Hello.
Welcome to meeting number 26 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 fourth study on Arctic sovereignty, security and emergency preparedness of indigenous peoples.
On today's first panel, we will be hearing from Professor Christian Leuprecht, Royal Military College of Canada, in person; and Mr. Calvin Pedersen, volunteer with Kugluktuk search and rescue operation, also in person. From the Canadian Red Cross, we have Sarah Sargent, vice-president, programs, emergency management; as well as Shelley Cardinal, director of indigenous relations.
I would remind you of the Board of Internal Economy's requirements regarding physical distancing and the use of masks.
To ensure an orderly meeting, I would 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 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, if you're attending virtually, in English, French or Inuktitut. If interpretation is lost, please inform me immediately. We'll stop the proceedings and fix the problem.
The “raise hand” feature at the bottom of the screen can be used at any time if you wish to speak or alert the chair. 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. Those in the room, your microphone will be controlled as normal by the proceedings and verification officer. When speaking, I would ask you to speak slowly and clearly to help the interpreters, and when you are not speaking, please put your mike on mute.
A reminder that all comments should be addressed through the chair.
As with all of our meetings where we invite witnesses, each witness will have five minutes for opening remarks. I would ask you to stick to those five minutes, which will be followed by a question period.
Without further ado, we will start our proceedings. I would ask Professor Christian Leuprecht to start us off.