On Monday, in a press conference considering the spring session that will end soon, the Speaker of the Government House Mark Holland announced that he plans to submit a proposal to extend the virtual data of the House of Commons and committees until 2023. Hollande said he had spoken to opposition House leaders about the proposal, which he intends to proceed with before the end of the current bill allowing hybrid sittings on Thursday, the same day Parliament is scheduled to adjourn for the summer. . The government’s leadership in the House’s operations and their legislative agenda, he said, while many Canadian workplaces are in the process of adjusting to personal work, he believes it is important to continue the hybrid model for MPs. “We are still in a pandemic reality and … we need the tools to ensure that Members of Parliament are fully involved in the work of Parliament,” he said. The current rules allow MPs to participate virtually, from their homes or the offices of their constituency, in the debates of the Parliament and in the meetings of the committees. The House has also set up an app that allows MPs to vote remotely from anywhere in Canada. Hollande said the government is asking the Committee on Procedures and Parliamentary Affairs to study the use of the hybrid model and voting application to see if it worked. He also promised, with a warning, that ministers would answer all questions in person during the autumn meeting. “With the exception of a health condition that would otherwise prevent it or a general deterioration in health, for example, a new variant of COVID-19 appears,” Holland said of the possible exception. While some lawmakers, including the NDP, have expressed a desire to see the hybrid provisions continue in the long run because of the flexibility it provides to do their job as an MP, the Conservatives are strongly opposed to continuing the fictitious elements of parliament. The Official Opposition’s call for him to resign in hybrid meetings includes references to improving public health – a measure the Liberals cite in the recent lifting of federal vaccination mandates – as well as the impact on virtual health. translators and what they see as a reduction in government accountability. “Canadians elect their representatives to serve them in Ottawa, not to hide behind a computer screen or voting app. Canadians return to work in person. It is time for members of Parliament to do the same,” he said. Conservative House Speaker John Brasar said in a statement in late May that he was proposing a way to move away from the hybrid sedentary structure. In Parliament on Thursday, Brasar expressed some optimism that “we have moved beyond the hybrid parliamentary system and that we are going to return this part to normal and return to normal.” As this does not seem to be the case from the point of view of the ruling Liberals, the Conservatives are expected to resist this latest attempt, although the government will probably have the numbers to continue with the support of the New Democrats. While the House of Commons administration worked quickly to find innovative and historic new ways for MPs to adapt to the reality of COVID-19 while keeping up with their work of debating and legislating, the provisions were not intended to be permanent. During its almost two years of use, there have been many irregularities and more serious violations related to the hybrid model. From poor audio and video quality and connectivity issues, to MPs who have to apologize for having the toilet talk with them. There were also allegations that ministers avoided personal interrogation by the Ottawa-based Zooming-in instead of appearing in person in court. Defending the move to continue with the hybrid provisions of Parliament, Hollande said the Liberals intend to have as much personal involvement as possible, but that “this pandemic continues and there must also be flexibility.” Brassard is set to respond Monday afternoon to the Liberals’ push to keep hybrid meetings alive. More to follow…


title: “The Liberals Are Pushing For A Hybrid House Of Commons " ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-22” author: “Asa Le”


On Monday, in a press conference reflecting on the forthcoming spring session, Government Speaker Mark Hollande announced plans to submit a proposal to extend the virtual data of the House of Commons and committees until 2023. Hollande said he had spoken to opposition House leaders about the proposal, which he intended to announce overnight and then spend Wednesday and Thursday discussing and voting on before it was approved for the summer. The current drive for hybrid sessions expires on Thursday. The government’s leadership in the House’s operations and their legislative agenda, he said, while many Canadian workplaces are in the process of adjusting to personal work, he believes it is important to continue the hybrid model for MPs to allow the sick to continue take part. “We are still in a pandemic reality and… we need the tools to ensure that Members of Parliament are fully involved in the work of Parliament,” Holland said. Not all parties agree on this. The current rules allow MPs to participate virtually, from their homes or the offices of their constituency, in the debates of the Parliament and in the meetings of the committees. The House has also set up an app that allows MPs to vote remotely from anywhere in Canada. While some MEPs, including the NDP, have expressed a desire to see the hybrid provisions continue in the long run because of the flexibility it provides to do their job as an MP, the Conservatives are strongly opposed to continuing the fictitious elements of parliament anymore. saying elected officials will have to show up in Ottawa to do their job.

