Good afternoon, everyone.
I call the meeting to order.
Welcome to the 16th meeting of the Standing Committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs.
We are gathered here today on the unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinabe nation.
Today we are starting our third study, which is on the administration and accessibility of indigenous peoples to the non‑insured health benefits program.
We will have three witnesses today. One of them is not yet online, but we're going to start the meeting with the hope that he will join us. At two o'clock, we'll proceed to our in camera meeting to discuss committee business.
I would like to remind you to respect the requirements of the Board of Internal Economy regarding physical distancing and wearing masks.
I would also like to outline a few rules to follow in our interactions.
Members or witnesses may speak in the official language of their choice. Interpretation services in English, French and Inuktitut are available for the first part of today's meeting. Please be patient with the interpretation. There may be a delay, especially since the Inuktitut has to be translated into English first before it can be translated into French, and vice versa. The interpretation button is found at the bottom of your screen with the choice of English, French or Inuktitut. If interpretation is lost, please inform us, and we'll stop the meeting until we can rectify the problem.
Before speaking, please wait until I recognize you by name, and if you are on the video conference, please click on the microphone icon to unmute yourself. When speaking, please speak slowly and clearly, and when you're not speaking, your mike should be on mute. I remind everyone that all comments should be addressed through the chair.
We're going to start with each of the witnesses speaking for five minutes.
Today, we have Vice-Chief David Pratt, Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations, appearing on behalf of the Assembly of First Nations. Vice-Chief Pratt is not yet online. We also have Natan Obed, president of the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, accompanied by Pierre Lecomte, senior policy adviser of the ITK. Finally, we have Cassidy Caron, president, Métis National Council.
Given that Vice-Chief Pratt is not here yet, I would ask Mr. Obed, if he is ready, to kick us off with a five-minute presentation.
Mr. Obed, please go ahead.