MPs hold virtual session
About 280 MPs took part Tuesday in Canada’s first-ever virtual House of Commons and declared it a success despite numerous technical hiccups.
Commons Speaker
Anthony Rota wrapped up the historic three-hour meeting with thanks to the chamber’s technical staff for ensuring it went “relatively well.”
“We did have a few hitches but nobody’s perfect,” he said.
Technically, Tuesday’s video conference was a meeting of a special COVID-19 committee.
But all 338 MPs are members of the committee.
The House has been adjourned — except for three days to pass emergency financial aid bills — since mid-March as part of the effort to curb the spread of COVID-19.
The special committee was struck as a way to allow opposition MPs to continue holding the government to account during the pandemic, until virtual sittings of the Commons can be organized officially.
As part of an agreement between the government and opposition parties, a small group of MPs will also meet for an in-person Commons sitting once a week, starting today, when they are scheduled to deal with legislation authorizing emergency benefits for students.
After Tuesday’s debut run of a virtual sitting, Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner called for “a virtual round of applause” for the technical staff.
Her praise for the technicians came after fellow Conservative Alain Rayes complained that he’d been cut off from the proceedings for about 15 minutes when he lost his internet connection.
There had been concern that MPs in remote and rural areas might have trouble with internet connections but it turned out Rayes was in his Parliament Hill office when he was shut out.