Madam Speaker, personally I would say that there is a major difference between the use of the voting app and the use of some of the other applications of virtual Parliament. I think a great deal is lost when members try to give speeches remotely or participate in questions and comments from somewhere else. I think that is generally done less now, but I would like us to do away with virtual Parliament completely as it relates to the activities of the chamber, certainly.
When it comes to virtual voting, I do think that having use of the voting app is a reasonable accommodation. I do not think members' flying across the country just to stand in their place and vote is that different from voting on an app. I think we can learn from that experience.
Having said that, I think it is important for the people who are elected as members of Parliament to spend a substantial amount of time in Ottawa and not just think they can be entirely absent and therefore always voting by app. I think a balance is required.