Should the House of Commons go hybrid for another year?

There’s a debate on Parliament Hill on whether the time has come to end the virtual meetings started during the pandemic. 

The government wants the hybrid model to stay, with some members of Parliament still on Zoom. But the opposition is asking whether it’s more about politics than health. 

The governing Liberals are proposing to extend the hybrid work model until June 2023.

The House leader Mark Holland says it’s still needed to accomodate MP’s who are isolating. 

“We will be moving forward with a motion to see the hybrid provisions continue for an additional year,” says Holland. “We’ve had the flexibility to successfully allow members to continue to participate, even when ill. And making sure that they didn’t infect others.”

Ottawa Centre MP Yasir Naqvi says it’s all about keeping people safe. 

“It’s being extended for another year because we are still living though a pandemic,” says Naqvi. “COVID is still with us. People are still getting sick with COVID. It’s still a highly transmissible disease and we want to make sure that people are able to do their job while keeping everyone else safe as well.”

But the opposition says this is just an excuse for the NDP and Liberals to avoid doing their jobs.

“The only conclusion that I can draw from this is that the NDP and the Liberals, because they are joining forces on this, they will make this happen, is that they just don’t want to come to work. They don’t want to show up,” says Conservative MP John Brassard.

“Why the Parliament of Canada, the House of Commons of Canada, is an outlier to what everybody else is returning to, and that’s normal, is inexplicable to me.”

Infection control epidemiologist Colin Furness says bringing people back to work should only be done if safety is a number one priority.

“It does not bother me that the house wants to be virtual or hybrid for another year. We’re still in the middle of a pandemic,” says Furness. “I think it’s really vital to not just look at the calendar and say, well it’s time to get back in-person. That’s a foolish yardstick to use. It’s not about the calendar, it’s about safety.”

Ottawa City Hall is currently using a hybrid model for committee meetings, and some say this way of working could last forever.

“This technology is here to stay,” says Coun. Riley Brockington. “What you just have to decide or determine is at what frequency are you going to meet in person and what frequency are you going to meet virtually.”

Debate on the proposal could last another day or two.

“COVID, although it may have changed things temporarily, it should never be an excuse to change things permanently,” says Brassard.