Virtual House comes with ‘challenges’

OTTAWA • Getting a virtual parliament running will present some unique challenges MPS heard Tuesday, including challenges that won’t be fully addressed when the House sits virtually for the first time next week.

Speaker Anthony Rota addressed MPS on the procedures and house affairs committee Tuesday. The committee is looking at how more functions of Parliament can be dealt with virtually, while the COVID-19 outbreak is forcing MPS to stay out of the House of Commons.

Rota said not being able to come together is a major barrier to a functioning parliament.

“It does present considerable challenges to all members to fully participate in the exercise of their roles,” he said.

Several house committees have been running virtually during the pandemic, but the house administration simply doesn’t have the ability to run all 30 committees that usually meet to examine issues and legislation.

“I believe it is important that we as members recognize that this is a reality and acknowledge that not everything is possible during this pandemic,” Rota told fellow MPS.

House staff told the committee they can run about 10 meetings a week with their current resources, but are hoping to add more capabilities.

The House voted on Monday, over Conservative objections, for a new schedule for the coming weeks that will give an opportunity for the opposition to question the prime minister and ministers three days a week.

The plan is for Parliament to meet starting next Tuesday in a virtual session, then in person on Wednesday and, in the weeks following, a third sitting per week, virtually, on Thursdays. The session would be reserved for questioning ministers and the prime minister about the government’s COVID-19 response.

Because of the formal rules around the House of Commons, the sessions are not considered Question Period, but are instead a special committee meeting where all MPS are considered members.

Charles Robert, clerk of the House of Commons, said he doesn’t believe the technology will allow all MPS to take part in those first sessions.

“We do not believe we will be in a position to allow a special committee to meet with the entirety of its membership,” he said.

The virtual sittings will also silence hecklers and applause, normally a routine part of Question Period. Some might be fine seeing those parts of the experience disappear, but Robert said they are part of the tradition.

“A critical aspect that would really change is that the excitement that is part of our Question Period would be quite different in a virtual environment.”

The motion Parliament passed on Monday gives House administration the power to limit the number of people participating, but

Robert said they would likely leave that in the power of party whips.

Conservative MP John Brassard said it is clear there are major problems that should have been worked out before the virtual sittings were agreed to.

“There are security issues. There are connectivity issues. There are the procedural issues. There are the privilege issues, all of these things need to be addressed.”

Several MPS have raised concerns about internet connection speeds in their communities and their inability to use video conferencing software. Rota said there are also some MPS who are not as tech-savvy as he would like.

“It’s a small minority, but they have the same rights as everyone else.”

Brassard said this is part of why Conservatives opposed moving to virtual sittings and the issues should have been resolved before Parliament committed to them.

“There is a lot that needs to be considered, so I really think the government and the other parties, the Bloc and the NDP, are really putting the cart before the horse.”

Liberals MPS on the House Affairs committee spent much of their testimony asking about the public health implications of in-person sittings. Monday’s skeleton sitting alone drew in about 50 staff who otherwise would not have had to be there in person, a figure which doesn’t include security staff.

MP Omar Alghabra said politicians should be doing everything they can to set a good example and work from home as public health officials have said.

“It is incumbent upon us as political leaders to follow that advice.”

The House committee has been tasked with not only looking at the coming sittings, but looking ahead to see how the Commons’ rules can be adapted to do more work virtually.

MPS have a right to appear during House debates and speak for constituents and legislation is clear there must be at least 20 MPS in the house to pass any legislation. Parliamentarians are also protected from any legal action for what they say in the House of Commons or Senate, but it is unclear if that right would extend to a virtual sitting.

Rota said there is a lot to consider and he encouraged committee members to look at the full picture for an arrangement that could serve both today’s pandemic and potential future emergencies that might require Parliament not sit in person.

“Maybe how we do things and changing our standing orders deserves a more fulsome study,” he said. “Once this is over they could continue and look at different options that would keep Parliament running.”

Rota said he hopes the virtual sittings can maintain as much of the decorum of Parliament in a usual sitting. He said he’s noticed in the virtual committee meetings so far, some members have embraced the loosening of rules more than they should.

“I could not help but notice that some members were bending the dress code a little bit.”