I call the meeting to order.
Welcome to meeting 136 of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs.
As always, I want to start by acknowledging that we are gathered on the ancestral and unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinabe people, and by expressing gratitude that we're able to do the important work of this committee on lands that they've stewarded since time immemorial.
Pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the motion adopted by the committee on Tuesday, February 1, 2022, and the order of reference of Tuesday, November 19, 2024, the committee is resuming its study of the barriers to indigenous economic development.
I want to welcome our witnesses for the first panel. We have the Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Public Services and Procurement, and the Honourable Patty Hajdu, Minister of Indigenous Services.
They are joined by officials from the Department of Indigenous Services, including Gina Wilson, deputy minister; Keith Conn, assistant deputy minister; and from lands and economic development, Jessica Sultan, director general, economic policy development.
From the Department of Public Works and Government Services, we have Arianne Reza, the deputy minister, and Catherine Poulin, assistant deputy minister, departmental oversight branch.
Ministers, welcome. You will each have 10 minutes for your opening statements, after which we will proceed to the rounds of questions.
We start with Minister Duclos.