I call this meeting to order.
Welcome to meeting number 15 of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Official Languages. The committee is meeting, for the first hour, on its study of the challenges of the parliamentary interpretation service in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The second hour of the meeting will be dedicated to committee business in camera.
To ensure an orderly meeting, I would like to outline a few rules to follow.
I would like to remind participants attending the meeting remotely, that screenshots or taking photos of your screen is not permitted. This was mentioned by the Speaker of the House of Commons on September 29, 2020.
Members and witnesses may speak in the official language of their choice.
You have the choice, at the bottom of your screen, of either floor, English or French.
Before speaking, click on the microphone icon to activate your own mic. When you are done speaking, please put your mic on mute to minimize any interference.
A reminder that all comments by members and witnesses should be addressed through the chair. When speaking, please speak slowly and clearly.
Unless there are exceptional circumstances, the use of headsets with a boom microphone is mandatory for everyone participating remotely.
Should any technical challenges arise, please advise the chair.
Please note that we may need to suspend a few minutes as we need to ensure all members are able to participate fully.
For those participating in person, masks are required unless you are seated and when physical distancing is not possible.
Should you wish to get my attention, signal the clerk or signal with your hand. Should you wish to raise a point of order, please activate your microphone and indicate to me clearly that you wish to raise a point of order.
I would now like to welcome our witness.
I would like to welcome Mr. Christoph Stoll.
He is a senior lecturer and research fellow with the Conference Interpreting Programme at the University of Heidelberg.
Mr. Stoll, you will have seven and a half minutes for your presentation. I will show you when you have one minute remaining. If you see the red card, your time is over.
Welcome, and good evening.