House feed

By Mel Rothenburger

ARMCHAIR MAYOR

ROTHENBURGER: Heckle-free virtual session of House disconcerting but welcome

Apr 29, 2020 | 4:36 AM

KAMLOOPS — TUESDAY’S VIRTUAL SESSION of Parliament was a fascinating exercise.

Technically, it was a meeting of the “Special Committee on the COVID-19 Pandemic,” and, technically, it wasn’t Question Period.

It was, however, a question-and-answer format, allowing opposition MPs to pepper cabinet ministers with questions about the pandemic.

Canadians have adopted a bit of a game with home-style video meetings and interviews, making note of the décor and other features in the background of those doing the speaking.

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Thus it was that MPs displayed a variety of books, artwork, family photos, and bric-a-brac behind them. I saw at least one sports jersey and, one MP apologized for noisy children.

They were all dressed in business attire, though, and presumably were all wearing pants.

There were constant technical problems as MP after MP failed to connect to the right French or English channel, couldn’t be heard or couldn’t hear, or complained about statements and translations interfering with each other.

“Point of order,” “I can’t hear” and “Can you hear me now?” were among the frequent interjections, as opposed to the usual “Oh, Oh” recorded in Hansard.

While there were certainly tough, partisan questions and answers, the whole thing had an informality and even a politeness to it, perhaps due in part to their common struggle with the technology.

But it seemed as though something was missing, and it was: the heckling that normally marks Question Period. It was disconcerting at first, a little like TV comedies that don’t use laugh tracks, or tennis matches played without the inane remarks of commentators.

It was actually a treat to watch, and seemed overall as if something was actually being accomplished beyond partisan bickering. If this is going to be the new normal, then please sir, give us more.

I’m Mel Rothenburger, the Armchair Mayor.

Mel Rothenburger is a former mayor of Kamloops and newspaper editor. He writes five commentaries a week for CFJC Today, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a director on the Thompson-Nicola Regional District board. He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.

Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group.