Pablo Rodriguez

[Proceedings of the House and Committees, April 20th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, greetings to all the members here today.

Before I begin, I would like to offer my condolences to the families of the many people who have been killed this weekend in Nova Scotia. This senseless violence has shocked all of us and has caused deep pain. To the families and friends of those who were killed, our thoughts are with them. To the people of Nova Scotia and all those in this country who are grieving, we are with them on this horrible day.

I want to express my most sincere condolences to family and friends of the victims of the absolutely senseless act that took place in Nova Scotia. Our hearts go out to them.

The horrible and incomprehensible tragedy that occurred in Nova Scotia comes on top of the coronavirus tragedy that all Canadians and people around the world are going through. The pandemic is a unique situation that is affecting everyone no matter where they live, especially older people, especially our seniors, who have devoted their lives to building the society we live in today. We owe them so much. This is a difficult situation for them, for their friends and for their family members.

This is also a very difficult situation for those who have lost a loved one. I know that first-hand because I lost a very close friend two days ago. It is hard not being able to say goodbye to our loved ones, not being able to hug them before they go, not being with our loved ones, friends and family. As horrible and difficult as the crisis we are going through is, that makes it even worse.

I have spoken long enough about the motion. I would now like to hear what my colleagues have to say about it. In my opinion, this motion strikes a balance between letting Parliament play the fundamental role that all members of the House hold dear and respecting the public health guidelines. It also enables us to do what we are telling the public to do, and that is to self-isolate as much as possible and limit travel.

I would like to thank the members of the Bloc Québécois and the NDP for supporting the motion. I would also like to recognize the Green Party's support for virtual sittings. The government, the Bloc Québécois and the NDP have come to an agreement. We continue to reach out to the Conservative Party so that we can unite and work together.

We all agree that there is not a second to lose on partisanship, particularly today, in light of the dual crises affecting our nation, namely what happened in Nova Scotia and what continues to happen every day.

Once again, I am reaching out to my Conservative colleagues and asking them to join in the consensus reached between the government, the Bloc Québécois and the NDP. Together, we can continue to enable Parliament to play its absolutely fundamental role, while abiding by the guidelines issued by Health Canada and taking into account the health and safety of those in the House and all those who are there for us outside the House.

[Proceedings of the House and Committees, April 20th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, I move:

That, notwithstanding any standing order, special order or usual practice of the House, during today’s sitting, a minister of the Crown be authorized to move, without notice, a motion concerning the proceedings of the House and its committees.

That, notwithstanding any standing order, special order or usual practice of the House:

(a) today shall not be considered as a sitting day for the purposes of Standing Orders 34(1), 37(3), 51(1) and 110 and subsection 28(12) of the Conflict of Interest Code for Members of the House of Commons;

(b) the government response to petition 431-00125, 431-00129, 431-00134, 431-00136 and 431-00139 be tabled immediately and that the responses to questions on the Order Paper numbered Q-369 to Q-379 and a supplemental response to Q-330 be made into orders for return and that the said returns be tabled immediately;

(c) Statements by Ministers be taken up immediately following the adoption of this order, that a member of the Green Party also be permitted to reply to the statement and that the time allocated for replies be not less than 10 minutes per party;

(d) following the responses to the ministerial statement, the House shall resolve itself into a committee of the whole to consider matters related to the COVID-19 pandemic provided that, during the proceedings of the committee,

(i) the Speaker may preside,

(ii) the Chair may preside from the Speaker’s chair,

(iii) the Chair shall call members from all recognized parties and one member who does not belong to a recognized party in a fashion consistent with the proportions observed during Oral Questions,

(iv) no member shall be recognized for more than five minutes at a time which may be used for posing questions to a minister of the Crown or a parliamentary secretary acting on behalf of the minister, and

(v) members may be permitted to split their time with one or more members by so indicating to the Chair; and

at the conclusion of 27 five-minute interventions, or when no member rises to speak, whichever is earlier, the committee shall rise;

(e) when the committee of the whole rises, a motion “That the House take note of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic” shall be deemed proposed and a member of each recognized party and a member of the Green Party may speak to the said motion for not more than 10 minutes, followed by 5 minutes for questions and comments, provided that members may be permitted to split their time with another member; and, at the conclusion of the time provided for the debate or when no member rises to speak, whichever is earlier, the House shall adjourn until Monday, May 25, 2020, provided that, for the purposes of any Standing Order, it shall be deemed adjourned pursuant to Standing Order 28, and, if the Speaker receives a notice from the House leaders of all four recognized parties indicating that it is in the public interest that the House remain adjourned until a future date or until future notice is given to the Speaker, the House will remain adjourned accordingly;

