Howdy, folks. We're back in business. I'd like to start the meeting by telling folks about some of the things that have transpired.
At the last meeting we talked about having the minister come in to either talk about budgetary estimates or kind of lay out a framework for what he's going to be busying himself with and what he thinks are the issues of the day. The minister has accepted to come to the committee.
We were originally looking at having him come this Thursday, but John Howard, the Prime Minister of Australia, is going to be kicking around, and he's going to be addressing the House at about that time. So we didn't think that would make much sense, because even though we love the minister, we would enjoy hearing from the Prime Minister of Australia--maybe even more so than hearing from the minister.
Rather than put people in that conundrum, we booked the minister for next Tuesday. He has accepted that, so that sounds good.
There's one other thing I think we should consider. This Thursday, the Prime Minister of Australia will be addressing the House at 3 o'clock, right after question period.