I call the meeting to order.
Pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), as per the decision voted upon by this committee back in June, we are continuing our study on poverty and poverty reduction.
I'm very pleased to be in Maple Ridge, B.C., and to be hosted by my colleague and sometime friend, Dan Ruimy. It's really a pleasure to be here. We drove by and saw his office on the way in, which was very nice, very well placed.
I do apologize for being late. We were at a shelter this morning. I'm going to blame Wayne just because it's easy. He just kept asking questions, but we learned a lot.
We have a fantastic full list of witnesses here today. We have Stephen Elliott-Buckley from Simon Fraser University's labour studies department. He is appearing as an individual. Welcome, sir.
From the City of Maple Ridge, we have Nicole Read, mayor. Welcome. Nice to see you again, Your Worship.
From Covenant House Vancouver, we have John Harvey, director of program services. Welcome.
From Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows Community Services, we have Vicki Kipps, executive director. Welcome.
Last but not least, from the Township of Langley, we have William R. Storie, senior adviser to council, corporate administration. That's quite the business card, sir. Welcome.
Each of you will have about seven minutes to provide an introduction. After everyone has had a turn to do that, I'm sure many of us will have a series of questions. They are timed. If you see me put the mike on, it's an indication that we're either out of time or will very soon be out of time. Often I will have to cut off my colleagues.
Without further ado, we're going to start with Stephen Elliott-Buckley from Simon Fraser University. The next seven minutes are yours, sir.