(f) for greater certainty, the following provisions remain in effect:

(i) paragraphs (m) to (p) of the order adopted on Friday, March 13, 2020,

(ii) paragraphs (i) to (m) of the order adopted on Tuesday, March 24, 2020, provided that

(A) in paragraph (i), the words “paragraph (f)” shall be deemed to refer to paragraph (e) of this order, and

(B) in paragraph (l), the words “paragraphs (e) or (f) of this order” shall be deemed to refer to paragraph (e) of this order, and

(iii) paragraphs (k) to (n) and (p) to (t) of the order adopted on Saturday, April 11, 2020, provided that the Standing Committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs be added to the list of committees in paragraph (l) of that order;

(g) during the period the House stands adjourned pursuant to this order, any petition certified by the Clerk of Petitions may be filed electronically with the Clerk of the House on any Wednesday and shall be deemed for all purposes to have been presented to the House on that date;

(h) a Special Committee on the COVID-19 Pandemic shall be established, composed of all members of the House, and which shall meet for the purposes of

(i) considering ministerial announcements,

(ii) allowing members to present petitions, and

(iii) questioning ministers of the Crown, including the Prime Minister, in respect of the COVID-19 pandemic, provided that

(iv) during the period the House stands adjourned pursuant to this order and commencing on Tuesday, April 28, 2020, the committee shall meet at noon every Tuesday and Wednesday and, commencing on Thursday, May 7, 2020, the committee shall also meet at noon every Thursday, provided that the committee shall not meet on a day referred to in Standing Order 28(1),

(v) on Tuesdays and Thursdays, the committee shall meet by videoconference and members shall participate by videoconference and on Wednesdays, the committee shall meet in the chamber and members shall participate in person, provided that meetings by videoconference shall be subject by such limits as the House administration may indicate are necessary,

(vi) the Speaker shall be the chair of the committee,

(vii) seven members shall constitute a quorum,

(viii) ministerial announcements, if any, shall be considered at the opening of the meeting and the proceedings shall be conducted in the same manner as Statements by Ministers under Standing Order 33(1), provided that a member of the Green Party also be permitted to reply to the statement,

(ix) after any ministerial announcements, any member desiring to present a petition may do so during a period not exceeding 15 minutes, provided that the provisions of Standing Order 36 shall apply, except for Standing Order 36(5), and any petition presented shall be deemed for all purposes to have been presented to the House,

(x) after any ministerial announcements and the presentation of petitions, proceedings on questioning ministers shall be conducted, for not more than 90 minutes on a Tuesday or a Thursday and for not more than two hours and 15 minutes on a Wednesday, in the same manner as provided for in paragraph (d), provided that questions shall be answered by ministers,

(xi) upon the conclusion of proceedings on questioning ministers on Tuesdays and Thursdays, the committee shall adjourn to the next day provided for in subparagraph (iv),

(xii) upon the conclusion of proceedings on questioning ministers on Wednesdays, the committee shall consider a motion “That the committee take note of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic” for not more than two hours and 10 minutes, provided that each recognized party shall be allotted 30 minutes for debate which may be shared among members of that party and a total of 10 minutes shall be allotted for debate by members who do not belong to a recognized party and at the conclusion of the time provided or when no member wishes to speak, whichever is earlier, the committee shall adjourn to the next day provided for in subparagraph (iv), provided that, if the House sits on a Wednesday pursuant to paragraph (i) of this order, the committee shall adjourn upon the conclusion of proceedings on questioning ministers,

(xiii) if the Speaker receives a notice from the House leaders of all four recognized parties indicating that it is in the public interest that the committee remain adjourned until a future date or until future notice is given to the Speaker, the committee will remain adjourned accordingly,

(xiv) meetings of the committee shall be televised, following the usual practices observed for sittings of the House,

(xv) any document may be presented by a minister of the Crown, or a parliamentary secretary acting on behalf of a minister, at any time during a meeting of the committee and shall be deemed for all purposes to have been presented to or laid before the House,

(xvi) the committee shall have the power to sit while the House stands adjourned and to print, from day to day, such papers and evidence as may be ordered by them,

