I have a few words of greeting before we call the meeting to order. We still have a few members to arrive, but it is ten past nine, and for the sake of starting the meeting somewhat on time, maybe we could get started.
First of all, I'd like to welcome the members from the European delegation here. It is a real treat to have you in Canada. We were certainly well received when we were at the Council of Europe. We appreciated that, and we would like to have a frank, open, and fruitful discussion here today.
If I could, I would propose a slightly different format for our own membership today and for the European delegation. Rather than following our normal speaking order, perhaps we would be better served to have a more bilateral discussion, with perhaps five minutes for the speaker and five minutes for people to answer. We'll try to keep it within a reasonable timeframe, with more leniency going to our guests and less leniency going to our regular members.
I will recognize our members who are here. Then I would ask the leader of the delegation from the European Parliament, Mr. Seán Ó Neachtain, to introduce their members.
We have Bill Matthews, who is our vice-chair; Gerry Byrne; Monsieur Blais; Gérard Asselin, a new member of the committee; Fabian Manning; and James Lunney.
Mr. Ó Neachtain.