Procedure and House Affairs committee  Thank you for the question. Yes, I would agree that the participation of members in the legislature is enhanced by their opportunities to speak to each other face to face. Camaraderie is one word; perhaps we could use collegiality. I think if individual people get to know each ot

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Again that's a question for the House of Commons and the Senate and the individual legislatures to decide, recognizing that there are advantages to what you're suggesting.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I think it was the decision of the House to continue to sit in person. There would be individual members who might have strongly favoured continuing to sit in person and perhaps others who would have preferred to have given greater consideration to a hybrid model. In the final an

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I can go first. The Legislative Assembly of Ontario does not currently empower the Speaker to give that authorization to members. The Speaker doesn't have that authority.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  The situation is similar in Ontario, but it's also been exciting for all of us as members to see some of the members who have recently become parents bringing their infant children into the chamber. We've had that on a number of occasions, and it's been welcomed by members on all

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Again, I'm not really in a position to provide direction to the House of Commons or the Senate on this question. I think the members need to—

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I think every Speaker would want to see discussions taking place involving all members, ideally, or their representatives through their House leaders and whips. Ideally, there would be a consensus determined based on honest discussion, the public interest and the interest of Parl

Procedure and House Affairs committee  We, as a legislature, continued to sit in person, as I've said before, but the standing committees in many cases were sitting virtually. I think the primary benefit of virtual committees was that we were able to accommodate a large number of presentations from across the provinc

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Thank you very much for the question. Yes, without question, as discussions continue on the advantages and disadvantages of hybrid Parliament and making it a more permanent feature of how we do our business, I think it would be essential that parameters be developed. In the co

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I'm not sure that we've done enough at the legislature to support members with young families, for starters. My wife and I have raised three children, and we went through this as a family as well through the years. Our boys are now grown, but it is very difficult and challenging

Procedure and House Affairs committee  First of all, I would indicate that I agree with Speaker Bennett and the comments he just made. The Ontario legislature does have a robust business continuity plan, which we have worked on over the years. It is ready to go, if ever needed. We also would agree and concur that, a

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Who is that addressed to?

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I think you have made a very good point, John. It's hugely valuable for elected members to be able to interact in the chamber, outside of the chamber, in the corridors and in the lobbies. Having those face-to-face conversations can be very helpful in terms of ensuring that member

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Throughout the pandemic, the Legislative Assembly of Ontario continued to sit in person as a whole when the House sat. As I said, the committees, in many cases, were sitting virtually, but the House as a whole sat in person. We had to take, of course, a long list of new approache

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Thank you very much, Chair Chagger. Good afternoon. I'm Ted Arnott. I'm the member of provincial Parliament for Wellington—Halton Hills and the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. I'm glad to have this opportunity to address the Standing Committee on Procedure and H