Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.
Welcome to the 40th meeting of the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates.
We'll continue with the study we have under way on estimates and supply—to consider the way our committee and our government analyzes our estimates process.
We're very pleased today to welcome, as a special guest witness, by teleconference, a very well-respected authority on this subject and someone whose name, I must say, has come up in the witness testimony of various other witnesses who we've had presenting before our committee.
I'd like to welcome to the committee Dr. Allen Schick from the School of Public Policy at the University of Maryland.
You are very welcome here, Professor Schick, and we will benefit from and very much value what you have to say to us.
This is an all-party parliamentary committee, as you know. It's one of the only committees chaired by the opposition members. My name is Pat Martin, and I'm a member of Parliament with the New Democratic Party, the official opposition. You'll be getting questions from members of the three different parties represented here.
Our normal practice is to ask you, sir, to make 10- or 15-minute opening remarks. We have one hour to share together, and then we divide ourselves into five-minute increments for question period.
Having said that, sir, welcome, and you have the floor.