Good afternoon.
Welcome, everyone.
I call to order meeting number 20 of the House of Commons Standing Committee on National Defence.
Today's meeting is in hybrid format, pursuant to the motion adopted by the House on January 25, 2021. Committee members will be present in person or by connecting through Zoom.
The proceedings will be made available via the House of Commons website. So you are aware, the webcast will always show the person speaking, rather than the entirety of the committee.
For those who are participating virtually, I will outline a few rules to follow. You may speak in the official language of your choice, and interpretation services are available for this meeting. If interpretation is lost, please inform me immediately and we will ensure that the interpretation is properly restored before we continue.
When speaking, and I say this as a reminder to me more than a reminder to you, please speak slowly and clearly in order to help the interpreters with us today do this challenging job. When you're not speaking, please put your mike on mute.
We will do our very best, between the clerk and I, to maintain a consolidated order of speaking for all members, whether they're participating virtually or in person.
Before we begin today, we have a couple of pieces of urgent business. It's something we've been putting off for about the last month, but we really have to address it. It should only take a couple of minutes.
We need to adopt the budget on the committee's study of the impacts of COVID-19 on CAF operations. You've all received the budget details by email. It includes witnesses' expenses, meals and telephone lines.
Do I have agreement to adopt the proposed budget in the amount of $3,000 for our study of access to mental health services within the Canadian Armed Forces?