Marsi cho, Madam Speaker.

In the event a Member loses their connection before voting, that Member must contact the table officer on duty as soon as possible to register their vote. If there is no response when the clerk or designate calls the Member, the clerk would call the Member two additional times and, if the Member has still not responded, proceed to the next Member and continue the vote. After the clerk has gone through the list, he or she would confirm if the Member who had lost connection has submitted a vote through alternative means and announce to the House how that Member voted. If a connection is re-established before the results of the vote are announced by the Speaker, the clerk shall call on the Member to cast their vote. The Speaker should allow three minutes from the end of the roll call for a Member to contact the table officer with their vote before announcing the results.

Recommendation 8

The Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures recommends that, when a Member attending remotely loses their connection just prior to or during a vote, the Member immediately contacts the table officer to register their vote, and that the clerk will announce to the House how that Member voted at the end of the roll call. Three minutes will be counted from the end of the roll call to when the Speaker announces the results if a Member has lost connection prior to voting to allow the Member time to contact the table officer.

The committee also discussed what should happen if a Member loses connection and is unable to contact the clerk. An example is if all telecommunications are lost in their community. Another scenario considered was if the Member, while still connected, did not respond when called to vote. In both of these cases, the committee determined that Rule 12(5) would apply, notably, "If a Member enters the Chamber when a question has been put, not realizing this is the case, they shall not vote on that question." In other words, once the Speaker calls for a vote, it is the responsibility of each Member to vote. The committee understands the difficulties of remote sittings and, therefore, makes the following recommendation:

Recommendation 9

The Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures recommends that, when conducting a roll call, the clerk call on the mover of the motion, followed by each Member attending remotely by order of their normal seat in the House, then each Member seated in the Chamber. For Members attending remotely, they will be called no more than three times for their vote before the clerk moves on to the next Member.

Oral and Written Questions

The committee discussed what would happen if a Member attending remotely lost their connection partway through asking a Minister a question. The committee felt that, if the Member was able to reconnect before the end of oral questions, the Speaker would allow the Member to continue their questions. If the Member could not connect before the time allowed for oral questions expired, the Member should be allowed to submit the question and up to three supplemental questions in writing and to have the question included in Hansard with a note that the question was submitted in writing due to a lost connection. The Minister would have two sitting days to respond under returns to oral questions. The committee felt that this should not be treated as taking the question as notice, as that would prevent another Member from asking a related question. The committee also felt that the submitted question should not count towards the Member's limit of written questions on the order papers.

Recommendation 10

The Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures recommends that, during oral questions, if a Member attending remotely is disconnected while asking a question, if the Member is successful in reconnecting before the allotted time expires, the Speaker will allow the Member to continue their questions. If the Member is not able to reconnect before the allotted time expires, the Member may choose to submit the full question and up to three supplemental questions in writing and that the Minister would have two sitting days in which to respond.

If a Member of the Executive Council attending remotely loses their connection during oral questions and a Member asks a question under that Minister's portfolio, the committee felt that the Premier or, in her absence, the Deputy Premier should take the question. The Premier or Deputy Premier could choose to try and answer the question or may take it as notice.

Recommendation 11

The Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures recommends that, if a Minister attending remotely loses their connection when a question has been asked to that Minister, then the question shall be redirected to the Premier or designate to respond.

The committee discussed the process for written questions. As all written questions must be filed with the clerk prior to the sitting day, the committee had no concerns with the established process being conducted remotely. The only issue committee could identify was in the event that a Member lost their connection before being able to put their written question to the House. The committee felt that the question should be announced, but not read by the clerk, and added to the order papers, as well as being printed in full in Hansard. Therefore, the committee makes the following recommendation:

Recommendation 12

The Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures recommends that, when a Member files a written question with the Office of the Clerk, the Member should note if, in the event the Member loses their connection, the written question can be announced by the clerk and be printed in its entirety in Hansard.

With that, I will turn it over to the Member for Nunakput.