Thank you, Madam Chair.
I want to thank the committee for the invitation to speak here today. The work members do in the House of Commons and in committee is vital.
Critics of hybrid Parliament often imply that virtual work somehow results in members doing less work, so I'd like to share four examples of how hybrid Parliament gave me the chance to keep working when I otherwise would not have been able to.
The first example I want to share is when I was pregnant. At that time, my midwives recommended that I not travel in my third trimester. I wanted to keep working, and virtual Parliament allowed me to continue participating in debates in the House of Commons, to vote, to question ministers in question period, to continue my work on the environment committee, and to continue bringing my constituents' concerns to Parliament. If we hadn't had virtual Parliament for those three months, I wouldn't have been able to do any of those things. I wouldn't have been able to do my job. Instead, I was able to continue working into my ninth month of pregnancy. Not every woman wants to do that, but every woman deserves the choice. Women deserve the choice to participate. I've said it before and I'll say it again: If you want more young women to enter politics and more women to stay in politics, make Parliament more family-friendly. Hybrid Parliament is a tangible way to do that.
This connects to the second example I'll share. As the parent of a young infant, being allowed to work remotely when needed means that I've had the flexibility to keep working, even when we've had occasional child care challenges.
The third example is when I was sick. Like many members who got COVID-19 this past year, I followed public health guidelines and isolated. I wouldn't have been able to continue working if it weren't for virtual Parliament. I participated in committees, voted and rose numerous times in the House, all while isolating.
The last example I want to share is when my father passed away. I was able to fly home to visit him while he was still lucid and to keep working while remaining close by. Then, a couple of weeks later, I was grateful to be able to quickly get to the hospital when the doctor called, so that I was present when he passed.
Virtual or hybrid Parliament is fundamentally about giving flexibility to members in order to ensure we can continue to participate. When members are sick with COVID or other illnesses, in the later stages of pregnancy, or have a family emergency, this is a tool that allows us to continue to carry out our duties as members of Parliament.
I hope that hybrid Parliament is strengthened to make sure there are more stringent accountability requirements for the government and ministers, but also to make sure there are enough translators and policies to deal with technical difficulties and interpretation challenges, so we can take care of the health and safety of workers and ensure members can participate equally in both languages.
I hope you make hybrid Parliament permanent, so we can make Parliament more accessible for future members, especially women, members with young families and members with disabilities. Make hybrid Parliament permanent, because it's an important tool to increase participation and representation, and to make Parliament more equitable for all.
Thank you.