Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. This is the 40th meeting of the Standing Committee of Industry, Science and Technology. We're studying Bill C-393, an act to amend the Patent Act.
I'd like to let you know that our meetings today are long and complex. We're going to have three one-and-a-half-hour sessions. The witnesses are going to have five minutes for opening statements. I'll introduce them in a second. We're also going to have witnesses, in two of the three segments, by video conference.
Here with us right now, from the Universities Allied for Essential Medicines, is Rachel Kiddell-Monroe. We also have Amir Attaran, who is a Canada research chair of law, population health, and global development policy at the University of Ottawa; and Richard Dearden, who is a partner at Gowlings.
As you can see, the screens are black right now, but our intention is to have, by video conference, from Tallahassee, Florida, Frederick M. Abbott, from the Florida State University College of Law, as well as Joshua Kimani, from the Canadian Medical Institute in Kenya.
We will start with the witnesses here in front of us, and hopefully, by technology, we'll have the others join us before the opening statements of the witnesses who are with us right now.
Mr. Dearden, I think you were the first one here, so you're probably the most ready. I'll let you begin with your opening comments, for five minutes.