Mr. Speaker, I want to follow up to seek further clarification about what you just said.
I think that in the case of members who are inadvertently unmuted and are having side conversations, it clearly would be helpful for the technicians to take steps to mute them. That situation is different from a member trying to raise a point of order, trying to intervene or exercising their right to offer a side comment, all of which are part of the traditions of this place. These things are certainly part of what happens in the House of Commons, and it would be a very different case if technicians were muting them or repeatedly muting them in that case.
This is important, because every week members are making a decision about whether to participate virtually or to come to Ottawa. From a health and safety perspective, it is easier if many members are able to participate virtually, but if their virtual participation is in any way different from what it is in the House of Commons, it creates a serious problem, I think, for managing the numbers that can be in the House. Many more members may feel they need to be physically present in the House if they feel their opportunity for an intervention may potentially be limited by being muted.
I believe I heard you say that technicians are empowered to mute people who seem to be unmuted by error. I think that is very reasonable, but if members are repeatedly trying to unmute themselves and they are repeatedly being muted, it raises issues about whether there is inequality between members participating virtually and members who are participating in person.