We will now begin the public portion of the meeting. Welcome.
Pursuant to Standing Order 108(2) and the motions adopted by the committee on March 9 and December 5, 2023, the committee is resuming its study on the recognition of Persian Gulf veterans and wartime service.
Today's meeting is taking place in a hybrid format.
I would now like to welcome the witnesses. I would like to begin by welcoming the Honourable Bill Blair, Minister of National Defence. Also, from the Department of National Defence, we have General Jennie Carignan, chief of the defence staff, Canadian Armed Forces, and we wish her all the best in this new role. We also have Major‑General Erick Simoneau, deputy commander of military personnel command, who is no stranger to the committee and whom we salute.
Minister, you have five minutes for your opening statement. Then we'll ask you some questions.
The floor is yours.