Thank you, Madame Thivierge and Madame Schorah. I don't see any hands raised, so thank you for those brief words of introduction about the process of doing amendments and then subsequently the clause-by-clause review.
I'd now like to welcome our witnesses from the national indigenous organizations.
From the Assembly of First Nations, we have National Chief RoseAnne Archibald, as well as Julie McGregor, director of justice. They are joining virtually today.
From the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, we have Natan Obed, president. He is here in person. From the Métis National Council, we have Cassidy Caron, president. She is here in person as well.
Just to ensure an orderly meeting, I'd like to outline a few rules to follow.
Members and witnesses may speak in the official language of their choice. Interpretation services in English, French and Inuktitut are available for today's meeting. Please be patient with the interpretation. There may be a delay in the Inuktitut translation since it has to be translated into English before it can be translated into French, and vice versa.
For those in the video conference, the interpretation button is found at the bottom of your screen. It's that little round globe. You can listen in one of the languages shown. If interpretation is lost, please inform me immediately, and we will stop the proceedings until we rectify it.
There's also a “raise hand” feature at the bottom of the screen. It can be used at any time if you wish to speak or alert the chair.
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. When speaking, please speak slowly and clearly. When you are not speaking, your mike should be on mute. This will help our interpreters a great deal.
I'll remind you that all comments should be addressed through the chair.
I would now like to invite each organization to make a five-minute opening statement. That will be followed by questions from members.
I would now like to invite National Chief RoseAnne Archibald to begin with her opening comments for five minutes.