Procedure and House Affairs Committee on April 16th, 2020

[Rachel Blaney, NDP, North Island—Powell River, BC]

Thank you.

First of all, I just want to say that I think we need to be looking at all the options. I talked about the private sector, and we should be looking at all the options. For example, I think right now the House is using Zoom. There is GoToMeeting. There is Skype with Microsoft. I think it's really important for us to be looking at all the systems. When we talk about issues of security, I would like to hear from those sectors as to whether they can meet some of our needs more effectively.

I also want to say that it is really important to see the challenges. I represent a more rural riding. Some parts of my riding have good connectivity, while other parts do not. I think it's very important that as we look at this system, we also recognize that there are challenges. I don't want us to lose connection with our members who live in more rural or remote areas, or what that impact could be on them.

I agree that we need to look at what other countries are doing. I think that is wise, but I also think, from what I have seen in research, that a lot of them are in a place very similar place to ours. They are figuring it out. I just don't want us to have hope that they're going to have a great solution for us. Looking at what our internal capacity is, the unusual reality of Canada being a very large country with not a very huge population and a lot of varying infrastructure, we need to address this issue, especially if we're looking at ways to potentially bring 338 people together digitally, along with all of the staff.

I also want to support what Mr. Richards said the other day. I think it's important to look at how the interpreter services and the other services are adjusting and how it feels for some of the staff who are in rooms together now.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ruby Sahota]

Thank you, Ms. Blaney. I appreciate that feedback.

Ms. May, would you like to say anything else? Would you like another opportunity? Also, Mr. Therrien, we haven't heard from you for a while. I know your comments were mainly around constitutional experts.

[Alain Therrien, Bloc, La Prairie, QC]

We may work on some suggestions between now and noon tomorrow, the deadline. However, for now, that's fine by me. I don't see any issue.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ruby Sahota]

Thank you.

[Mark Gerretsen, Liberal, Kingston and the Islands, ON]

Ruby, it's Mark here. Can I get on the list?

[The Chair, Liberal, Ruby Sahota]

Yes, Mr. Gerretsen, go ahead.

[Mark Gerretsen, Liberal, Kingston and the Islands, ON]

My question is about the next move from here. I realize that the suggestions have to be submitted by tomorrow. Will the analysts or the clerk then be providing us with a list of who has been invited?

Personally, I've been hoping that the analysts can provide us with some suggestions for witnesses that we can then pull from. When we get to that point, can you just talk about what the next step is from here?

[The Chair, Liberal, Ruby Sahota]

Justin, I think you have some information as to when we could have a brief ready. That might help guide us a little bit as well.

[The Clerk]

That's right. Andre can jump in as well, but I understand that a briefing note will be ready to be distributed on Monday. I'm not sure if there are witnesses suggested in it. When I'm done, I'll let Andre speak to that.

On the broader issue of witnesses, we have asked that members submit a prioritized list of their preferred witnesses by tomorrow at 12 noon. The plan we will be working with at that point, once we get those lists from any of the members who want to provide them or any of the parties that are providing them, is we will build a consolidated list of the witnesses by party. Then we will have a final list to bring forward to the committee at our next meeting, which is next Tuesday.

In the interim, however, in order to not waste any time in trying to secure witnesses, once we get the prioritized list from each of the parties tomorrow, we will begin to work through the top preferences of the different parties to build any possible witness panels. Some of the information the committee has provided today in terms of how it would like to see those panels operate will be very useful to us as we try to populate those panels with different witnesses.

Generally, at this point, based on what I've heard from the committee—and correct me if I'm wrong—we'd be looking at trying to make a panel that would essentially include what may be going on elsewhere in parliaments in the provinces and territories in Canada and also maybe internationally.

We would also look at trying to have a panel that would have legal, constitutional and procedural experts who could talk to the committee on those different types of issues. There could be a panel as well that could look at some of the issues related to the IT challenges, security and feasibility, which may also include rural and remote issues with broadband in terms of access for members who are connecting from rural and remote areas of Canada.

