I call this meeting to order.
Welcome to meeting number 28 of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Health. Today, we're meeting for a one-hour briefing on labour shortages in the health care sector and the foreign credential recognition program. In the second hour, we'll have a briefing from the Public Health Agency of Canada in relation to the study of the emergency situation facing Canadians in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
I'll forgo the usual announcement on hybrid proceedings. We're all quite familiar with them at this point, as are the officials who are appearing before us.
I would like it if we could do this right off the top, folks, because I always tend to forget this at the end. I'd like to set a deadline for the submission of witness lists for the children's health study that we will be resuming in September. After discussions with the clerk, I'm going to make a suggestion of July 18. The clerk will send out a reminder a couple of weeks before the deadline.
Is July 18 for witness lists on the children's health study okay?
Some hon. members: Agreed.
The Chair: It's adopted by consensus. Thank you.
In accordance with our routine motion, I'm informing the committee that all witnesses have completed the required connection tests in advance of the meeting.
I will now welcome our witnesses who are with us for the first hour this afternoon. From the Department of Employment and Social Development, we have Andrew Brown, senior assistant deputy minister of the skills and employment branch, and Erin Connell, director, skilled newcomers, employment integration and partnership, of the skills and employment branch.
We're going to begin with the five-minute opening statement, if one of you has an opening statement to present.
Welcome to the committee. You now have the floor.