Thank you, Chair.
I'm going to turn things over to my colleague in a moment, but I have a notice of motion that I want to share with the committee prior to doing that.
Canadians have been shocked by the arrive scam scandal. Reports by The Globe and Mail over the weekend dug further into another shocking aspect of this scandal, and that is the apparent rampant abuse of the indigenous procurement set-aside in ways that do not benefit indigenous peoples or communities. The Globe and Mail highlighted how various indigenous leaders have raised significant concerns about these abuses, and yet there has been a lack of action.
Recognizing the need to get to the bottom of how dollars that should have benefited indigenous communities across Canada were actually flowing to a small number of well-connected insiders, I would like to put on notice the following motion, which we will discuss at a later date. The motion is as follows:
That, pursuant to Standing Orders 108(1), (2) and (3)(c), a Subcommittee on Government Operations and Indigenous Reconciliation be established to inquire into matters relating to Indigenous procurement policies as well as other aspects of the committee's mandate, which the Committee may refer from time to time, relating to Indigenous reconciliation, provided that
(a) the subcommittee be composed of seven members of which three shall be from the government party, two shall be from the official opposition, one from the Bloc Québécois and one from the New Democratic Party, to be named by the whips informing the clerk of the committee, with the first members named within one week of the adoption of this motion;
(b) the subcommittee be chaired by a member representing the official opposition, to be chosen by the subcommittee;
(c) the subcommittee shall have the same powers of the committee, except (i) the power to report directly to the House, (ii) the power to sit during a time when the Committee is sitting in Ottawa, and (iii) the power to sit on days when the House is sitting;
(d) when the subcommittee adopts any report, (i) it shall be deemed to have been adopted by the committee, (ii) dissenting or supplementary opinions shall be filed within seven days of the adoption of the report, unless the subcommittee provides for a longer amount of time, and (iii) the Chair of the committee shall be instructed to present it to the House on behalf of the committee; and
(e) the Chair of the subcommittee may, if not already a member, attend meetings of the Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure in a non-voting capacity.
Thank you, Chair. I will turn my time over to Ms. Block.