I call this meeting to order. Good morning, everyone.
Welcome to meeting number eight of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs.
Today is November 5, 2020. I'd like to start the meeting by providing you with information following the motion that was adopted in the House on Wednesday, September 23.
The committee is now sitting in a hybrid format, meaning that members can participate either in person or by video conference. Witnesses must appear by video conference. All members, regardless of their method of participation, will be counted for the purposes of quorum. The committee's power to sit, however, is limited by the priority use of House resources, which is determined by the whips. In committee business today, I think we're going to have a couple of hurdles because of this issue, which we can discuss.
All questions must be decided by a recorded vote, unless the committee disposes of them with unanimous consent or on division. Finally, the committee may deliberate in camera, provided that it takes into account the potential risks to confidentiality inherent in such deliberations with remote participants.
Today's proceedings will be made available via the House of Commons website. I remind you that the webcast will always show the person speaking, rather than the entirety of the committee.
To ensure an orderly meeting, I'd like to outline a few rules to follow.
For those participating virtually, members and witnesses may speak in the official language of their choice. Interpretation services are available for this meeting. You have the choice, at the bottom of your screen, of floor, English or French. Please make sure you select your choice at this time, so there are no delays once you start speaking. Before speaking, click on the microphone icon to activate your mike. When you are done speaking, please put your mike on mute to minimize any interference.
I remind you that all comments by members and witnesses should be addressed through the chair. Should members need to request the floor outside of their designated time for questions, they should activate their mike and say that they have a point of order. If a member wishes to intervene on a point of order that has been raised by another member, they should use the “raise hand” function at the bottom of their screen. This will signal their interest to speak.
When speaking, please speak slowly and clearly. Unless there are exceptional circumstances, the use of headsets with a boom mike is mandatory. Should any technical challenges arise, please advise the chair. Please note that we may need to suspend for a few minutes to ensure that all members can participate fully.
For those participating in person, proceed as you usually would when the whole committee is meeting in person in the committee room. Should you wish to get my attention, just signal me with a hand gesture on the screen, or you can call for the chair. Should you wish to raise a point of order, wait until the appropriate time to indicate that clearly, and raise your point of order.
The clerk and I will maintain a consolidated speaking order. However, the speaking order for the purposes of the formal portion of today's meeting has already been given to me in advance, so if you want any changes to that, let me or the clerk know, or you can just speak up at the time I call out your name.
Let's get started with today's meeting. We're pleased to have, from the Government of Saskatchewan, Dr. Saqib Shahab, chief medical officer for the ministry of health; and Dr. Denise Werker, deputy chief medical health officer for the ministry of health. From the Government of New Brunswick, we have Dr. Jennifer Russell, chief medical officer for the ministry of health.
Welcome to all of you. We're honoured to have you. I know we have members from your provinces who may have gotten to know you or at the very least we have gotten to know you through our television screens, because we see you so often delivering updates for your various provinces. We really appreciate the hard work you've been doing throughout this pandemic. It has been a marathon and I can't imagine how tiring it must be for everyone working within the ministry of health federally and provincially.
Dr. Shahab, we'll start with your five-minute opening remarks.
Please let me know if I'm pronouncing anyone's name a little off.