I call this meeting to order.
There are a couple of things I want to mention before we hear from Mr. Harris. The bells will ring at 5:15 today, so we're likely to adjourn a bit early. There's also an adoption of a budget for Bill C-316, and that information will be circulated by the clerk. We may get to it today, and if we don't, we'll get to it at the next meeting.
I also want you to think about a request from the Canadian Nuclear Association, which said they would like to appear before the committee when it studies employment and skills issues in rural and remote communities. They want to appear on February 29. If we look at our schedule, we will be dealing with skills development in remote, rural communities on February 27 and 29. We'll be dealing with drafting instructions on those. It would probably mean testimony of five or ten minutes, with some questions and answers. Whether we want to allow them to appear before us or not, you might think about that and I'll come back to it at a later meeting.
Today, we will be dealing with Bill C-316, an Act to amend the Employment Insurance Act. It essentially will deal with an enactment that would repeal provisions of the Employment Insurance Act that allow for qualifying and benefit periods to be extended as a result of the time spent by a claimant in a jail, penitentiary, or other similar institution. The bill is proposed by Mr. Richard M. Harris, who is here with us today. The procedure will be that he will make a brief presentation to us, and then members of the committee will get an opportunity to question Mr. Harris or to comment. We'll go through our normal routine with regard to that.
Mr. Harris, if you're ready, you can proceed.