“UNJUSTIFIED AND INSUFFICIENT”

The Official Opposition’s call for him to resign in hybrid meetings includes references to improving public health – a measure the Liberals cite in the recent lifting of federal vaccination mandates – as well as the impact on virtual health. translators and what they see as a reduction in government accountability. “Instead of using time to deal with the cost of living crisis facing Canadians, the Liberals will create a Parliament that suits them. And when the Liberals talk about a hybrid Parliament, what they are really talking about is creating a parliament where “They can be less accountable,” Conservative leader John Brasard told a news conference on Monday, dismissing the Liberals’ proposal as “unjustified and unnecessary.” Brassard said there was no reason to see why this proposal is coming now, despite the pandemic situation in the fall, indicating that the Conservatives would be open to a return to hybrid sessions if the COVID-19 situation was much worse. autumn. “The government should signal to Canadians that we will return to a sense of normalcy…. “I’m going back to normal here,” he said. “It’s time to put these hybrid tools back in the box.” The Conservatives plan to propose amendments to the upcoming hybrid resolution, indicating that there are current provisions in the Rules of Procedure – the rules of Parliament – that will allow MPs who may not be present to represent their constituents if they are absent for health or family reasons. While the House of Commons administration worked quickly to find innovative and historic new ways for MPs to adapt to the reality of COVID-19 while keeping up with their work of debating and legislating, the provisions were not intended to be permanent. During its almost two years of use, there have been many irregularities and more serious violations related to the hybrid model. From poor audio and video quality and connectivity issues, to MPs who have to apologize for having the toilet talk with them. There were also allegations that ministers avoided personal interrogation by the Ottawa-based Zooming-in instead of appearing in person in court. In addition, as Brassard noted, the use of virtual tools with sometimes inferior sound quality for conversations and meetings has resulted in an increase in reported work-related injuries, such as hearing loss and tinnitus, among interpreters who translate all real-time processes.

COMMITTEE ON STUDIES OF HYBRIDS

Hollande said the government is asking the Committee on Procedures and Parliamentary Affairs to study the use of the hybrid model and voting application to see if it worked. However, there is no timetable for this proposal, with Hollande saying the committee should take the time to seriously consider the future use or termination of the virtual parliament. If the members of this committee show up in less time or if the pandemic seems to be over within the next year, Hollande said he is not obliged to maintain the hybrid provisions for the whole year. The head of the Government House also promised, with one reservation, that the ministers would answer all the questions in person during the autumn session. “With the exception of a health condition that would otherwise prevent it or a general deterioration in health, for example, a new variant of COVID-19 appears,” Holland said of the possible exception. Defending the move to continue with the hybrid provisions of Parliament, Hollande said the Liberals intend to have as much personal involvement as possible, but that “this pandemic continues and there must also be flexibility.” “My concern is to ensure that we have a stable and predictable process where MPs and Canadians can know, despite everything that is going to happen in the world, that they will have a functioning parliament,” Holland said.

NDP SUPPORT MOVEMENT

Citing concerns about a possible new version of COVID-19 to be released in the fall, NDP House Speaker Peter Julian told reporters Monday that his parliamentary group would support the liberal movement. “The idea that we will return to just being a Parliament where you have to be present in Parliament – and obviously it can not be if you stick to COVID or if for some other reason you are urgently asked in your constituency – the idea that you would lose for everyone “These voters, their voice and their vote do not make sense,” said Julian. “And this is a measure of common sense that allows us to work until the fall.” NDP support will give the minority government the votes needed to pass that resolution later this week.

CATEGORIES FOR CODE

Referring to the 44th Parliament so far, Hollande accused the Conservatives of trying too hard to obstruct the government’s legislative agenda, calling the Official Opposition “the biggest challenge in Parliament”. “They have the absolute right to vote against things, they have the absolute right to criticize the government and, in some cases, where necessary, to obstruct, but… They do not have the right to shut down democracy. And that was my deepest disappointment, “he said, citing examples of expansionist moves and bills he said the Conservatives tried to hold on to, urging the use of programming tools such as time allocation to see the legislative impasse broken.

“I would also say that, you know, in a minority government, we could not do any of this unilaterally. We always need another partner. So, I think, we made sure, at every stage with every bill, that there was the right time for discussion. “And we had to do it with the support of another party in all cases,” Hollande said of the government’s proposals to speed up the study or discussion of certain issues. “It’s not my preference, and I hope I fall for something different.” .

Responding to Hollande’s allegations, Brassard called the Liberals what he said was the “absolute” tactic of delaying the announcement of the “unnecessary” 2021 federal elections.

“Trinto got a minority government, he did not get a majority government. The Canadians sent him here to be held accountable … In fact, the Conservative Party as a staunch opponent of His Majesty uses every tool we can to ensure that the government is accountable.” Brasar also called the NDP a no-confidence motion as he gives Prime Minister Justin Trinto a “coalition” government, seeing the New Democrats vote with the Liberals 95 percent of the time.

“I’m not going to apologize for doing our job as an opposition. I know the prime minister would want an audience in opposition, but what we were doing was making sure he had an opposition, even if the NDP was not going to meet its obligations,” he said. the head of the Conservative Parliament.