Good morning, colleagues. I will call this meeting to order.
This is meeting 41 of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development, Tuesday, November 24, 2009. Our orders of the day include a return to the committee's study of Bill C-300, an act respecting corporate accountability for the activities of mining, oil or gas in developing countries.
As a witness on our first panel today we have, by video conference from Córdoba, Argentina, the president and founder of the Center for Human Rights and Environment, Ms. Romina Picolotti. We welcome you this morning to our committee and are very grateful to have you with us today.
Also, from Entraide Missionnaire Inc., we have Denis Tougas, the coordinator. Mr. Tougas has appeared before our committee before, I believe, on the Great Lakes region study we did in regard to Africa. Welcome back. It's good to have you back here with us this morning.
Sending his regrets this morning is Robert Ouellette, the editor and chair of the Sierra Club Ontario. He is unable to be here.
We look forward to your comments, Ms. Picolotti. We would invite you to begin by opening with your 10-minute testimony.