We will call the meeting to order.
Today, pursuant to Standing Order 81(5), we are dealing with supplementary estimates (B) 2008-09: votes 1b and 20b under National Defence, referred to the committee on Thursday, January 29, 2009.
To start, I'll call vote 1b under National Defence, and I'll invite the minister to make his statement. We'll then have a round of questions. They'll be for 10 minutes to start, beginning with the official opposition, the Bloc, the NDP, and then over to the government.
So we will open up with the minister's comments.
Sir, it's good to have you here.