Evidence of meeting #31 for Procedure and House Affairs in the 45th Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was hybrid.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Liberal
Jessica Fancy-Landry Liberal South Shore—St. Margarets, NS
In terms of MPs working either here on the Hill or in their constituency in home offices, has there been an increase in the number of harassment complaints, and what are they?
Senior Officer, Risk Management and Investigations, Corporate Security Operations, House of Commons
There has not been an increase this year. It peaked pretty much in 2024. It plateaued, if you will. There are a consistent number of complaints. If we look at online complaints or online social media, it varies. It's flooded, if you will. However, right now, what we're receiving pretty much plateaued from 2024 to 2025.
Liberal
Jessica Fancy-Landry Liberal South Shore—St. Margarets, NS
Thank you very much, and I look forward to an update on how you're going to analyze the GBA+ portion of that.
Senior Officer, Risk Management and Investigations, Corporate Security Operations, House of Commons
If I could just clarify, it's not that we don't keep track of it; it's that I don't have it with me right now.
Liberal
Jessica Fancy-Landry Liberal South Shore—St. Margarets, NS
I'd love it if you could provide us with a briefing on that. That would be really good.
We talked a bit about the hybrid model today, and I want to put something on the record about the benefits that hybrid allows. We have MPs on House duty, and I know my colleague said she just got back from a surgery. Allowing us to remain engaged with our jobs instead of having to go off on a specific leave is a benefit.
Also, I am from a rural community. Canada is such a large country, and being able to have a hybrid environment allows people the opportunity to be witnesses, whereas they might not have been able to come to Ottawa to serve on panels. Another benefit is being able to vote on short notice.
As a female, I also want to say that in my talks with security, the Sergeant-at-Arms has been so helpful and supportive if and when things happen, so it's not meant as a slight to what your job is—
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Chris Bittle
I have to interrupt you. I'm sorry. We're well over the time.
We'll go to Madame Normandin.
You have the floor for three minutes.
Bloc
Christine Normandin Bloc Saint-Jean, QC
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
Mr. Janse, I'd like to quickly come back to the issue of interpreters.
I understand that there is a shortage related to the availability of interpreters. I would like to hear what you have to say about the impact this has beyond the House and committees. I imagine that priority is given to the House and committees, rather than to parliamentary events, informal meetings or missions, for example. Is there additional pressure on other interpretation requests that are not directly related to the work of the House or committees?
Clerk of the House of Commons
I could start answering, and one of my colleagues could continue.
That's a good question, Ms. Normandin.
Yes, priority is always given to the House, then to committees and then to national caucuses. Sometimes, a regional caucus or a thematic caucus makes a request for interpretation services, but the translation bureau is unable to provide those resources.
Bloc
Christine Normandin Bloc Saint-Jean, QC
I would now like to hear you speak to another issue, namely, the origin of the various online threats that members of Parliament may face.
Have the countries from which these threats originate been identified? If so, are there currently certain countries that are responsible for a greater number of attacks against members of Parliament?
Chief Information Officer, House of Commons
That's another good question from you, Ms. Normandin.
Certainly, some countries are more resourced and more actively engaged when targeting Parliament and parliamentarians. It will come as no surprise that these countries include China, India and Russia. This is all publicly available information; I'm not revealing any national secrets by saying this.
In addition, there are also emerging countries that, unfortunately, I cannot discuss here.
That said, this is very much a constant threat not only to the components and the institution of Parliament, but also directly to parliamentarians. You have seen the emergence of AI and new attack vectors, such as deepfakes, information propaganda, misinformation and disinformation. Many of these vectors are new and evolving, and they need to be taken into account.
Bloc
Christine Normandin Bloc Saint-Jean, QC
Mr. Chair, did I have two and a half minutes or five minutes?
Liberal
Senior Officer, Risk Management and Investigations, Corporate Security Operations, House of Commons
Yes.
Our open-source program on threats against members of Parliament shows that most of the threats originate in Canada. Some of them come from outside the country but, to be honest, I would say that most come from Canadians.
Liberal
Conservative
Michael Cooper Conservative St. Albert—Sturgeon River, AB
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Hybrid proceedings for the chamber cost taxpayers $1.2 million annually. What is the average daily utilization rate of remote participation by MPs in House of Commons chamber proceedings? By participation, I'm specifically asking about members participating in proceedings via Zoom, not calling in or Zooming in to clarify their vote.
Deputy Clerk, Procedure, House of Commons
I don't have the statistics for the chamber. I do have some statistics on committees. I suspect the number is very low, though. As you have observed, there are very few members who participate actively by giving speeches or asking questions online.
Conservative
Michael Cooper Conservative St. Albert—Sturgeon River, AB
Could you undertake to provide the numbers for the chamber?
Deputy Clerk, Procedure, House of Commons
We'll do our very best to do that, sir, yes.
Conservative
Deputy Clerk, Procedure, House of Commons
For committees, the statistics that we prepared show that on average, about two-thirds of public committee meetings have some virtual participation. In some cases, when there's only an MP participating virtually, it's about 11%. When there's only a witness, it's about 41%. In about 15% of the meetings, both a member and a witness are participating. Those are for public meetings.
Conservative
Michael Cooper Conservative St. Albert—Sturgeon River, AB
For 11% of the time, MPs are participating in committee via Zoom.
Deputy Clerk, Procedure, House of Commons
When there's only a member participating virtually, it's about 11%. When both a member and a witness are participating, it is about 15%.
Conservative
Michael Cooper Conservative St. Albert—Sturgeon River, AB
Thank you for that.
Changing gears, I understand that the Board of Internal Economy has previously discussed publicly the number of communication staff employed by the House administration. How many communication staff does the House administration currently employ?