I call this meeting to order.
Welcome, everyone, to meeting number 23 of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Health. Pursuant to the orders of reference of April 11 and April 20, 2020, the committee is meeting for the purpose of receiving evidence concerning matters related to the government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Firstly, in order to facilitate the work of our interpreters and ensure an orderly meeting, I would like to outline a few rules to follow. The 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 either floor, English or French. Please speak slowly and clearly and hold your microphone in front of your mouth, as directed during the sound check. If you will be speaking in both official languages, please ensure that you switch to the language that you will be speaking on the translation icon. That will help the interpreters and people listening to the feed, and also allows for better sound quality for interpretation.
Before speaking, please wait until I recognize you by name. When you are ready to speak, click on the microphone icon to activate your mike. Should members need to request the floor outside of their designated time for questions, they should activate their mike and state that they have a point of order. I'll remind you that all comments by members and witnesses should be addressed through the chair.
Should any technical challenges arise, please advise the chair or the clerk immediately and the technical team will work to resolve it. If necessary, we will suspend while that happens.
Before we get started, can everyone click on their screen, on the top right-hand corner and ensure they are on gallery view. With this view everyone should be able to see all of the participants in a grid-like fashion. This will ensure that all video participants can see one another.
I'd like to welcome our witnesses now.
Each witness group will have 10 minutes for an opening statement, followed by the usual rounds of questions from members. As individuals, although appearing together, we have, from McMaster University, Dr. Gerry Wright, director of the Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research and David Braley Centre for Antibiotic Discovery; and Dr. Karen Mossman, acting vice-president, research. We also have, as individuals, from the Université de Montréal, Dr. Caroline Quach-Thanh, full professor, department of microbiology, infectious diseases and immunology, faculty of medicine, and medical microbiologist and epidemiologist, CHU Sainte-Justine; and Dr. Cécile Tremblay, professor of microbiology, immunology and infectious diseases.
Welcome, and thank you all for sharing your time with us today. We will begin with Dr. Wright and Dr. Mossman. You have 10 minutes between the two of you. Please go ahead.