Madam Speaker, the member has been a strong proponent of virtual sittings, and clearly three other parties have as well. As it stands, the procedure and House affairs committee has been charged with looking into the possibility of virtual sittings, and the Speaker has said that we are a minimum four weeks away. He said that last week.
The member for North Island—Powell River, who is a member of the PROC committee, expressed concerns at our first meeting the other day about security, rural broadband and connectivity. There are procedural issues, issues of privilege, constitutional issues, connectivity issues and many more that have to be looked at. I do not understand why the member would stand up and endorse virtual sittings when many of those issues have not yet been addressed. Right now, under our procedures, Standing Orders and rules, and I would argue constitutionally, there is only one mechanism for us to meet and meet effectively, where the privileges of members are not in a position to be breached, and that is the House of Commons.
In advance of the work of PROC, why would the member decide or agree that virtual is the way to go, when no report has been written yet recommending that and there has been no witness testimony, and there has been concern, even from his party, about some of the issues we will be facing?