Good afternoon, everyone.
Welcome to the 35th meeting of the Standing Committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs. We are gathered here today on the unceded territory of the Algonquin/Anishnaabe nation.
I'd like to welcome our witnesses who have joined us for this study on Bill C-29. In person we have Karen Restoule, founder of Bold Realities; Karla Buffalo, CEO of the Athabasca Tribal Council; and Chief Commissioner Clarence Manny Jules, First Nations Tax Commission.
To ensure an orderly meeting, I'd 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 could be a delay, especially since the Inuktitut has to be translated into English first before it can be translated into French, and vice versa.
For those on video conference, the interpretation button is found at the bottom of your screen—the little globe—and you can listen in English, French or Inuktitut. If interpretation is lost, please inform me immediately. We will ensure that it's restored before we resume.
The “raise hand” feature at the bottom of the screen can also 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 video conference, please click on the microphone icon to unmute yourself.