I call the meeting to order.
Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the Standing Committee on the Status of Women.
I'd also like to welcome Sean Fraser, who is here representing all of the men in the country.
I just wanted to take the opportunity to say that today we're beginning the work of the committee. I'm looking forward to exciting things. We can do important things for the women of Canada, and I think this team has great energy to do them.
If you'd like to ask questions in French, that's fine with me. I will try to answer in French.
We're pleased with the agenda today.
I would first like to welcome Meena Ballantyne, who is the head of Status of Women Canada.
For those of you who are new, the work of the status of women department is completely separate from the work the committee does. As background for us to start thinking about what we want the committee to work on, we've invited Meena to come here with her team to talk about what their department is doing.
Meena, welcome, and I invite you to introduce your team to us.