Government House leader Mark Holland has asked House of Commons Speaker Anthony Rota to approve Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaking to Canada’s Parliament next week.
Zelenskyy has accepted an invitation to speak to MPs and senators and Holland proposes he do so at 11:15 a.m. on Tuesday.
The House of Commons and Senate are not scheduled to sit again until March 21 and Holland says MPs were not able to adopt a motion about the address by Zelenskyy before beginning the two-week break.
Holland says this would give Canadians a chance to hear directly from Zelenskyy about the “urgent and dire” situation in his country, which was invaded by Russia just over two weeks ago.
He says Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Rota, Senate Speaker George Furey, interim Conservative leader Candice Bergen, Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh and a member of the Green Party would also speak.
Holland is also asking that all speakers be able to remove their masks and that guests be allowed in the galleries and on the floor of the House of Commons for the address.
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