I call the meeting to order. Good morning, colleagues.
I want to specifically welcome Mr. Bachrach and Ms. Kusie to our committee. We look forward to having them participate this morning.
Welcome to meeting number 30 of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts. The committee is meeting in public today and is being televised.
Pursuant to Standing Order 108(3)(g), the committee is meeting today to study report 5, “Follow-up Audit on Rail Safety—Transport Canada”, of the 2021 reports 1 to 5 of the Auditor General of Canada.
Today's meeting is taking place in a hybrid format, pursuant to the House order of January 25, 2021. Therefore, members may be attending in person in the room or remotely by using the Zoom application. It is my understanding that everybody is attending remotely today.
Interpretation services are available for this meeting. 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 mike. When you are done speaking, please put your mike on mute to minimize any interference. 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. Also note that we may need to suspend for a few minutes, as we want to ensure that all members are able to participate fully.
I'd now like to welcome the witnesses who are joining us today. From the Office of the Auditor General, we have Karen Hogan, Auditor General of Canada; Dawn Campbell, principal; and Isabelle Marsolais, director. From the Department of Transport, we have Michael Keenan, deputy minister; Aaron McCrorie, associate assistant deputy minister, safety and security; and Michael DeJong, director general of rail safety.
With that, I would like to turn the floor over to Ms. Hogan for five minutes.