Good afternoon, everybody. I call the meeting to order.
Welcome to meeting number 17 of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates. Today we will be continuing our study on the national shipbuilding strategy. We will also discuss committee business during the last 60 minutes of the meeting.
Today's meeting is taking place, as you know, in a hybrid format, pursuant to the House order of November 25, 2021. Members are attending in person in the room and remotely using the Zoom application. Regarding the speaking list, the committee clerk and I will do our best to maintain a consolidated order of speaking for all members, whether they're participating virtually or in person.
I would like to take this opportunity to remind all participants at this meeting that taking screenshots or photos of your screen is not permitted.
Given the ongoing pandemic situation and in light of the recommendations from public health authorities, as well as the directive of the Board of Internal Economy on October 19, 2021, to remain healthy and safe, the following is recommended for all those attending the meeting in person.
Anyone with symptoms should participate by Zoom and not attend the meeting in person. Everyone must maintain two-metre physical distancing whether seated or standing. Everyone must wear a non-medical mask when circulating in the room. It is recommended in the strongest possible terms that members wear their masks at all times, including when seated. Non-medical masks, which provide better clarity over cloth masks, are available in the room.
Everyone present must maintain proper hand hygiene by using the hand sanitizer that you may have seen at the entrance when you came in. Committee rooms are cleaned before and after each meeting. We thank the staff for doing that. To maintain this, everyone is encouraged to clean the surfaces such as the desk, the chair and the microphone with the provided disinfectant wipes when vacating or taking a seat.
As the chair, I will be enforcing these measures for the duration of the meeting. I thank members in advance for their co-operation.
With that, I would like to welcome our witnesses. We're going to hear from Mr. Fulfaro and Mr. Padulo.
Greetings and welcome to Mr. Fulfaro, who is with us from Italy.
Mr. Fulfaro, I invite you to go ahead with your opening statements, please.