Madam Speaker, I do not disagree with the member that there are problems with the way heckling is often operationalized in practice, but I think the purpose of allowing heckling and why it has been part of our traditions for a long time is the idea that there can be valuable, useful and respectful interjections.
Sometimes it happens that while I am speaking, the parliamentary secretary to the government House leader will say something to me and I will listen to what he is saying and respond to it in the midst of my speech. That is the ideal. It is not just a bunch of noise and people being shouted down. That should not happen. If there is an opportunity for respectful interjection and meaningful exchange instead of just monologuing, that is the ideal we should get at.
That is why I said I would be very interested in our exploring alternative models like written heckling. Instead of members shouting out interventions, they could post interventions to the Speaker and the wider public, allowing the Speaker to then respond to them. For virtual Parliament, it might be worth it to experiment with creating a mechanism for written heckles.
Again, not all heckling is good. Probably most heckling is not good. However, the tradition exists for a reason.