Good morning, everyone. Thank you for being here.
Mr. Chairman, I just want to get on the record that the witness that we put forward was Minister Lebel, who did not show here today, for whatever reason. For any Canadians watching, he did not show here to defend these changes.
Therefore, I will ask what I can of our good public servants, public officials, who, as you rightly point out, cannot speak for politicians. The politicians should be here, Mr. Chairman. The minister should be here to defend these changes, but let's see what we can get from the witnesses. How about that?