(xvii) upon the resumption of regular sittings of the House, the committee shall cease to exist, and

(xviii) following the report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs pursuant to its order of reference of Saturday, April 11, 2020, the House leaders of all four recognized parties may indicate to the Speaker that there is an agreement among the parties to implement one or several of the recommendations of the committee and the Speaker shall give effect to that agreement;

(i) during the period the House stands adjourned pursuant to this order, and without limiting the application of Standing Order 28(3), if the Speaker is satisfied, after consultation with the government, that the public interest requires that the House should meet in order to consider measures to address the impacts of COVID-19 on the lives of Canadians, the Speaker may give notice that being so satisfied the House shall meet, and thereupon the House shall meet to transact its business as if it had been duly adjourned to that time, provided that, in respect of a sitting convened under this paragraph,

(i) the House shall meet on a Wednesday, at the later of 2:30 p.m. and the conclusion of the proceedings of the Special Committee on the COVID-19 Pandemic,

(ii) notice of the sitting shall be given no later than 6:00 p.m. on the preceding Monday,

(iii) notices may be filed with the clerk no later than 6:00 p.m. on the preceding Monday and shall be printed in the Notice Paper to be published for that sitting,

(iv) the application of Standing Orders 15, 17, 36(8)(b) and 39(5)(b) shall be suspended,

(v) the order of business shall be Introduction of Government Bills, followed by Government Orders,

(vi) the only Orders of the Day which may be considered under Government Orders shall relate to the COVID-19 pandemic and measures necessary to respond to it,

(vii) an embargoed copy of any measure to be considered shall be provided to the House leaders of the recognized parties no later than 6:00 p.m. on the preceding Saturday,

(viii) before any measure is considered, a minister of the Crown must state that there is agreement among the representatives of all recognized parties to govern the proceedings in relation to the said measure and, the minister may propose a motion, without notice, setting forth the terms of such agreement and every such motion shall be decided forthwith,

(ix) no motions may be received or considered under Standing Orders 26, 38, 52, 53, 56.1, 57, 78(2) or (3), 81 or 84,

(x) any day the House sits pursuant to this paragraph shall not be considered as a sitting day for the purposes of Standing Orders 34(1), 37(3), 51(1) and 110 and subsection 28(12) of the Conflict of Interest Code for Members of the House of Commons, and

(xi) when the proceedings governed by the motion described in subparagraph (viii) have been completed, or if that motion is negatived or a minister does not state that there is an agreement, the Speaker shall adjourn the House to the date fixed under paragraph (e), and the House shall be deemed, for the purposes of any order, to stand adjourned pursuant to this order;

(j) for the purposes of committee meetings convened under paragraph (h) of this order and paragraphs (l) and (m) of the order adopted on Saturday, April 11, 2020, priority for the use of House resources shall be given, in the following order, to

(i) meetings of the Special Committee on the COVID-19 Pandemic,

(ii) meetings of the Standing Committee on Health,

(iii) meetings of the Standing Committee on Finance,

(iv) meetings which are specified by the agreement of the whips of all recognized parties,

(v) all other meetings, in the order in which the meetings were convened;

(k) the House, recalling the untimely death of Michael Ferguson on February 2, 2019, call upon the government to propose the nomination of a permanent Auditor General of Canada, pursuant to subsection 3(1) of the Auditor General Act and Standing Order 111.1, provided that

(i) the government consult with opposition parties within 30 days of the adoption of this order;

(ii) the certificate of nomination may be tabled pursuant to paragraph (k) of the order adopted on Saturday, April 11, 2020, as renewed by subparagraph (f)(iii) of this order,

(iii) the Standing Committee on Public Accounts shall meet within seven days of the tabling of the certificate of nomination and, if the House stands adjourned pursuant to this order, the provisions applying to committees enumerated in paragraphs (l) and (n) of the order adopted on Saturday, April 11, 2020, as renewed by subparagraph (f)(iii) of this order, shall apply to the committee for the purposes of this study; however, the committee may consider motions related to the adoption of a draft report in relation to this study,

(iv) the committee be instructed to present a report within seven days of first meeting on this order of reference,

(v) the question on a motion to ratify the appointment shall be put, without debate or amendment, after a report has been presented under subparagraph (iv), at the earlier of the next following regular sitting of the House, during Routine Proceedings, or the next following sitting of the House convened under paragraph (i), at the opening of the sitting;

