OTTAWA -- Deliberations between high-level House of Commons officials are underway as to whether it's time to suspend the House or if additional precautions would suffice, amid concerns about the spreading novel coronavirus pandemic that's now been confirmed to have infected the prime minister's wife.
Late Thursday it became increasingly likely that a suspension of parliamentary business is imminent.
Despite having already adjourned for their March break, the Senate announced that it will reconvene on Friday at 11 a.m., in anticipation that they will need to pass through an interim supply bill and possibly other measures in advance of a suspension of the session.
While still not set in stone, if MPs agree to suspend on Friday, it’s possible that they'll need to rush through a bill to grant the federal government enough funds to keep it running during a temporary adjournment of the House.
And, given the late-breaking news that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s wife Sophie Gregoire Trudeau has tested positive for COVID-19 upon returning from the U.K. -- and as a result the prime minister will be in self-isolation for 14 days -- it’s possible a two-week suspension could be suggested to MPs on Friday morning.
The current fiscal supply period ends at the end of the month, meaning that if a money bill does get moved tomorrow, the House could be set to be away until April at least, though as of Thursday evening Finance Minister Bill Morneau said the government is still planning on tabling its 2020 federal budget on March 30.
On Thursday afternoon Liberal Whip Mark Holland said that cross-party discussions are continuing, but that a decision will be made "very soon." Friday is the last scheduled sitting day before MPs decamp for March break.
Neither the House nor Senate are scheduled to sit next week anyways, meaning MPs would be back in their ridings focused on constituency work, and senators would not be meeting in Ottawa.
This comes after Thursday's second closed-door meeting of the Board of Internal Economy—the governing body of the House—where the current anxieties and concerns of the virus spreading on Parliament Hill were discussed. The board is chaired by House of Commons Speaker Anthony Rota.
NDP House Leader Peter Julian said that all sides are thinking about what is "most prudent," and "how best to proceed."
Questions over Canada's preparedness dominated question period Thursday.
Liberal MP Anthony Housefather, Natural Resource Minister Seamus O’Regan, and International Trade Minister Mary Ng are in self-isolation.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh and NDP MP Richard Cannings have also announced they are self-isolating.
A spokesperson for Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer's office said that no Conservative MPs are currently in self-isolation and none have been tested for COVID-19.
MPs are facing questions about whether they were still comfortable sitting in the House, largely from reporters who are now being kept at a greater distance, to protect both sides. The Parliamentary Press Gallery decided to create greater space for scrums -- where reporters gather to question a politician -- and also began wiping down microphones between interviews.
For days there have been ongoing discussions between the political parties and House of Commons administration about the precautions being taken to protect federal politicians and those who work on Parliament Hill, given the close quarters, and number of both frequent travellers and those over the age of 65.
Over the last several days incremental steps to quell concerns and combat the spread of the virus within the parliamentary precinct have taken place, from eliminating international travel for parliamentary associations to increasing the cleaning of high-traffic areas.
The House of Commons' pandemic plan was also dusted off. This plan is aimed at maintaining the constitutional function of MPs, but also spells out the human resource considerations of Parliament as a place of work.
In question period on Thursday, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland spoke to Canadians "at this anxious time," cautioning that the COVID-19 situation in Canada "will get worse before it gets better" and the federal government is focused on keeping Canadians safe. On Wednesday, the Liberals rolled out a more than $1 billion plan to combat and mitigate the impacts of the outbreak of COVID-19 in Canada.
On CTV's Power Play, Freeland said that now may be the time to be taking social distancing measures "in all the places that Canadians gather."
A prolonged suspension could lead to a backlog in passing key government business such as the new NAFTA deal which is nearly passed the House, though it's possible some sort of cross-party working arrangement will be sorted out on Friday to fast-track key bills, and to keep the business of government rolling along remotely.
While current rules don’t allow for electronic voting in the Canadian Parliament, nor can the business of the Chamber be conducted remotely, given the evolving technical capabilities, committee meetings could continue via video conference.
The question of cancelling public access to the House of Commons is also outstanding, with tours set to continue for now and House administration saying it is "continuing to monitor" the situation and has said that decisions related to public access and tours will be based off of advice from local health authorities.
Though the Senate announced late Thursday that starting Friday it is suspending guided tours and limiting Senate building access to parliamentary personnel.
“The Senate believes it has a leadership role to play in limiting the spread of this virus,” reads the Senate’s statement.
