I call this meeting to order.
Welcome, everybody, to meeting number three of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance.
Pursuant to the House of Commons order of reference adopted on December 2, the committee is meeting on Bill C-2, an act to provide further support in response to COVID-19.
Today's meeting is taking place in a hybrid format pursuant to the House order of November 25. Members are attending in person in the room and remotely using the Zoom application. The proceedings will be made available via the House of Commons website. Just so that you are aware, the webcast will always show the person speaking rather than the entire committee.
Today's meeting is also taking place in a webinar format. Webinars are for public committee meetings and are available only to members, their staff and witnesses. Members enter immediately as active participants, and all functionalities for the active participants remain the same. Staff will be non-active participants. They can only view the meetings in gallery view.
I'd like to take this opportunity to remind all participants in this meeting that taking screenshots or photos of your screen is not permitted.
Given the ongoing pandemic situation and in light of the recommendations from health authorities as well as the directive of the Board of Internal Economy of October 19 to remain healthy and safe, all those attending the meeting in person are to maintain two-metre physical distancing and must wear a non-medical mask when circulating in the room. It is highly recommended that the mask be worn at all times, including when you are seated. You must maintain proper hand hygiene by using the provided hand sanitizer at the entrance of the room.
As the chair, I will enforce these measures for the duration of the meeting and I thank members in advance for their co-operation.
To ensure an orderly meeting, I'd like to outline a few rules to follow.
One, members and witnesses may speak in the official language of their choice. Interpretation services are available for this meeting. You have the choice at the bottom of your screen of either the floor, English or French. If interpretation is lost, please inform me immediately, and we will ensure that the interpretation is properly restored before resuming the proceedings.
The “raise hand” feature at the bottom of the screen can be used at any time if you wish to speak or alert the chair.
For members participating in person, proceed as you usually would when the whole committee is in person in the committee room. Keep in mind the Board of Internal Economy's guidelines for mask use and health protocols.
Before speaking, please wait until I recognize you by name. If you are on the video conference, please click on the microphone icon to unmute yourself. For those in the room, your microphone will be controlled as normal by the proceedings and verification officer. When speaking, please speak slowly and clearly. When you are not speaking, your mike should be on mute. I remind everyone that all comments by members and witnesses should be addressed through the chair.
With regard to a speaking list, the committee clerk and I will do the best we can to maintain a consolidated order of speaking for all members whether they are participating virtually or in person.
I'd like now to welcome our witnesses. We have already heard opening statements from these witnesses, who are the same witnesses who were at our second meeting earlier this morning.
We are going to proceed directly to our question time. For the first round of questions, which will be six minutes for each member, we are going to start with the Conservative Party, and, I believe, Mr. Chambers for six minutes.
You have the floor.