Members of the committee, I welcome all of you and the witnesses, Minister Alghabra and his team, to meeting number 17 of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities.
Today's meeting is taking place in a hybrid format, pursuant to the House order of January 25, 2021. The proceedings will be made available via the House of Commons website. So you are aware, the webcast will always show the person speaking rather than the entirety of the committee.
To ensure an orderly meeting, I will outline a few rules to follow. First off, members and witnesses may speak in the official language of their choice. Interpretation services are available for this meeting. You have the choice at the bottom of your screen of floor, English or French. For members participating in person, proceed as you usually would when the whole committee is meeting in person in the committee room. Keep in mind the directives from the Board of Internal Economy regarding masking and health protocols.
Before speaking, please wait until I recognize you by name. If you are on the video conference, please click on the microphone icon to unmute yourself. For those in the room, your microphones will be controlled as normal by a proceedings and verification officer. As a reminder, all comments by members and witnesses should be addressed through the chair. When you are not speaking, your mike should be on mute. With regard to a speaking list, the committee clerk and I will do the very best we can to maintain the order of speaking for all members, whether they are participating virtually or in person.
Pursuant to Standing Order 108(2) and the motion adopted by the committee on Tuesday, January 26, 2021, the committee is meeting today to continue its study on the impact of COVID-19 on the aviation sector.
It's my pleasure to welcome our witnesses. We have, first of all, the Honourable Omar Alghabra, member of Parliament and Minister of Transport. Along with Minister Alghabra, we have officials from the Department of Transport: Mr. Michael Keenan, deputy minister; Mr. Kevin Brosseau, assistant deputy minister of safety and security; Mr. Lawrence Hanson, assistant deputy minister of policy; and Anuradha Marisetti, assistant deputy minister of programs.
With that, I'm going to hand the floor over to Minister Alghabra.
Minister, you have five minutes for your opening comments.