Thank you, Madam Chair. Although this is a short piece of legislation, it is very much a historic legislation. I am pleased to provide opening comments on Bill 6, An Act to Amend the Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Act. Madam Chair, this bill will provide the Legislative Assembly authority to conduct all or a portion of our sittings by way of virtual means. The test for that will be in the hands of the Speaker, and we will sit virtually in exceptional circumstances.

Madam Chair, this bill was drafted in response to efforts to avoid face-to-face meetings of this House in a global pandemic, but its purpose is not limited to the current situation. Any number of natural disasters, travel restrictions, or territory-wide health and safety concerns could consider its use in the future. I want to say, for the record, that this legislation is not intended to provide Members with a convenient way to attend sessions of this House by virtual or remote means under normal circumstances. The default should always be that we attend our business in person, in this place, and in a public forum. The intention here is to provide the Speaker with another tool to ensure that the work of this place, including the passage of legislation, the approval of budgets, and the holding of the government to account, can continue, even under extraordinary circumstances. Madam Chair, this bill is about continuity of government in a time of crisis.

This bill authorizes a Member or a group of Members, with the Speaker's advance authorization, to participate in all or a portion of a session by way of a conference call or a video conference. The Member participating in this fashion is included in the calculation of quorum for the Assembly and is considered to have attended the sitting day in question. When a Member is authorized to participate in one of these remote ways, their vote will be counted as if it were cast in person, Madam Chair.

I suspect that some of the details of this legislation and how it will operate, if enacted, will need to be fleshed out by the Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures in the days ahead, Madam Chair. The future remains very uncertain as to how this pandemic will play out. This legislation will provide us all the legal authority to meet by virtual means, in public, should it be required in the months and years ahead.

This concludes my opening remarks, Madam Chair, and I am happy to take any questions that Members may have.