Good afternoon, everybody. I call the meeting to order.
Welcome to meeting number 21 of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates. The committee is meeting today from 3:36 to 5:36. We'll hear from PHAC and PSPC as part of the committee's study on the government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and then discuss committee business afterwards.
I'd like to take this opportunity to remind all participants in this meeting that screenshots or taking photos of your screen are not permitted.
To ensure an orderly meeting, I would like to outline a few rules to follow. Interpretation in this video conference will work very much like in a regular committee meeting. You have the choice at the bottom of your screen of floor, English or French.
Before speaking, please wait until I recognize you by name. When you are ready to speak, you may click on your microphone icon to activate your mike. When you are not speaking, your mike should be on mute. To raise a point of order during the meeting, committee members should ensure their microphone is unmuted and then say “point of order” to get the chair's attention.
In order to ensure social distancing in the committee room, if you need to speak privately with the clerk or the analyst during the meeting, please email them through their committee email address. For those people who are participating in the committee room, please note that masks are required unless you are seated and when physical distancing is not possible.
I will now invite the witnesses to make their opening statements. We will begin with the Public Health Agency of Canada.
Thank you.