I call the meeting to order.
I would like to welcome everyone to meeting number 10 of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Health. Pursuant to the order of reference of Tuesday, March 24, the committee is meeting for a briefing on the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Today’s meeting is taking place exclusively by teleconference and the audio feed of our proceedings is made available via the House of Commons website.
Since we can't see who is in the room, I would like to acknowledge who is in the room.
I'm Ron McKinnon, the chair. We have the clerk of the committee, Michael MacPherson. We have the Library of Parliament analysts Karin Phillips and Sonya Norris.
For the Conservative Party, we have Matt Jeneroux, Dr. Robert Kitchen, Len Webber and Tamara Jansen. For the Bloc Québécois, we have Luc Thériault, and sitting in as well from the Bloc we have Martin Champoux. For the NDP, we have Don Davies. For the Liberal Party, we have Tony Van Bynen, Sonia Sidhu, Dr. Marcus Powlowski, Mike Kelloway and Darren Fisher. Sitting in on the Liberal side is Dr. Helena Jaczek. We may have Jenica Atwin from the Green Party on the line as well.
As witnesses, from the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians we have Dr. Alan Drummond and Dr. Howard Ovens. From the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions, we have Ms. Linda Silas. From the Canadian Medical Association, we have Dr. Sandy Buchman. From the Canadian Pharmacists Association, we have Dr. Barry Power and Dr. Shelita Dattani.
Once again, everybody, when you speak, if you're reading a statement, please bear in mind that simultaneous translation is difficult in these circumstances. Speak slowly. Speak carefully. I would like to emphasize that you should please wait until I recognize you by name before speaking. When I recognize you by name, please unmute your microphone before you begin speaking. Once again, there is no moderator on the call, so please mute your line when you're not speaking.
During questions and answers, I ask that members identify the witness to whom they are addressing their questions rather than simply directing their question to the entire panel. This will allow me to recognize the witness and give that person the floor. All comments by members and witnesses should be addressed through the chair.
Members, should you need to request the floor outside of your designated time for questions, please unmute your microphone and signal this to the chair. When speaking, please speak slowly and clearly and do not use speakerphone. Should any technical challenges arise, in particular in relation to interpretation, please advise the chair, and the technical team will work to resolve them. Please note that we may need to suspend during these times, as we need to ensure all members are able to participate fully.
During this meeting, we will follow the same rules that usually apply to opening statements and the questioning of witnesses during our regular meetings. Each witness group will have 10 minutes for an opening statement, followed by the usual rounds of questions from members. We have previously agreed that we will have three rounds of questions.
I would now like to welcome our witnesses.
We'll start with the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians.
Dr. Drummond, you have 10 minutes for an opening statement. Please proceed.