(l) Standing Order 81 shall, for the calendar year 2020, be amended as follows:

(i) in section (4), by replacing

(A) “May 31”, wherever it appears, with “November 27”, and

(B) “May 1” with “October 30”,

(ii) in section (8), by replacing “June” with “December”,

(iii) in paragraph (10)(a), by replacing all the words before the word “provided” with the following: “In the calendar year 2020, eight sitting days shall be allotted to the business of supply for the period ending not later than March 13; five additional days shall be allotted to the business of supply in the period ending not later than June 23; and nine additional days shall be allotted to the business of supply in the period ending not later than December 10;”, and

(iv) in paragraph (10)(b), by adding the following: “and that, in making this determination, the Speaker shall include in the period ending not later than December 10 the two allotted days which had not yet been designated pursuant to the order adopted on Monday, March 9, 2020.”,

(v) in section (12), by replacing “June 23” with “December 10”,

(vi) in paragraph (14)(a), by replacing “June 23” with “December 10”,

(vii) in section (17), by replacing

(A) “periods ending December 10 and March 26” with “period ending June 23”, and

(B) “each of the said periods” with “the said period”, and

(viii) in section (18), by replacing “June 23” with “December 10”,

provided that, for greater certainty, a motion to concur in additional interim supply for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2021, may be considered on the last allotted day in the supply period ending June 23, 2020; and

m) in the event of the Speaker being unable to act for any purpose required by this order, owing to illness or other cause, the Deputy Speaker or either of the Assistant Deputy Speakers shall act in the Speaker’s stead for any such purpose.

[Proceedings of the House and Committees, April 20th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, there have been discussions among the parties and if you seek it, I think that you will find unanimous consent for me to move a motion.

[Business of the House, April 20th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, there have been discussions among the parties and I think that if you seek it, you will find unanimous consent for the following motion.

I move:

That, notwithstanding any standing order, special order or usual practice of the House, the application of Standing Orders 15, 17 and 56.1 be suspended for the current sitting.

[COVID-19 Emergency Response Act, No. 2, April 11th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate my colleague from the Bloc Québécois, who, I must admit, is a formidable negotiator. He passionately defends his point of view, but he is also able to listen. I commend him for that. We were able to discuss, debate and come to a consensus for the good of all Quebeckers and Canadians.

If you had told me five months ago that I would be talking to my colleague on Saturday evening, Sunday morning, Sunday afternoon, Sunday evening, and so on, I never would have believed you. Nevertheless, that is what we did, and we managed to agree on solutions together.

In the spirit of collaboration, I would like to ask my colleague if he is prepared to work with us and the other members of the House to explore whether a virtual Parliament or virtual sittings are possible.

[COVID-19 Pandemic, April 11th, 2020]

Mr. Chair, as I said earlier today, the role of Parliament is fundamental. The role of parliamentarians is also fundamental. We recognize that. At the same time, we all understand that we are in the middle of this huge pandemic, this huge crisis. I want to thank all the people who are here working today. I see technicians, those translating what we are saying at this moment, the people at the table and the security agents. All those people would have to come here on a daily basis if that were the case.

[Business of the House, April 11th, 2020]

We are gathered here during a time of grave concern because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Canada and the entire world are going through a crisis that none of us anticipated.

Today, as members of Parliament, we are delivering a clear and unified message to Canadians that we will not let them down, we will not forget them and we will support them in this time of crisis.

Therefore, I believe that if you seek it, you will find unanimous consent for the following motion.

I move:

That, notwithstanding any standing order, special order or usual practice of the House:

(a) the application of Standing Orders 15, 17 and 56.1 be suspended for the current sitting;

(b) the government responses to petitions 431-00046 to 431-00123 be tabled immediately and that those to questions on the Order Paper numbered Q-260 to Q-308 and Q-310 to Q-368 be made into orders for return and that the said returns be tabled immediately;

(c) Tuesday, March 24, 2020, and this day shall not be considered as sitting days for the purposes of Standing Orders 34(1), 37(3), 51(1) and 110 and subsection 28(12) of the Conflict of Interest Code for Members of the House of Commons;

(d) a bill in the name of the Minister of Finance, entitled A second Act respecting certain measures in response to COVID-19, be deemed to have been introduced and read a first time and ordered for consideration at second reading later this day;

(e) Statements by Ministers be taken up immediately following the adoption of this order and that a member of the Green Party also be permitted to reply to the statement;

