New Brunswick opposition MLAs forced an early end to Friday’s proceedings in the legislature after the government would not agree to clear the way for hybrid sittings.
MLAs found themselves in a standoff, refusing to give the unanimous consent needed for third reading and royal assent for several government bills.
The opposition wanted the government to agree to table notice of a motion on hybrid sittings, which would allow some MLAs to be present in the chamber and others to appear virtually.
But the government did not give in.
“We would be happy to provide consent to go to third reading and so on today if they brought forward a motion to the house to debate the ability of members to participate virtually in a meeting of the legislative assembly,” said Green Leader David Coon.
Government house leader Glen Savoie said asking opposition leaders to establish hybrid sittings with a government motion, was oversimplifying the process.
“The opposition is trying to make this a very simple thing, which it is not. We’re talking about the fundamental rights and privileges of members,” Savoie said.
“Ultimately, it’s not as easy a putting a motion on the floor because putting a motion on the floor and voting on it doesn’t put any parameters around things necessarily, you don’t have any of the details that would be required to move forward.”
Savoie noted that hybrid systems being used in other jurisdictions are also limited to committee formats and voting on bills has not taken place virtually to his knowledge.
The opposition forced an hour-long debate on a motion setting when the assembly will return next, during which MLAs argued about the virtues, or lack thereof, of hybrid sittings and the establishment of a legislative calendar.
Education Minister Dominic Cardy told reporters in December that he would not consent to hybrid sittings, after a two-week adjournment during which a hybrid system was implemented and tested in committee meetings.
In order to make such changes in short order, unanimous consent is needed. If not, two weeks’ notice of a motion must be given.
During Friday’s debate, Cardy outlined the reasons for his opposition to hybrid sittings, even invoking the viral “cat lawyer” clip, where a lawyer was unable to remove a filter showing him as a cat during a court appearance.
Cardy said that the in-person aspect of the assembly, the ability to go against one’s party or speak to colleagues across the aisle are essential parts of the province’s legislative system and going virtual would only serve to further concentrate power in the hands of the executive branch.
“We are able to have discussions when in a room together at a higher level of civility and a higher level of engagement than when we have them online,” he said.
MLAs from both the Greens and the Liberals spoke in favour of hybrid sittings.
Kent South MLA Benoit Bourque said he too would prefer to sit in person, but said the assembly should be flexible in these unusual circumstances.
Unlike the Liberals, the Greens want to see the option for MLAs to appear virtually to stick around after the pandemic is over.
Kent North MLA Kevin Arseneau said he had to leave for Fredericton just 72 hours after his wife gave birth in 2018. The party has said that giving new parents, those who are injured, or otherwise indisposed, the chance to appear virtually allows constituents to have their voices represented no matter what.
Two Liberal MLAs from Zone 4, Chuck Chiasson and Jean-Claude D’Amours, did not attend Friday’s sitting since the region remains in the red phase.
Francine Landry, the other area MLA, lost her father earlier this week and also did not attend. Savoie confirmed that public health OK’d the attendance of MLAs from red zones and said it was their choice not to make the trip to Fredericton.
As the debate was taking place, Premier Blaine Higgs spoke to reporters, saying that the implementation and use of a hybrid system may become necessary. Higgs agreed that the system should be ready and standing by in case the pandemic situation worsens in the leadup to the tabling of the budget in March.
“Not being able to conduct the business of the province is not an option,” Higgs said.
Savoie said the government’s issue with the opposition’s ploy to force a motion onto the table on Friday is not with the content necessarily, but with the forum. He said party leaders have been advised to ask for a meeting of the standing committee on procedures, privileges and legislative officers in order to discuss further and formulate in what situations a hybrid system could be used.
Coon says he wrote a letter to the committee chair requesting a meeting to do just that but did not receive a response. He says there had been an agreement between all four leaders to move to a hybrid model.
“After Christmas, I was completely sideswiped to find out that only committees would be operating in a way to allow members to appear virtually,” Coon said.
“This is a change for the premier … it looks like he’s letting Dominic Cardy dictate what’s happens in his caucus and cabinet.”
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