Canada's House of Commons to debate additional COVID-19 sittings and summer Parliament sessions
Ottawa/IBNS: Canada's Liberal government's proposal to add an additional day to the current schedule of Parliament's special committee on COVID-19's one meeting a week in person would be debated in the House of Commons on Monday, media reports said.
The Liberals had also proposed that fewer than three dozen Members of Parliament (MPs) convening in the House of Commons would be joined by members across the country visible on two large television screens installed in the House of Commons.
Conservative leader Andrew Scheer said that 50 members could be accommodated while still respecting physical distancing.
Operations of Parliament during the summer months, when the House of Commons typically rises for several weeks, would also be discussed in the meeting.
The chamber would then take the unusual step of convening the COVID-19 committee four times throughout the season: on July 8, July 22, August 12, and August 26.
During those sittings, MPs would have the ability to question the Prime Minister and members of the cabinet on any topic, not just those limited to COVID-19, followed by more hours of question-answer session with the government.
Approximately 32 MPs are expected to return to the Commons.
The Liberals minority government's need for support by another party would reportedly be done by NDP, who wanted a commitment from the Liberals to support those on sick leave and people living with disabilities who are struggling during the pandemic.
The main opposition to the Liberals' proposal is expected to come from the Conservatives, who had been pushing for normal House of Commons' in-person sittings.
The Liberals' motion also implies the addition of the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans to the list of eight other committees that are already meeting virtually to discuss matters related to COVID-19, a move supported also by NDP.
The issues unrelated to the pandemic would also be discussed during the meeting.
(Reporting by Asha Bajaj)
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