Virtual voting for MPs needed before House can fully resume: Trudeau
Posted May 26, 2020 12:23 pm.
Last Updated May 26, 2020 12:38 pm.
OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says ensuring members of Parliament can vote remotely is holding back a return to more normal House of Commons sittings.
The Liberals are moving for a special COVID-19 committee to continue to replace official House of Commons sittings for as long as four more months.
The committee would sit four days a week, instead of the current three, under the Liberal plan.
The Conservatives are demanding Parliament resume more normal functions with reduced numbers of MPs in person and some available to participate through videoconferencing.
The Conservatives argue the special committee is preventing opposition parties from using a number of tools they would have in a normal sitting to get information out of the government.
Trudeau, however, says there are still limitations in allowing MPs to vote virtually that would prevent some Canadians from having their representatives have an official say on government policies.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 26, 2020.
The Canadian Press
