Monday, July 6, 2026
ADVT 
National

Parties agree on hybrid Commons sittings

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 23 Sep, 2020 08:04 PM
  • Parties agree on hybrid Commons sittings

The House of Commons will sit this fall with most MPs participating by video link so they can stay physically apart during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Government House leader Pablo Rodriguez introduced a motion to set the rules for "hybrid" sittings as the Commons sat for the first time in months Wednesday afternoon.

Those include having MPs vote via video conference until a secure remote voting application for smartphones is ready, and reducing the number of members who have to be physically present for quorum.

The plan also includes reconstituting committees such as a special body examining Canada-China relations.

The Conservatives had argued for in-person sittings only, with limited numbers of MPs in the chamber, and had opposed electronic voting.

But the MPs present Wednesday, including Tories, approved the plan unanimously.

The arrangement is to stay in place until Dec. 11, though MPs could vote to extend it then.

MORE National ARTICLES

A&W second-quarter sales and profits plunge

A&W second-quarter sales and profits plunge
A&W Revenue Royalties Income Fund says COVID-19 took a big bite out of its second-quarter results with same-store sales plunging 31.6 per cent from the prior year.

A&W second-quarter sales and profits plunge

No damage from quakes in B.C., Alaska

No damage from quakes in B.C., Alaska
A moderate earthquake has occurred off northwest Vancouver Island but emergency officials in British Columbia say it has not produced a tsunami.

No damage from quakes in B.C., Alaska

'Chair Girl' fined $2K, given probation

'Chair Girl' fined $2K, given probation
A young woman who made headlines with a toss of a chair from a 45th-storey Toronto balcony was fined $2,000 on Tuesday, with the judge saying it was lucky no one was hurt and that Marcella Zoia had been shamed publicly.

'Chair Girl' fined $2K, given probation

Ex-Quebec deputy premier tries to get charges stayed

Ex-Quebec deputy premier tries to get charges stayed
Former Quebec deputy premier Nathalie Normandeau and her co-accused are asking a court for a stay of procedures on corruption-related charges.

Ex-Quebec deputy premier tries to get charges stayed

Glacier bus crash survivor calls for seatbelts

Glacier bus crash survivor calls for seatbelts
The boyfriend of a woman killed when the sightseeing bus the couple was on rolled in the Rocky Mountains believes she would still be alive had passengers been wearing seatbelts.

Glacier bus crash survivor calls for seatbelts

What's in new COVID-19 bill passed by MPs?

What's in new COVID-19 bill passed by MPs?
Though the politics of Parliament Tuesday were largely focused on a controversy around how the Liberals handled a contract for a student grant program, MPs also passed a new piece of legislation.

What's in new COVID-19 bill passed by MPs?