I call the meeting to order.
Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, colleagues. To our panellists, welcome.
Sorry. I don't speak French.
I'll be making my opening remarks in English.
You're undoubtedly aware that the minister responsible for Canada Post, the Hon. Judy Foote, has initiated a very extensive consultation process concerning the future of Canada Post. Phase one of that consultation process was the establishment of a task force whose mandate was to examine the financial viability and sustainability of Canada Post.
Phase two is why we are here today. We are conducting a cross-country tour of the country to talk with Canadians, organizations, and municipalities about their views on the future of Canada Post and try to elicit recommendations and suggestions from individuals and organizations about what they see the role of Canada Post to be in the future. That's why we are here today.
Without further ado, I'll get into the procedures. It's very simple.
Each of you has been asked to deliver a short five-minute opening statement. I understand Mr. Brun and Mr. Mourinet will be splitting their time, but it's still five minutes in total. If you care to look up occasionally during your presentation, you'll see that when you get to the four-minute mark, I'll give you the indication that you're at four minutes, so you'll have ample time to wrap up your comments. Should you not be able to complete your full five minutes, I will, unfortunately, have to be fairly strict with the five-minute limit, since we have a number of questions that will be coming from our committee members and we have a very tight schedule.
The process among committee members is very simple. The first four questioners will have seven minutes for questions and answers; the last two interventions will be five minutes. That's how we're going to proceed.
Your comments will form part of our final report, which will be tabled in Parliament sometime before the end of this year.
Without any further ado, I will turn the floor over to
Mr. Mourinet and Mr. Brun, you have five minutes.