(f) following the responses to the ministerial statement, the House shall resolve itself into a committee of the whole to consider matters related to the COVID-19 pandemic for a period not exceeding two hours provided that, during the proceedings of the committee, (i) the Speaker may preside, (ii) the Chair may preside from the Speaker’s chair, (iii) the Chair shall call members in a fashion consistent with the proportions observed during Oral Questions, (iv) no member shall be recognized for more than five minutes at a time which may be used for posing questions to a minister of the Crown or a parliamentary secretary acting on behalf of the minister, (v) members may be permitted to split their time with one or more members by so indicating to the Chair; and at the conclusion of the time provided for the proceedings, or when no member rises to speak, whichever is earlier, the committee shall rise;

(g) when the committee of the whole rises, the House shall begin debate on the motion for second reading of the bill referred to in paragraph (d); a member of each recognized party and a member of the Green Party may speak to the said motion for not more than 20 minutes, followed by 10 minutes for questions and comments, provided that members may be permitted to split their time with another member; and, at the conclusion of the time provided for the debate or when no member rises to speak, whichever is earlier, all questions necessary to dispose of the second reading stage of the bill shall be put without further debate or amendment, provided that, if a recorded division is requested, it shall not be deferred and that, if the bill is adopted at second reading, it shall be referred to a committee of the whole, deemed considered in committee of the whole, deemed reported without amendment, deemed concurred in at report stage on division, and deemed read a third time and passed on division;

(h) when the bill referred to in paragraph (d) has been read the third time and passed, the House shall adjourn until Monday, April 20, 2020, provided that, for the purposes of any standing order, it shall be deemed adjourned pursuant to Standing Order 28, and, for greater certainty, the provisions of paragraphs (m) to (p) of the order adopted on Friday, March 13, 2020, and subparagraph (f)(ii) and paragraphs (i) to (m) of the order adopted on Tuesday, March 24, 2020, remain in effect;

(i) during the period the House stands adjourned, the House may be recalled, under the provisions of Standing Order 28(3), to consider measures to address the economic impact of COVID-19 and the impacts on the lives of Canadians;

(j) if, during the period the House stands adjourned pursuant to this order, the Speaker receives a notice from the House leaders of all four recognized parties indicating that it is in the public interest that the House remain adjourned until a future date or until future notice is given to the Speaker, the House will remain adjourned accordingly, provided that, in the event of the Speaker being unable to act owing to illness or other cause, the Deputy Speaker or either of the Assistant Deputy Speakers shall act in the Speaker’s stead for all the purposes of this paragraph;

(k) during the period the House stands adjourned pursuant to this order, any return, report or other paper required to be laid before the House in accordance with any act of Parliament, or in pursuance of any order of this House, may be deposited with the Clerk of the House on any Wednesday, provided that committee reports presented pursuant to an order of this House may be deposited at any time; and such return, report or other paper shall be deposited electronically and shall be deemed for all purposes to have been presented to or laid before the House;

(l) during the period the House stands adjourned pursuant to this order, the Standing Committee on Health, the Standing Committee on Finance, the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates, the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities, and the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology may hold meetings for the sole purpose of receiving evidence related to the COVID-19 pandemic, provided that, at such meetings, (i) committee members shall attend and witnesses shall participate via either videoconference or teleconference, (ii) committee members attending by videoconference or teleconference shall be counted for the purposes of quorum, (iii) proceedings shall be made available to the public via the House of Commons website, (iv) notices of membership substitutions pursuant to Standing Order 114(2) may be filed with the clerk of each committee by email, and further provided that these committees (v) shall each meet at least once per week, unless the whips of all recognized parties agree not to hold a meeting, (vi) may each receive evidence which may otherwise exceed the committee’s mandate under Standing Order 108, (vii) shall meet within 48 hours of the receipt by email, by the clerk of the committee, of a request signed by any four members of the committee;

(m) the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs be instructed to study ways in which members can fulfill their parliamentary duties while the House stands adjourned on account of public health concerns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, including the temporary modification of certain procedures, sittings in alternate locations and technological solutions including a virtual Parliament, provided that (i) during the period the House stands adjourned pursuant to this order, the provisions applying to committees enumerated in paragraph (l) shall also apply to the committee, however, the committee may consider motions related to the adoption of a draft report on this topic, (ii) the committee be instructed to present a report no later than May 15, 2020, (iii) any report which is adopted pursuant to subparagraph (ii) may be submitted electronically with the Clerk of the House, and shall be deemed to have been duly presented to the House at that date;

