Good afternoon.
I call the meeting to order.
Welcome to meeting number 18 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 continuing our third study, which focuses on the administration of the non-insured health benefits program and its accessibility to indigenous peoples.
On our first panel, we'll be hearing from the Honourable Patty Hajdu, Minister of Indigenous Services, and officials from the Department of Indigenous Services and the Department of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs.
Keep in mind the Board of Internal Economy's guidelines for physical distancing and mask use.
To ensure an orderly meeting, I would also like to outline a few rules to follow.
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, in either English or French or Inuktitut. If interpretation is lost, please inform me immediately, and we'll ensure interpretation is properly restored. The “raise hand” feature at the bottom of the screen can be used at any time if you wish to speak or to alert the chair.
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're not speaking, please put your mike on mute. As a reminder, all comments should be addressed through the chair.
Colleagues, all of you know the standard procedures for these meetings.
We are about to hear from Minister Hajdu. Minister Hajdu has requested to speak for eight minutes. As you know, our routine motions normally limit this to five minutes. I understand that Ms. Gill and Ms. Idlout are fine with eight minutes.
I'd like to ask the Conservatives whether they're okay with eight minutes.