Procedure and House Affairs committee  My statement here is really to say that there is strong recognition in the case law of Parliament's privilege and Parliament's autonomy to determine its procedures and its proceedings, and the way it is going to conduct its business. The courts have said that time and time again.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Thank you for that question. I think questions of privilege with respect to a member's access, a member's privilege to have unimpeded access and full participation in the proceedings of Parliament, are types of questions that are dealt with on a case-by-case basis by the Speaker, by the House.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I would have to say that any circumstance or situation would have to be considered when it arises on the basis of the facts at issue. These would be determinations made by the Speaker on a prima facie case of privilege, and ultimately by the House. It's not something that I can make a conclusion on in this context.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  It's not a problem at all. I want to make sure as well that everyone can hear me. Regarding the possibility of the House sitting in an alternate location, section 16 of the Constitution Act, 1867 states that Ottawa is the seat of the Government of Canada. The question is whether the House could decide on its own to sit elsewhere, in Ottawa or in Canada.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Okay, absolutely. In the Quebec secession reference, the Supreme Court noted the following in particular: Democracy is a fundamental value in our constitutional law and political culture. It also added the following: The principle of democracy has always informed the design of our constitutional structure, and continues to act as an essential interpretive consideration to this day.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Thank you, Madam Chair and members of the committee, for your invitation to appear today in the context of this important study on ways in which members can fulfill their parliamentary duties during the COVID-19 pandemic, including through sittings in alternate locations and technical solutions such as a virtual parliament.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  The 21 days is available to everyone for any reason, so it could be used for that.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  That's correct.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Sure. We've considered the provincial legislatures. Some of them will make no deductions to the allowance of members. In those cases, any absence does not result in a deduction. Others will have categories that are open-ended, like leave of the speaker, notice to the speaker, or extraordinary family circumstances or personal situations.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  It's a system in a temporary standing order that the U.K. House has put in place. As indicated in the letter from PROC, this is something that this committee may wish to consider in a subsequent report.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Well, that's the proposal that was put to the board in an attempt to meet the intent of section 59.1 of the Parliament of Canada Act and also the recommendation from this committee. In my view, it's something that would achieve that objective.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Yes, you do. The act talks about the House making a regulation by rule or order, and so the power really lies with the House. What is being asked of this committee is to report to the House with a recommendation that the House could consider. It's not something that BOIE would have the authority to do, given the way it is set out in the Parliament of Canada Act.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  This is a bit of a unique situation. This is really regulation made by the House on the authority in the Parliament of Canada Act, but in the exercise of its privileges in order to govern the presence of its members in the House.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  In my view, the Governor in Council does not have a role in this, because it would be looking at the manner in which the House is organizing and accepting the presence of its members in its proceedings. It's really at the heart of the proceedings of the House and the conduct of the proceedings in the House.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I'm mentioning the fact that sometimes we talk about this in the sense of parental leave. I believe in some of the previous reports the word “leave” might have been used as well as the justification. When we looked at this and the board looked at this it's not seen as a leave situation but more as the justifiable circumstances where a member would be absent from the chamber.