I call this meeting to order.
Welcome to meeting number 138 of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance.
Pursuant to the order of reference of Monday, March 18, 2024, and the motion adopted on Monday, December 11, 2023, the committee is meeting to discuss Bill C-59, an act to implement certain provisions of the fall economic statement tabled in Parliament on November 21, 2023 and certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on March 28, 2023.
Today's meeting is taking place in a hybrid format, pursuant to Standing Order 15.1. Members are attending in person in the room and remotely using the Zoom application.
I would like to make a few comments for the benefit of the members and the witnesses.
Although this room is equipped with a powerful audio system, feedback events can occur. These can be extremely harmful to interpreters and can cause serious injuries. The most common cause of sound feedback is an earpiece worn too close to a microphone. We therefore ask all participants to exercise a high degree of caution when handling the earpieces, especially when their microphone or their neighbour's microphone is turned on, in order to prevent incidents and to safeguard the hearing health of our interpreters.
I invite participants to ensure that they speak into the microphone into which their headset is plugged and to avoid manipulating the earbuds by placing them on the table away from the microphone when they are not in use.
I remind everyone that all comments should be addressed through the chair.
For members in the room, if you wish to speak, please raise your hand. For members on Zoom, please use the raise-hand function. The clerk and I will manage the speaking order as well as we can. We appreciate your patience and understanding in this regard.
With us today as individuals are witnesses David Brown, realtor; and Jennifer Quaid, associate professor and vice-dean of research, civil law section, Faculty of Law, University of Ottawa. She will be joining us shortly. From the Canadian Dental Association, we have Aaron Burry, chief executive officer. From the Union des consommateurs, we have Maxime Dorais, co-director general, as well as Olivier Surprenant, analyst, public policy and health.
Welcome, everyone.
David Brown is here. We'll start with him for five minutes.
Go ahead, please.