this complicated set-up with people by phone all across the country.
With that, I'll officially call the meeting to order.
For the formalities, welcome to meeting number 16 of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance. We are operating under the order of reference of Tuesday, March 24 for the committee to meet to discuss the government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Before we start, I want to inform all members again that pursuant to this order of reference, the committee is meeting for two reasons: one, to receive evidence concerning matters related to the government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic; and two, to consider a bi-weekly report to be provided by the Minister of Finance or his delegate on all actions undertaken pursuant to parts 3, 8 and 18 of the COVID-19 Emergency Response Act.
Today's meeting is taking place exclusively by teleconference, and the audio feed of all our proceedings is made available by the House of Commons website.
I'll just go over the rules a little bit again. Before speaking, un-mute your phone, state your name so we know who is speaking and please identify the witness to whom you are addressing the question. If there are any problems along the way, or if you need to interrupt, just un-mute your phone—and I think I know most people's voices by now—and I will recognize you.
With that we will start.
Mr. Mintz, you're an experienced hand at these kinds of meetings. We'll start with you. If you would open up with your remarks in the range of five minutes, that would be great. The floor is yours.