(n) in addition to receiving evidence, the committees enumerated in paragraphs l) and m) of this order, while meeting by videoconference or teleconference, may also consider motions requesting or scheduling specific witnesses, and these motions shall be decided by way of a recorded vote;

(o) for the purposes of committee meetings convened under paragraphs (l) and (m), priority for the use of House resources shall be given, in the following order, to (i) meetings of the Standing Committee on Health, (ii) meetings of the Standing Committee on Finance, (iii) meetings which are specified by the agreement of the whips of all recognized parties, (iv) all other meetings, in the order in which the meetings were convened;

(p) the House call on the Auditor General of Canada to conduct an audit of (i) the spending undertaken pursuant to the Public Health Events of National Concern Payments Act, (ii) the exercise of the provisions of the Financial Administration Act, and the Borrowing Authority Act enacted by Part 8 of the COVID-19 Emergency Response Act, and that the Auditor General report his findings to the House no later than June 1, 2021;

(q) the House call upon the government to take such measures as are necessary to ensure that the Auditor General has sufficient resources to conduct the work he has been asked by the House to do, including the audits called for in this order and the orders adopted on Wednesday, January 29, 2020, and Friday, March 13, 2020;

(r) the government implement measures without delay to address gaps in the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB), or other programs, existing or proposed, to address the needs of seasonal workers, those who have exhausted their Employment Insurance benefits, students, owner/operators, those who continue to receive a modest income from part-time work, royalties, and honoraria, and that, in addition, the government work to ensure essential workers who receive low wages will receive additional income support during this time of crisis, and commit that those who have applied in good faith for and received benefits through CERB or other programs to support them through this crisis will not be unjustly penalized;

(s) the government implement, in the short-term, support measures for Canadian small and medium-sized enterprises, which will be partially non-refundable, with the primary objective of maintaining jobs and reducing debt related to fixed costs, while maintaining access to liquidity in the form of loans; and

(t) the House note that the measures included in An Act to amend the Financial Administration Act (special warrant), the COVID-19 Emergency Response Act, and the bill referred to in paragraph (d) are for the purpose of dealing with the unique circumstances and the time period of the COVID-19 situation and recovery.

[Business of the House, March 25th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, it is indeed for one hour.

[Business of the House, March 25th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, we are in an unprecedented crisis that is affecting all Canadians. It is therefore our duty to work together to quickly provide emergency aid. That is why you will find that there have been discussions among the parties and that there is unanimous consent for the following motion:

That, notwithstanding any standing order, special order or usual practice of the House:

(a) the application of Standing Orders 17, 36(8)(b), 39(5)(b) and 56.1 be suspended for the current sitting, provided that the responses to petitions and questions on the Order Paper otherwise due shall be tabled at the next sitting of the House;

(b) ways and means motion No. 4, notice of which was laid upon the table earlier this day, be concurred in, that a bill based thereon in the name of the Minister of Finance, entitled An Act respecting certain measures in response to COVID-19, be deemed to have been introduced and read a first time and ordered for consideration at second reading later this day;

(c) following the adoption of this order, the House shall resolve itself into a committee of the whole to consider matters related to the COVID-19 pandemic for a period not exceeding one hour and provided that the Chair may preside from the Speaker's chair; that during the proceedings of the committee, the Chair shall call members in a fashion consistent with the proportions observed during Oral Questions; no member shall be recognized for more than five minutes which may be used for posing questions to a minister of the Crown or a parliamentary secretary acting on behalf of the minister; members may be permitted to split their time with one or more members by so indicating to the Chair; and at the conclusion of the time provided for the proceedings, or when no member rises to speak, whichever is earlier, the committee shall rise;

(d) when the committee of the whole rises, the House shall begin debate on the motion for second reading of the bill referred to in paragraph (b), a member of each recognized party and a member of the Green Party may speak to the said motion for not more than 10 minutes, followed by five minutes for questions and comments; provided that members may be permitted to split their time with another member; and, at the conclusion of the time provided for the debate or when no member rises to speak, whichever is earlier, all questions necessary to dispose of the second reading stage of the bill shall be put without further debate or amendment provided that, if a recorded division is requested, it shall not be deferred and that, if the bill is adopted at second reading, it shall be deemed referred to a committee of the whole; deemed considered in committee of the whole, deemed reported without amendment, deemed concurred in at report stage, deemed read a third time and passed;

