Procedure and House Affairs Committee on April 21st, 2020

[Charles Robert, Clerk of the House of Commons]

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Board of Internal Economy reiterated some of the prohibitions they instituted some time ago. Access to the building is now closed to the public, and there are no tours. Committee travel has been suspended, and international travel as well. Access to the building, even for staff, is fairly limited. We want all our people, as much as possible, to work remotely.

[Ginette Petitpas Taylor, Liberal, Moncton—Riverview—Dieppe, NB]

Thank you so much.

Were all parties in agreement with these changes that were brought forward?

[Anthony Rota, Liberal, Nipissing—Timiskaming, ON]

Yes, they were.

[Ginette Petitpas Taylor, Liberal, Moncton—Riverview—Dieppe, NB]

That's excellent.

Could you provide us with any guidance that has been given to our staff who work on Parliament Hill? Were they given any direction with respect to working on the Hill, or should they be working remotely from home?

[Anthony Rota, Liberal, Nipissing—Timiskaming, ON]

Where possible they should be working from home. We do have some essential services on the Hill, support to MPs and to the Hill. When we look at security services, there's a certain number. It's been reduced, but it's still there and providing security to members on the Hill.

[Ginette Petitpas Taylor, Liberal, Moncton—Riverview—Dieppe, NB]

I have one other quick question, if I may. When the House is sitting, as it was yesterday, how many staff are required to be there as opposed to a non-sitting day like today?

[Anthony Rota, Liberal, Nipissing—Timiskaming, ON]

I will defer to the Clerk on that one.

[Charles Robert]

Some technical staff and some procedural staff have to be there. There are some other support staff. We were in the neighbourhood of the upper fifties, in terms of personnel who were in place on the Hill to support the functions.

One point I may add to what the Speaker pointed to in terms of what the administration is doing is that we have a crisis management team that meets three times a week. We also have an incident management team and a communications program where we provide information to keep staff up to date. Now it's down to about a weekly communication, but it's as frequently as necessary.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ruby Sahota]

That's all the time we have, unfortunately.

Next up, I just want clarification from the Bloc. Will it be Monsieur Therrien or will it be Madame Normandin?

[Alain Therrien, Bloc, La Prairie, QC]

I think that it's me, Madam Chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ruby Sahota]

Okay, please go ahead.

[Alain Therrien, Bloc, La Prairie, QC]

I want to again acknowledge the group of witnesses.

Thank you for your clarification, Mr. Speaker. I don't have my tie on. You're right. I read the guidelines and I feel a little guilty. I wanted to change, but I didn't.

This reminds me of decorum. Will we be required to maintain decorum? I'm not wearing my tie right now. Will we rely on the good judgment of the people attending a meeting? I promise to wear a tie next time. Will that be enough for you, Mr. Speaker?

[Anthony Rota, Liberal, Nipissing—Timiskaming, ON]

Committee meetings are different from meetings in the House. However, a decision must be made in this area. Right now, you're responsible for suggesting changes. You may suggest this change, or you may find that it's not something essential. You're responsible for making recommendations, and the House will make a decision. I serve the House and the decision will be respected.

[Alain Therrien, Bloc, La Prairie, QC]

Okay.

I have several quick questions, which I'll ask all at once.

The first concerns integrity and dignity and respect for our questions. I know that, in the House, you must remain vigilant and you must ensure that the members respect each other.

How should we ensure that dignity, respect and integrity are maintained with regard to the questions asked in a video conference such as this one, for example?

[Anthony Rota, Liberal, Nipissing—Timiskaming, ON]

Indeed, we must do much the same thing that we do in the House. In this video conference, we have the power to mute the microphone of a person speaking. This is one approach, and it isn't perfect. We need rules to ensure that the chair of the meeting has the power to mute the microphone of a person who fails to respect another person's right to speak.

[Alain Therrien, Bloc, La Prairie, QC]

Several standing committees have started sitting virtually, as you said.

What are the main issues, and how should they be addressed?

[Anthony Rota, Liberal, Nipissing—Timiskaming, ON]

One of the main issues is the limited number of committees that can sit. Two committees can sit per day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. If more than six committees meet per week, it becomes an issue. Not only is it difficult, but we don't have the necessary resources. Normally, we need a smaller number of people to hold a meeting. However, it takes almost twice that number to make sure that everything runs smoothly.

As we can see today, things are going very well. However, we needed an hour to prepare for the meeting, and that was only with the members. It's a great deal of work. We need many resources to ensure that the committees can sit. Given the number of committees on the Hill, it would be almost impossible, without having an army of technically savvy individuals, to ensure that everything runs properly.

[Alain Therrien, Bloc, La Prairie, QC]

You said that the whips would be responsible for setting the schedule. As you said, there are many committees. I have two questions about this issue.

First, are you sure that the whips will agree on a schedule?

Second, will it sometimes be necessary to postpone committee meetings to another week because of a lack of resources, as you pointed out, or because a time slot isn't available?

[Anthony Rota, Liberal, Nipissing—Timiskaming, ON]

I'm entirely sure that the whips will have a discussion and, hopefully, come up with a solution.

From a technical perspective, we do indeed have an issue. This isn't only about the extra hours required, but also about finding the people who can work them. Our administration will probably be better able to address this later. The technical staff can tell you the number of people needed to ensure that we have all the necessary resources to run all the committees.

[Alain Therrien, Bloc, La Prairie, QC]

Are you ruling out the possibility that one or more committees may not be able to sit one week and may be postponed to the next week?

[Anthony Rota, Liberal, Nipissing—Timiskaming, ON]

Anything is possible. You, as committee members, need to make a decision, which must lead to a recommendation. I'm open to suggestions from the House. Once the House has made a decision, the Office of the Speaker of the House of Commons and the staff will then be responsible for implementing it. It isn't always easy and it isn't always possible, but we'll do our best.

[Alain Therrien, Bloc, La Prairie, QC]

Okay.

Next week, we'll have our first virtual question period.

What do you think will be the biggest challenge in the House when it comes to ensuring the acceptable quality of the question period? At the very least, we must ensure that Quebeckers and Canadians are informed of everything that happens at the sitting.

[Anthony Rota, Liberal, Nipissing—Timiskaming, ON]

First, I want to clarify something. This won't be a sitting of the House, but a meeting of the special committee on COVID-19. The committee will decide how the meeting will proceed. The goal is to provide information to Canadians so that they understand the situation. Transparency is our priority.

I gather that the opposition parties want to ensure that the government explains the situation. It's a quasi-parliamentary function. However, as I said, the committee will run in the same manner as the House.

[Alain Therrien, Bloc, La Prairie, QC]

What will be your biggest challenge in this period?

[Anthony Rota, Liberal, Nipissing—Timiskaming, ON]

It will mainly be technology. All participants must be able to ask their questions. However, there's also the privilege issue. We must ensure that everyone's included. A committee is an extension of the House. If it were a virtual Parliament, everyone would have the right to be there.