Good morning, everyone. I call this meeting to order. Welcome to meeting number two 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 pursuant to the House order of November 25, 2021. Members are attending in person in the room and remotely using the Zoom application. The proceedings will be made available via the House of Commons website. The webcast will always show the person speaking, rather than the entirety of the room.
I would like to take this opportunity to remind all participants to this meeting that screenshots or taking photos of your screen is not permitted.
To ensure an orderly meeting I would like to outline a few rules to follow.
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 floor English or French. If interpretation is lost, please inform me immediately, and we will ensure interpretation is properly restored before resuming the proceedings. The “raise hand” feature at the bottom of the screen can be used at any time if you wish to speak to the chair or alert the chair, or you can simply raise your hand in the room.
For members participating in person, proceed as you usually would when the whole committee is meeting in person in a committee room. Keep in mind the Board of Internal Economy's guidelines for mask use and health protocols.
Before speaking, please wait until I recognize you by name. If you are on the video conference, please click on the microphone icon to unmute yourself. For those in the room, your microphone will be controlled as normal by the proceedings and verification officer. When speaking, please speak slowly and clearly. When you are not speaking, you mike should be on mute. A reminder that all comments by members and witnesses should be addressed through the chair.
With regard to a speaking list, the committee clerk and I will do the best we can to maintain a consolidated order of speaking for all members, whether they are participating virtually or in person.
As you are aware, we are studying Bill C-3, an act to amend the Criminal Code and the Canada Labour Code. Pursuant to the order of reference of Thursday, December 9, 2021, the committee will commence its consideration of Bill C-3, an act to Amend the Criminal Code and the Canada Labour Code.
We will wait until we have the minister, who is doing a sound check.
I will suspend momentarily while we await the arrival of the minister, virtually.