Close X
Saturday, November 23, 2024
ADVT 
National

House of Commons can manage virtual voting securely if MPs want it, Speaker says

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 02 Jun, 2020 07:14 PM
  • House of Commons can manage virtual voting securely if MPs want it, Speaker says

House of Commons Speaker Anthony Rota says he is comfortable the technology is in place to safely allow MPs to vote remotely during the hybrid Parliament sittings.

Rota tells the procedure and House affairs committee today he is confident the process for public votes is secure and that it's up to MPs to decide which kind of system is appropriate to approve.

Security concerns and other barriers to letting MPs vote while attending the House of Commons virtually kept the Liberals and NDP from supporting a return to normal last month.

The House of Commons is continuing with hybrid sittings of the special COVID-19 committee, with some MPs attending in person and others via an adapted online videoconference.

Conservative and Bloc MPs want a return to normal proceedings, which they say allow them to better hold the government accountable for hundreds of billions of dollars in pandemic aid.

Rota says any electronic or virtual voting system must ensure MPs know what they are voting on, that the House can verify their identities and that have enough time to make it to the vote.

MORE National ARTICLES

More COVID-19 tests, masks announced in some provinces as economy flails

More COVID-19 tests, masks announced in some provinces as economy flails
The COVID-19 pandemic's economic toll came into sharper focus on Friday as several provinces revamped their efforts to root out the novel coronavirus and slow its spread.

More COVID-19 tests, masks announced in some provinces as economy flails

Police search for woman who tripped Burnaby, B.C. senior

Police search for woman who tripped Burnaby, B.C. senior
Police in Metro Vancouver are searching for a woman who casually approached a senior who was using a walker, tripped her from behind and walked away.

Police search for woman who tripped Burnaby, B.C. senior

Police need more than an unverified tip to avoid drug-case entrapment: top court

Police need more than an unverified tip to avoid drug-case entrapment: top court
An unsubstantiated tip that someone is dealing drugs from a phone number doesn't amount to reasonable suspicion of criminal activity, the Supreme Court of Canada has ruled.

Police need more than an unverified tip to avoid drug-case entrapment: top court

Garneau says still no black boxes from Iran in January shootdown of airliner

Garneau says still no black boxes from Iran in January shootdown of airliner
Canada and four other countries are still trying to pressure Iran to release the flight recorders from its Jan. 8 shootdown of a Ukrainian passenger plane, Transport Minister Marc Garneau said Friday.

Garneau says still no black boxes from Iran in January shootdown of airliner

Statistics Canada says first-quarter GDP worst showing since 2009

Statistics Canada says first-quarter GDP worst showing since 2009
Canada's economy had its worst quarterly showing since 2009 through the first three months of 2020, and may be headed to an even steeper drop, as steps taken to slow the spread of COVID-19 forced businesses to close and lay off workers.

Statistics Canada says first-quarter GDP worst showing since 2009

Trudeau acknowledges racial unrest in U.S.; 'We also have work to do in Canada'

Trudeau acknowledges racial unrest in U.S.; 'We also have work to do in Canada'
America's anger, frustration and discord boiled over in Minnesota's Twin Cities on Friday at a remarkable moment in the history of the United States, sparked by the collision of racial injustice, freedom of expression and the worst public health crisis of the last 100 years.

Trudeau acknowledges racial unrest in U.S.; 'We also have work to do in Canada'