Virtual Parliament ready to roll
Tools in place, but it’s up to MPs to decide: Speaker
OTTAWA — House of Commons speaker Anthony Rota told a committee Tuesday the technology is in place to resume Parliament virtually, including with remote voting.
But it will be up to MPs to decide if they’re comfortable, and opposition MPs said they’re not yet convinced.
The Liberals with support from the NDP and Greens voted last month to effectively suspend Parliament until Sept. 21. Part of the Liberals’ argument for suspending full parliamentary sittings is that only those physically in the chamber would be able to vote on bills and motions.
Since mid-March MPs have only been in the chamber in limited numbers to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The House continues to sit as a special committee on the pandemic, with members taking part both in the House of Commons and virtually through a video conference, with screens in the chamber.
But that committee does not allow for voting, preventing a full return of Parliament that could include opposition day motions, private member’s bills and even confidence votes.
Testifying Tuesday at the Commons’ procedure and house affairs committee studying the issue, Rota said House of Commons staff have the tools to allow Parliament to go forward and hold votes.
“The technology is in place. It has been tested in other places,” he said. “It really comes down to the comfort level that individuals are willing to live with.”
The House of Commons has been using an upgraded version of the Zoom platform to conduct committee meeting through video conference, which has incorporated translation and allows MPs to participate from across the country.
Almost all votes MPs cast in the House are done publicly, with MPs either voicing their opinion or standing in the chamber as their name is called to indicate their vote. Rota said he believes those votes could continue virtually.
He said if MPs chose to go ahead, they could hold votes through video conferencing with MPs standing in front of the camera and raising their hand, or they could use the raise hand feature on Zoom that signifies their intention.
Parliament is governed by what are called the standing orders, rules on procedure and voting, that spell out how the Commons daily functions are structured.
Rota said House staff have reviewed those standing orders and found all of the ones that would have to change to allow for remote voting. He said MPs could either vote to change all of them or create a new one allowing the Speaker to ignore certain rules during an emergency like this one.
The committee has been tasked to come up with changes and recommend a way forward for a virtual Parliament before the end of this month. Currently, the special COVID-19 committee is set to sit for a few more weeks and then return for four sittings over the summer.
Rota said staff have prepared for a variety of different scenarios and said it will be up to MPs to decide what happens next.
“Staff have worked on many different variations and possibilities. Ultimately, it comes down to what the House is comfortable with,” he said.
Conservative MP John Nater said even if the technology makes it possible, he’s not convinced MPs should be so eager to move to a virtual Parliament. “When we are looking at the path forward for Parliament, we shouldn’t be thinking of the House of Commons as a technological issue looking to be solved. Technology is only one part of the consideration,” he said.
He said even if a virtual Parliament were able to restore opposition days and private member’s bills, it’s not a full replacement. “It really decreases the ability to have a cut and thrust, the back and forth of a real meaningful debate in the House of Commons,” he said. “We don’t want the Liberals to use this pandemic as an excuse to limit their accountability long-term.”
NDP MP Rachel Blaney said any move forward on this has to be done cautiously, giving time to address problems as they come up. “It is important that we have an incremental approach to all of the changes we make to move into a virtual Parliament, so that all recognized parties have an opportunity to share concerns,” she said. “Every step we take we should be reflecting on what works and what doesn’t work.”
She said MPs still have more witnesses to hear from and more concerns to address. She said internet connectivity is an issue for some MPs and some are working with kids around.
“We don’t have enough information in that area to take the next step.”