I call this meeting to order.
Welcome to meeting 128 of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development, and the Status of Persons with Disabilities.
Today's meeting is taking place in a hybrid format in accordance with the committee's routine motion that was adopted by the House of Commons. It covers members attending virtually and in person in the room.
I would like to make a number of comments.
To those in the room who wish to participate, please raise your hand to get my attention. Wait until I recognize you. For those appearing virtually, use the “raise hand” icon and wait until I recognize you before participating.
Today's meeting is taking place, according to House of Commons rules, in both official languages. You can participate in the official language of your choice by using interpretation services on the microphone in front of you. I would advise witnesses, as well as committee members, to familiarize themselves with the translation services. If you're English, make sure you're on the English channel before you tell me that you cannot hear translation, or that you're on the French one if you want to hear it en français. If you're appearing virtually, click on the globe icon at the bottom of your Surface and choose the official language of your choice.
Also, for those in the room, please turn off any devices you have that may have alarms on them that could go off, in order to protect the translators. Please refrain from tapping on the microphone, because the sounds can be harmful to the translators.
With that, I want to first introduce the witnesses appearing today—