OTTAWA -- As Health Minister Patty Hajdu launched into her opening speech in the MPs' first-ever special virtual sitting, Canadians were met with silence.
"The honourable minister of health, Ms. Hajdu, please un-click your mute," said House Speaker Anthony Rota.
"Oh, got it. Sorry," Hajdu replied, before launching into her speech about the government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Almost 90 per cent of MPs dialed into the virtual special sitting on the videoconferencing platform Zoom, as the spread of COVID-19 made it difficult for parliamentarians to observe physical distancing measures with a traditional gathering.
The meeting is not technically an official House of Commons sitting, but instead is a special committee formed as the Procedure and House Affairs Committee continues to study how a more formal virtual convening of the House of Commons could be conducted while respecting the traditions and privileges of Parliament.
The meeting kicked off just after noon on Tuesday, and at that time 297 of 338 MPs had dialed in. But with that many voices on one video call, paired with occasional forgetfulness when it comes to the ever-important "mute" button and accidental or intentional interruptions, a perfect storm for technical stumbles was brewing.
Laughter cut into the conversation as Conservative MP Matt Jeneroux delivered an emotional tribute to Canadians mourning the deaths of their loved ones amid the pandemic — it was Treasury Board President Jean-Yves Duclos, who forgot to mute his microphone as he attempted to navigate the new system.
Less than half an hour into the sitting, a ringing sound echoed through Bloc Quebecois leader Yves-Francois Blanchet's office as he spoke about the changes being made to Parliament amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
"I'm sorry, something is ringing," said Blanchet, taking a brief pause before soldiering on with his speech.
As the 90-minute question and answer period started, there was a moment when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau started to respond to opposition questioning — but again, there was no sound.
"I cannot hear the prime minister at this time," Conservative MP Karen Vecchio said.
"Mr. Speaker I am…also on English and I can hear him," said Liberal MP Kevin Lamoureux in response, referring to the different translation options the parliamentarians can enable for their audio.
Then, the prime minister's voice came blaring back to life.
"I've switched my language to English, I was on floor. But perhaps if I speak in English people can hear me," Trudeau said.
"[Vecchio] can, I saw her give the thumbs up," Rota replied.
The audio issue was an ongoing one throughout the sitting, as MPs accidentally spoke on the wrong channel and inadvertently muted themselves to a chunk of others who were attempting to listen in.
Muting disasters also continued. At one point, while Conservative MP Brad Vis asked a question about firefighters, Bloc Quebecois MP Alain Therrien’s audio cut in — hijacking the video and providing a brief glimpse of his empty room with sunny yellow walls.
While the technical glitches continued throughout the meeting, Rota worked tirelessly to find fixes as problems cropped up, pausing from time to time to consult with the technicians and repeatedly reminding MPs that they can ask Ottawa for special headsets to ensure their audio comes in clearly.
Speaking on the front steps of Rideau Cottage earlier on Tuesday, Trudeau reiterated his commitment to finding creative solutions to keep serving Canadians amid this pandemic.
"Despite the challenges of this pandemic, our democratic institutions are innovating and finding ways to keep serving people," Trudeau said.
However, it wasn't long after that speech that Rota had to direct those dreaded words at the prime minister himself.
"Unmute yourself, please," Rota said.
With files from The Canadian Press and CTV’s Rachel Aiello.
