North West Company Inc. (The)

Please be advised that this conference call is being recorded. Welcome to the Northwest Company, Inc. First Quarter Results Conference Call. I would now like to turn the meeting over to Mr. Dan McConnell, President and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. McConnell, please go ahead.

Good morning, everyone, and thank you for that, operator. We are experiencing a bit of some headwinds, you could argue, today in head office, given the major severe storms that were in the area last night. I'm not sure if you guys kept up with it, but there was numerous tornadoes and pretty significant winds and rainfall. And as a result, our head office is out of power. So we're on the day of the AGM and the conference call, but nonetheless, the resilient crew is definitely all kicking into action. And we're in the dark right now, but with technology, we don't expect any further glitches. At that, I would like to welcome you for the first quarter conference call. Joining me today, of course, are John King, our Chief Financial Officer, and Alexis Cloutier, our VP Legal and Corporate Secretary. Alexis is going to start with our disclosure statement.

Thank you, Dan. Before we begin today, I remind you that certain information presented may constitute forward-looking statements. Such statements reflect Northwest's current expectations, estimates, projections, and assumptions. These forward-looking statements are not guaranteed of future performance and are subject to certain risks, which could cause actual performance and financial results in the future to vary materially from those contemplated in the forward-looking statement. Any forward-looking statements are current only as of the date they are made, and the company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future results, or otherwise, other than what's required by law. For additional information on these risks, please see Northwest's Annual Information Form and its MD&A under the heading Risk Factors.