Procedure and House Affairs committee  Thank you for the question. Yes, I would agree that the participation of members in the legislature is enhanced by their opportunities to speak to each other face to face. Camaraderie is one word; perhaps we could use collegiality. I think if individual people get to know each other across party lines, it can only add to the decorum within Parliament and also to the ability perhaps of the residents who are watching to see meaningful debate as opposed to debate degenerating into insults.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Again that's a question for the House of Commons and the Senate and the individual legislatures to decide, recognizing that there are advantages to what you're suggesting.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I think it was the decision of the House to continue to sit in person. There would be individual members who might have strongly favoured continuing to sit in person and perhaps others who would have preferred to have given greater consideration to a hybrid model. In the final analysis, its final decision was to continue.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I can go first. The Legislative Assembly of Ontario does not currently empower the Speaker to give that authorization to members. The Speaker doesn't have that authority.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Again, I'm not really in a position to provide direction to the House of Commons or the Senate on this question. I think the members need to—

Procedure and House Affairs committee  The situation is similar in Ontario, but it's also been exciting for all of us as members to see some of the members who have recently become parents bringing their infant children into the chamber. We've had that on a number of occasions, and it's been welcomed by members on all sides of the House.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I think every Speaker would want to see discussions taking place involving all members, ideally, or their representatives through their House leaders and whips. Ideally, there would be a consensus determined based on honest discussion, the public interest and the interest of Parliament as a whole, with no government or opposition party trying to seek short-term partisan advantage in the discussions or the final decision that would be made.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  We, as a legislature, continued to sit in person, as I've said before, but the standing committees in many cases were sitting virtually. I think the primary benefit of virtual committees was that we were able to accommodate a large number of presentations from across the province, where people could participate virtually who otherwise perhaps couldn't, especially with the difficulty with travel and the various travel restrictions and public health advisories that were upon us.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Thank you very much for the question. Yes, without question, as discussions continue on the advantages and disadvantages of hybrid Parliament and making it a more permanent feature of how we do our business, I think it would be essential that parameters be developed. In the context of the Ontario legislature, if such a discussion were to take place, it would be the House leaders from the various recognized parties who would take the lead.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I'm not sure that we've done enough at the legislature to support members with young families, for starters. My wife and I have raised three children, and we went through this as a family as well through the years. Our boys are now grown, but it is very difficult and challenging for members who have young families to be away from home so much.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  First of all, I would indicate that I agree with Speaker Bennett and the comments he just made. The Ontario legislature does have a robust business continuity plan, which we have worked on over the years. It is ready to go, if ever needed. We also would agree and concur that, as technology continues to evolve and give us opportunities to bring people together, the legislatures will continue to evolve.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Who is that addressed to?

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I think you have made a very good point, John. It's hugely valuable for elected members to be able to interact in the chamber, outside of the chamber, in the corridors and in the lobbies. Having those face-to-face conversations can be very helpful in terms of ensuring that members are informed and that they're able to share best practices and ideas, as well as for members to be able to represent their constituents.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Throughout the pandemic, the Legislative Assembly of Ontario continued to sit in person as a whole when the House sat. As I said, the committees, in many cases, were sitting virtually, but the House as a whole sat in person. We had to take, of course, a long list of new approaches in order to facilitate this and make sure that it was done safely.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Thank you very much, Chair Chagger. Good afternoon. I'm Ted Arnott. I'm the member of provincial Parliament for Wellington—Halton Hills and the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. I'm glad to have this opportunity to address the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs in discussing our parliamentary proceedings during the COVID-19 pandemic and how we responded here at Queen's Park.