That is fair. I will ask everyone who is at home to place themselves on mute unless they have something to say.
There is no dissenting voice. It is agreed.
There have been many firsts these past few months, and today is no exception. While many had an opportunity last week to familiarize themselves with the new process, I want to briefly outline the next steps and avoid any confusion.
Before I read the question, I will ask the table to produce the list of members participating virtually, and who will later be called to vote. I will then read the question.
I will first ask those physically present in the House who are in favour of the motion to rise. I will then ask those physically present who oppose the motion to do the same. This is the normal procedure we are all familiar with.
Afterward, the table officer will call the names of those participating virtually by party in alphabetical order, starting with the party with the largest number of seats in the House, continuing with all the other parties and then independent members. It is essential that members' cameras are turned on for the duration of the vote. This allows the authentication of members, which is required by the House motion and is essential to the integrity of the decision-making process.
Once a member's name is called by the table, that member must turn on their microphone and indicate how they intend to vote by clearly stating either “I vote for the motion” or "I vote against the motion”. I would ask members to limit themselves to those words only.
In French, you should clearly say, “Je vote pour la motion” or “Je vote contre la motion”. I ask the members to use only these phrases.
I would ask members to please not turn on their microphones in advance. That can make their image appear in place of that of the person currently voting. Once they have voted, members should please mute their microphones.
You must remain connected to the sitting until the results of the vote are announced. If your name is not called by the table officer when the members of your party are being recognized to vote, please wait until all the members have been called. At that point I will invite any member who was not named but who heard the question to identify themselves. You can do so by using the “raise hand” function of the video conference application. I will then name each member who raised their hand in order to allow their vote to be recorded.
If at any moment during a vote, or when trying to join a sitting virtually, members experience technical difficulties, they should please contact the IT ambassador at the number indicated in the invitation. The IT ambassador will provide regular updates to the table.
The list of members voting by video conference has now been established for use by the table.