I can also share with the committee that in some of the discussions I've had with the House administration, they have let me know that it's entirely possible that on Tuesday—and this will be something the Speaker and the Clerk can answer questions about as well—what might be most useful to them as they go about their work trying to potentially stand up a virtual House or virtual sittings of the House, and hybrid sittings of the House in some combination, is if this committee, in its final report, were able to provide some guiding principles to the work the House administration would undertake in that regard. It might suggest sort of higher-level recommendations that would still, nonetheless, give the House administration some flexibility in determining the technical side of things. At the same time, it would help guide the work that they may ultimately be called upon to do as they try to put in place some sort of virtual sitting or hybrid virtual sittings in the next four weeks.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ruby Sahota]

Okay. I believe that for one of those panels, somewhere at the front end, it was requested that we have some health officials as well.

[The Clerk]

That's right. I'm sorry. There will be health officials as well.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ruby Sahota]

Okay. We all have our work cut out for us, especially at the beginning trying to organize some of this.

Mr. Gerretsen, do you have other questions? Does that help a bit?

I know it doesn't answer your question completely at this time. I think you want the information sooner than we're being able to provide it to you, but we're all in a very [Inaudible—Editor] situation.

[Mark Gerretsen, Liberal, Kingston and the Islands, ON]

No, that's great. That's appreciated. I just wanted to understand the process, and I understand it much better now. Thank you.

[Elizabeth May, Green, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

Madam Chair, I'd like to get on the speakers list one last time, if I may.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ruby Sahota]

Okay. Yes, I will—

[Ryan Turnbull, Liberal, Whitby, ON]

Can I get on the list after Ms. May?

[The Chair, Liberal, Ruby Sahota]

Yes, absolutely.

Are those the only voices I heard, Ms. May and Mr. Turnbull? Okay.

Go ahead, Ms. May.

[Elizabeth May, Green, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

I want to support the suggestions that we get advice from Audrey O'Brien, Marc Bosc and Joseph Maingot. Those are very good suggestions.

Again, the question around security of platforms is a key one. I've already mentioned that, but I think we might want to explore going the route of the finance committee. I don't know if it's already being considered that the finance and health committees are able to conduct their meetings with Zoom so that it's more virtual and we can actually see each other and see the witnesses.

If that is worth considering, if it's technologically possible for this committee, it seems that of all the committees that are exploring the idea of virtual sittings, we might want to take this beyond teleconferences.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ruby Sahota]

Yes, Ms. May, as of Tuesday's meeting we will have the video as well as the audio. It was just for this meeting that we were not able to arrange it. Moving forward, we will have the video. Thank you for your comments.

Mr. Turnbull is next.

[Ryan Turnbull, Liberal, Whitby, ON]

I have just a quick comment that I think is in the same vein as Mr. Gerretsen's. It's a question for the clerk or perhaps the analysts.

Do we know whether that briefing will include a list of different technological solutions that we should be considering? I just wondered whether there's an ability to produce that list if it's not going to be included in the briefing. I think it would be helpful for all of us. I have used quite a number of collaborative tools—technological solutions—for all kinds of purposes. I'm not familiar with all of them, of course. I think many of us are used to using some but are not familiar with all. It would be great to have a more comprehensive list of those if possible.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ruby Sahota]

Our clerk will help us out with some further guidance. Hopefully, Andre can jump in as well on what will be in the briefing.

[The Clerk]

To answer Ms. May's question, as of Tuesday the PROC virtual meetings will be on the Zoom platform. We won't be in the teleconference format that we are in right now. It will be on the Zoom platform, as will our subsequent meetings as well. There were some timing issues in getting a Zoom meeting up and going as quickly as we would have needed it for today, so the decision was made to have a teleconference.

I have one last thing, Madam Chair, before you get Andre to comment. I was hoping to get some direction from the committee with respect to witnesses for next Thursday's meeting. We have the Speaker and the Clerk for next Tuesday. It would be tremendously helpful to be able to get going on trying to secure witnesses for next Thursday. I'm wondering if the committee might be in a position even now, at this meeting, to provide me with instructions on the witnesses we should be considering for next Thursday.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ruby Sahota]

Okay—

[Kirsty Duncan, Liberal, Etobicoke North, ON]

Madam Chair, it's Kirsty Duncan—

[Blake Richards, Conservative, Banff—Airdrie, AB]

This is Blake Richards. Can I get on the list?