Colleagues, since we have a full complement of our committee members, I will call this meeting to order.
This is meeting number 22 of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates. Pursuant to the motion adopted by the House on May 26 of this year, the meeting today is at the request of the four members who sent a request to undertake a study on the Canada student service grant.
I believe all of you are familiar with the procedures of this committee. We've been doing these Zoom meetings for quite a few months now. This is just a reminder that this meeting is scheduled for only one hour, so hopefully we can have everything that we need to discuss concluded within that hour.
I would also ask that, for the benefit of our technicians, if you are either asking questions or making comments and you start in one official language, to continue on and do not alternate between English and French. We've found that when you do alternate, even if you switch channels between English and French, it puts a burden on our technicians and sometimes delays the proceedings. Once again, I would simply ask, if possible, when you start making comments in one of the official languages, you continue on in that same language until you are finished your commentary.
As we were talking about just a few moments ago with other committee members, hopefully we'll be able to get everything concluded in this meeting. However, if we do decide to proceed with additional meetings, I wanted the committee to know what my schedule is like. For example, next Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday I will not be available. Thursday and Friday I will. Then, from the 18th to the 22nd I will not be available, but I will be available on July 23. In fact, I will be chairing our next scheduled meeting of this committee. Then, I'm gone away—and Kelly, you would appreciate this as you're going with me—to our Saskatchewan caucus meeting, so I'll be gone again from the 26th to the 29th.
I have a suggestion, and it's only a suggestion. If the committee, at the conclusion of today's meeting decides that you need or require more meetings, additional meetings, I'm suggesting you consider not starting those meetings, so that I can be available as your chair, until perhaps the end of July or the early part of August. That's just for your benefit so that you know my schedule. That's basically all I have to say.
Mrs. Block, I am going to invite you to speak to the motion as our first speaker, since we received the letter with your name on it, as well as the other members. If you have some additional commentary, before I turn the meeting over to you, please go ahead.