I call this meeting to order.
Welcome to meeting number 86 of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Health. Today's meeting is taking place in a hybrid format, pursuant to the Standing Orders.
In accordance with our routine motion, I am informing the committee that all remote participants have completed the required connection tests in advance of the meeting.
Pursuant to Standing Order 108(2) and the motion adopted on September 20, 2023, the committee is holding a briefing with the Minister of Health and the Minister of Mental Health and Addictions about their mandate letters.
Before we begin, I would like to welcome the Honourable Mark Holland, Minister of Health, as well as a very esteemed group of officials accompanying him this evening.
From the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, we have Diane Allan, associate vice-president, policy and programs, by video conference; and from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Tammy Clifford, acting president, by video conference. From the Department of Health, we have Stephen Lucas, deputy minister; Lynne René de Cotret, assistant deputy minister, oral health branch; Jocelyne Voisin, assistant deputy minister, strategic policy branch; and Dr. Supriya Sharma, chief medical adviser. From the Public Health Agency of Canada, we have Heather Jeffrey, president; and we have Dr. Theresa Tam, chief public health officer of Canada.
Minister, I believe that all of the officials would be well aware of this, but perhaps you are not. The practice that we follow on this committee, which seems to be most relevant when ministers appear, is that we try to keep the length of the question the same as the length of the answer. If you're inclined to go on longer than the length of the question, you can probably expect to be interrupted. If you're interrupted prematurely after a long preamble, I'll step in to make sure that you get a chance to finish your answer.
I would encourage people to use the translation earpieces that are available for that purpose.
With that, welcome to the committee, Minister Holland. You have the floor.