Good morning, everybody. Welcome to our committee, the Standing Committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs.
Today we are begining our review of Bill C-92, an act respecting first nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families.
Before we start, I want to let the committee and our guests know that we unfortunately have had an administrative glitch and therefore don't have the name tags prepared and the documents in front of us as we normally do. The mail bag, however, is to arrive very shortly, and things will go back to normal. For now I'm going to ask every member to clearly state their name and position, because we don't have these in front of us. I'd ask members to jot theirs down, because we won't have name tags for a while.
This committee plays an important role in Parliament's goal of reconciliation and understanding the truth. We recognize the lands we hold the meeting on not just as a formality, but ask Canadians to reflect on whose land it was before settlers came. How does Canadian history work, and why are we in a position now in which settlement occurred in some areas 400 years ago and yet we still have many issues to address? It's an important process for all Canadians, especially here in Ottawa, for those watching.
We are on the unceded territory of the Algonquin people. We thank them for what they've done for all of us.
Let us move on to our presentation. We're honoured to have Minister Seamus O'Regan, who will open our discussion. He'll present his remarks, and then we'll have an opportunity to delve into the bill by having a chance to ask him some questions.
Whenever you're ready, minister, perhaps you could introduce your team with you. We know who you are, but we'd like to know the others as well.
It's over to you.