Madam Speaker, I am very pleased to take part in this debate, which is on a subject that is near and dear to my heart.
I have been an elected representative for several years now, first at the provincial level and now at the federal level. I think the debate we are having is a good one. I really appreciate this conversation, which I hope will lead to solutions.
I have four points I would like to make in my speech today. First of all, I have to say that I do use notes, because otherwise, I tend to digress in a 10-minute speech. I am francophone and sometimes tend to talk too much.
The first thing I want to talk about today with my colleagues in the House is voting.
It is absolutely necessary that the voting system be modernized. I had the privilege a few years ago of visiting the island of Jersey. I toured its legislature, the State Assembly. The island of Jersey is a very small jurisdiction, especially compared with Canada, but like us it has a constitutional monarchy and a history of French and English bilingualism. For some time it has been operating with an electronic voting system from the desks of the members. When I was there, the voting was conducted in French.
The choices were “yes”, “no” and “abstain”.
I thought it was really important to examine this innovation, which could be used here in the House.
With respect to the pandemic, I hope we will look back favourably on what went on in this chamber and learn from our ability to do things better or improve things. Some members may prefer the old system, which is fair. That is why we are having this debate today. However, I think there is a need to truthfully address the way in which we vote. Later today we will have our first simulated vote using an application that will allow us to vote appropriately, from a health perspective, and with a sense of security. This will ensure we do what we are here to do, which is not only debate, but also vote. That is one of our roles as legislators. Having this amazing opportunity to look at how this chamber can transition from a very old system to a new one is certainly exciting.
The other perspective I want to bring forward is with respect to the controversy of Fridays. We have heard many debates on whether we should sit for more or fewer hours in the House. I have to reflect on my time at Queen's Park in Ontario. When I was a member of the provincial Parliament, although we did not sit on Fridays, I never once felt like I did not work on Fridays. I want to clarify that for everyone, especially the residents of Orléans, whom I have the pleasure of representing. Friday was the day that many of us in the Ontario legislature were able to meet with stakeholders and engage with our local constituents. People say that going from Toronto to Ottawa is not that far, but I can appreciate how difficult it is for many of my colleagues. I have had brief conversations with parliamentarians on both sides of the House. Many of them have said it is great to be home to see their kids a bit more. I am very fortunate: I gave birth 26 years ago, so I do not have young children, but one day I may have grandchildren. I appreciate the debate we are having today about how Fridays could possibly be reconstructed to look different, but the ultimate question for me is why we have to sit on Fridays. We could structure our calendar adequately over four days, from Monday to Thursday. That is the perspective I carry and wanted to share it with everyone today.
The other perspective that is dear to my heart, and I am so happy to hear many members reflect on this, are the dual chambers, or parallel chambers. We think about the importance of debate and our being able to convey the messages of our community and the people whom we represent, and sometimes, like today, a more personal aspect of how this chamber should operate. The perspective of having two chambers would be an ideal solution where we could find a meaningful approach to democracy, which I truthfully respect. We could debate bills, including private members' bills. A government bill could possibly go to the other chamber to allow members, and sometimes use the government, to choose a bill on which they know we would need to reflect, because not everyone will agree.
I like the fact that we have this conversation here. I hope that as we transition and move forward, there could be stronger consideration of this. People will say that this would be in 10 years, because currently the Centre Block is undergoing renovations. Is there a way we could possibly do something now or in the near future? I strongly recommend that PROC dive in on the perspective of engaging dual chambers.
I heard members talk about committee of the whole and how significant it was for them. Although sometimes complaining that the government was sitting as a whole, we realize the importance of having great, engaging debate in the House.
My fourth point has to do with time allocation, which was implemented in 1969 to curtail debate as a less draconian alternative to closure. The debate on the motion to implement time allocation was acrimonious, and its use since has been seen rather disdainfully by the opposition and by the media.
Its use by the previous government over 100 times in the 41st Parliament was a clear signal that an alternative was needed. Time allocation disrupts the business of the House, committee work, and cabinet meetings.
In reviewing the international landscape, there are a number of legislatures that have implemented alternative ways to manage time for debate in the House. We have talked a lot about the British House of Commons. Since 1998, it has adopted the practice of using programming motions to allocate time for government bills. Programming was introduced on an experimental basis in 1998 and was made permanent in 2004.
For those watching us at home and for hon. members here in the House, this is how it works. Following discussion with House leaders, the government gives notice of a motion following second reading of a bill to allocate a specific number of days or weeks for the committee stage, and the time needed for debate at report stage and third reading. Following the adoption of such a motion, the bill is disposed of according to the terms of the motion.
In 2013, the British Procedure Committee reported on its review of programming and concluded that programming is beneficial to the scrutiny of legislation. Moreover, the official opposition commented favourably in the review on programming and concluded that it had resulted in an appropriate balance between ensuring the opposition had sufficient time to scrutinize legislation and the government to manage its legislative agenda.
The government has an agenda. It is there to govern. Certainly we all want democracy, but the government will have to carry out its agenda. The opposition parties also have their role, which is not to criticize but sometimes bring up aspects on which they disagree with the government.
Other observers of parliamentary institutions have accepted—