Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. I call the meeting to order.
This is meeting number 15 of the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities. Today is Thursday, March 6, 2014. We're continuing our study concerning opportunities for aboriginal persons in the workforce.
Committee members, please cease discussions. We're starting the meeting. Thank you.
Again we have a split panel of witnesses. For the first hour we have the witnesses in front of us to provide their testimony.
Taking part in the first hour we have Ms. Karin Hunt, executive director with the Prince George Nechako Aboriginal Employment and Training Association. We're also joined by Mr. Steve Williams, chair of the Aboriginal Labour Force Development Circle. From the International Union of Operating Engineers we have Mr. Steven Schumann, Canadian government affairs director, and Mr. Brian Pelletier, aboriginal coordinator with local 793.
Before we get into the testimony, I want to mention that we are going to take some time at the end of the meeting, maybe five to ten minutes, to deal with some committee business.
I will now turn the floor over to you, Ms. Hunt, to begin your testimony. You have 10 minutes.