I call this meeting to order.
Good morning, everyone. Welcome to meeting number nine of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs.
I would like to start the meeting by providing you with some information following the motion that was adopted in the House on Wednesday, September 23, 2020.
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 is, however, limited by the priority use of House resources, which is determined by the whips. 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. As a reminder, the webcast will always show the person speaking, rather than the entirety of the committee. To ensure an orderly meeting, I would like to outline a few rules to follow.
For those participating virtually, which is basically everyone today, 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 either floor, English or French. Before speaking, click on the microphone icon to activate your own mike. When you are done speaking, please put the mike on mute to minimize any interference. As a reminder, 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 state 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, please use the “raise hand” function at the bottom of your screen. When speaking, please speak slowly and clearly.
Unless there are exceptional circumstances, the use of a headset 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 all members are able to participate fully.
With that, we will begin the first panel. We have three panels today and a three-hour meeting. We will be going until two o'clock. Ideally, I'll be trying to end the panels five minutes before the hour so that we have time to transition into the next panel. We'll try to be as efficient as possible with our time.
For our first panel, I would like to welcome—