I now declare this 36th meeting of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts in order.
Colleagues, you will recall that we followed our choice of chapters following the tabling of the spring 2014 report, and we're working our way through that. Today we have the NDP choice for the public hearing, and it is chapter 8, “Meeting Needs for Key Statistical Data—Statistics Canada”, of the spring 2014 report of the Auditor General of Canada.
I am pleased to advise that of course we have our Auditor General here, Mr. Michael Ferguson.
Welcome, sir. It's good to have you here again.
We also have the appropriate government officials here to give their testimony and answer questions.
I'll ask you to introduce yourselves and your delegation when I call upon you to give your opening remarks.
If there are no interventions from colleagues, or questions, or any reason why we should delay—and I'm not hearing any—we will then proceed. We will begin with the opening remarks of the Auditor General.
Mr. Ferguson, you now have the floor, sir.