(e) when the bill referred to in paragraph (b) has been read the third time and passed, the House shall adjourn until Monday, April 20, 2020, provided that, for the purposes of any Standing Order, it shall be deemed adjourned pursuant to Standing Order 28, and, for greater certainty, the provisions of paragraphs (m) to (p) of the order adopted on Friday, March 13, 2020, remain in effect;

(f) if, during the period the House stands adjourned pursuant to this order, the Speaker receives a notice from the House leaders of all four recognized parties indicating that it is in the public interest that the House remain adjourned until a future date or until future notice is given to the Speaker, the House will remain adjourned accordingly, provided that (i) in the event of the Speaker being unable to act owing to illness or other cause, the Deputy Speaker or either of the Assistant Deputy Speakers shall act in the Speaker's stead for all the purposes of this paragraph, (ii) in the event the House remains adjourned beyond April 20, 2020, pursuant to this paragraph, the words “May 1” and “May 31” in Standing Order 81(4)(a) shall be deemed to read “May 27” and “June 15”, respectively;

(g) during the period the House stands adjourned pursuant to this order, the House may be recalled, under the provisions of Standing Order 28(3), to consider measures to address the economic impact of COVID-19 and the impacts on the lives of Canadians;

(h) during the period the House stands adjourned pursuant to this order, the Chair of the Standing Committee on Health and the Chair of the Standing Committee on Finance shall each convene a meeting of their respective committee (i) at least once per week, unless the whips of all four recognized parties agree to not hold a meeting, and (ii) within 48 hours of the receipt by email, by the clerk of the committee, of a request signed by any four members of the committee, that during such meetings, committee members shall attend and witnesses shall participate via either videoconferencing or teleconferencing, that the committees meet for the sole purpose of receiving evidence concerning matters related to the government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, provided that, for greater certainty, each committee may receive evidence which may otherwise exceed the committee's mandate under Standing Order 108(2), all such meetings shall be made available to the public via the House of Commons website, and notices of membership substitutions pursuant to Standing Order 114(2) may be filed with the clerk of each committee by email;

(i) starting the week of March 30, 2020, the Minister of Finance or his delegate shall provide the Standing Committee on Finance with a bi-weekly report on all actions undertaken pursuant to parts 3, 8 and 19 of the COVID-19 Emergency Response Act and shall appear before the committee to discuss the report, provided that, until April 20, 2020, or any date to which the adjournment period is extended pursuant to paragraph f), if committee is not satisfied with how the government is exercising its powers under the Act, it may adopt a motion during a meeting by videoconference or teleconference to report this to the House by depositing a report with the Clerk of the House which shall be deemed to have been duly presented to the House on that day;

(j) upon the presentation of any report pursuant to paragraph i), the Speaker shall recall the House to consider a motion to take note of the report of the committee which shall be deemed to be proposed and have precedence over all other business that day, provided that proceedings shall expire when debate thereon has concluded or at the ordinary hour of daily adjournment and that at least 48 hours' notice shall be given for any sitting held pursuant to this paragraph;

(k) the Standing Committee on Finance be instructed to commence a review of the provisions and operation of the COVID-19 Emergency Response Act within 6 months of the day on which the Act receives royal assent and to report its findings to the House no later than March 31, 2021, provided that the report may be deposited with the Clerk of the House when the House stands adjourned and it shall be deemed to have been duly presented to the House on that day;

(l) within 30 sitting days of the resumption of regular sittings of the House pursuant to paragraph e) or f) of this order, the government table a comprehensive report of all activities undertaken pursuant to the COVID-19 Emergency Response Act and that this report be permanently referred to the Standing Committee on Finance; and

(m) the House call upon the government to provide regular updates to representatives of opposition parties on its management of the COVID-19 pandemic, including a bi-weekly conference call between the finance critics of recognized parties and the Minister of Finance.

That concludes the motion, and that is our government's emergency response to help Canadians. We will get through this difficult time together.

[Recall of the House of Commons, March 24th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, there have been discussions among the parties, and if you seek it, I think you will find unanimous consent for the following motion:

That the House continue to sit beyond the ordinary hour of daily adjournment and that, following the adoption of this order, the sitting be suspended to the call of the Chair after consultation with the House Leaders.