Procedure and House Affairs committee  Likewise, in Newfoundland and Labrador, the Speaker doesn't have the authority to do that. It would have to come from the House Assembly.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  It is very challenging as a Speaker to monitor a virtual hybrid setting. We looked at various scenarios if we did move to that model. We did consult heavily with the House leaders and also the unaffiliated members. We felt that we would have to move to much more structured proceedings where everything was scripted.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Thank you very much. Right now, as I said earlier, we do it as a collective group. There is no ability right now within our Standing Orders for members to choose to be virtual because of health reasons or family reasons. However, it's something that has been considered, and we will be reviewing it again over the coming weeks and months to see how we can be, I guess, more inclusive and make sure that every member of the House of Assembly is able to represent the people of their districts.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I can hear translation. It's very low, though.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Thank you. Very similarly, at the Newfoundland and Labrador legislature, we had a very in-depth discussion on this. However, as I alluded to in my opening notes, it was the recommendation of the select committee that it be preferred that all members be present when we were sitting in the House of Assembly.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Good afternoon. It was great seeing you in Turkey. It was quite the memorable event. Yes, COVID-19 obviously was a great learning lesson for all legislatures. I'm quite sure, like Newfoundland and Labrador, it was constantly evolving and changing. That was not only for us with the legislature, but for an election, when we had to revert to alert level five one day before our election was called.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I didn't catch the question. I'm sorry.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I think I caught most of it. I guess you were asking about the parameters around the feasibility and the use of hybrid in the long term for the House of Assembly. From Newfoundland and Labrador's point of view, we do see the value of the hybrid opportunities that exist. From a financial point of view, it definitely has been a valuable resource that we've been using over the last two years, particularly within our committee structure.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I'm sorry—

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Our legislature, right now, does it as a collective group, not individual cases. I do see it being valuable in the future, but for the Newfoundland and Labrador legislature it is a collective decision, right now, to use virtual hybrid.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  You have my apologies. I missed a lot of your preamble and the question.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I do have it.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I am hearing in English. I just could not hear because the volume is very low. I have everything turned up on high.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Definitely, I think so, especially with the use of virtual hybrid sittings. I guess none of us wanted to face COVID-19 or go through a pandemic, but it did provide an opportunity for all legislatures to learn, adjust and constantly evolve to the challenges that COVID-19 brought.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Yes, I do think that there is the ability to use these technologies that we were forced to use over the last two years to adapt and make our legislatures more user-friendly and more family-oriented, and to deal with some of the challenges. If people have health issues or other types of challenges like travel issues, then the opportunities for hybrid virtual sittings could definitely be used in the future.