Colleagues, we will call to order the 34th meeting of the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security. Today we'll be dealing with Bill C-2, an act to amend the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.
For the first hour of witnesses, we will have two of our ministers appearing. They are the Honourable Rona Ambrose, Minister of Health, and the Honourable Steven Blaney, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness. They will be here for the first hour.
Accompanying them and staying for the duration will be a number of other officials: from the Department of Health, Hilary Geller, assistant deputy minister, healthy environments and consumer safety branch; from the Department of Justice, Diane Labelle, general counsel for legal services, Health Canada; from the Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, Kathy Thompson, assistant deputy minister, community safety and countering crime branch; and, closing it out, from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Chief Superintendent Eric Slinn, director general, support services, federal policing.
For the next hour, from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m., we will have an additional departmental official from the Department of Health appearing as a witness. That will be Suzy McDonald, associate director general, controlled substances and tobacco directorate, healthy environments and consumer safety branch.
That's the list of our witnesses today.
Colleagues, without further delay we will go to statements from our ministers. First up is Minister Ambrose.
Minister, you have the floor.