Good afternoon, committee members and witnesses.
I call this meeting to order.
Welcome to meeting number 23 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. Some people are appearing virtually, including committee members, and the rest are present in the room.
I would expect all of us to follow the existing safety protocols related to the pandemic while we're here.
For members participating virtually, use the interpretation services at the bottom of the screen. As well, for those in the room, interpretation services are there. I would ask any member to notify me if we lose interpretation services, so that we can suspend while they are being corrected.
Welcome to the committee today, Monsieur Trudel from the Bloc Québécois, and Mr. Morrice from the Green Party.
I would advise members appearing on the screen to use the “raise hand” icon to notify me when they want to get my attention to be recognized. As well, would members in the committee room raise their hand. I will maintain a speaking order as identified.
I want to thank the witnesses for being here today and for understanding our delay, because the Commons does take precedence.
I had an early discussion with members of the committee and if I have agreement, we'll proceed with all of the witnesses giving their opening statements at once, and then we will go into a full round of questioning to conclude the meeting.
Do I have consensus from committee members to proceed that way?