Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.
Thank you for being with us here today. We're opening the 56th meeting of the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates.
This will be the first public session of a new study we're undertaking on public-private partnerships. We believe there's a great deal of interest on the part of the general public, and certainly of members present, to measure and examine the efficacy of the public-private partnership programs that governments are engaged in.
We're very pleased to welcome four knowledgeable witnesses to make representations today: from the C.D. Howe Institute, Mr. Finn Poschmann; from the Conference Board of Canada, Mr. Vijay Gill, associate director of public policy—welcome, Mr. Gill; from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, Hugh Mackenzie, research associate—welcome, Mr. Mackenzie; and from the Canadian Council for Public-Private Partnerships, Mr. Mark Romoff, president and CEO, and Mr. Michael Marasco, a member of the board of the administration.
Mr. Poschmann was to be the first presenter, but I think we're going to change the order up briefly and ask Mr. Gill if he will present first.
Normally, gentlemen, we ask people to limit their presentations to five to ten minutes. There are four of you today, and we want to have adequate time for the committee members to put their questions.
Mr. Gill, if you're ready, the floor is yours.