Honourable senators, with leave of the Senate and notwithstanding rule 5-5(j), I move:

That, notwithstanding any provision of the Rules, previous order or usual practice, and taking into account the exceptional circumstances of the current pandemic of COVID-19, until the end of the day on December 18, 2020:

1.standing Senate committees have the power:

(a)to hold hybrid meetings, with senators able to participate either from the meeting room in the parliamentary precinct or by videoconference; and

(b)to hold meetings entirely by videoconference, subject to the terms of this order;

2.the scheduling of meetings of standing Senate committees be prioritized, subject to available capacity, as follows:

(a)meetings on Government Business;

(b)meetings of the Standing Committee on Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration;

(c)meetings of the Standing Committee on Audit and Oversight;

(d)meetings of the Standing Committee on Ethics and Conflict of Interest for Senators, when and if established; and

(e)any other study conducted in accordance with an order of reference from the Senate;

3.hybrid meetings of Senate committees have priority over meetings entirely by videoconference, and such a committee only meet entirely by videoconference:

(a)for the purpose of an organization meeting, including discussion of future business at such a meeting; or

(b)for other purposes only if:

(i)there is an order of the Senate authorizing the committee to hold such a meeting; or

(ii)authorized to hold such a meeting with the signed consent of the Government Liaison, the Opposition Whip, and the whips and liaisons of all recognized parties and recognized parliamentary groups;

4.for greater certainty, it be understood that the provisions of this order concerning the prioritization of meetings and restricting meetings by videoconference do not apply to any subcommittees that may be established by the Standing Committee on Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration, which can meet entirely by videoconference;

5.any conflict in the scheduling of committee meetings be settled by consensus between the Government Liaison, the Opposition Whip, and the whips and liaisons of all recognized parties and recognized parliamentary groups;

6.the practice of restricting committees to regular time slots be suspended, with the requirement for a pre-established meeting schedule for committees under section 3 of Chapter 5:03 of the Senate Administrative Rules also being suspended;

7.hybrid committee meetings or meetings entirely by videoconference be considered, for all purposes, to be meetings of the committee in question, and senators taking part in such meetings be considered, for all purposes, to be present at the meeting;

8.for greater certainty, and without limiting the general authority granted by this order, when a committee holds a hybrid meeting or meets entirely by videoconference:

(a)all members of the committee participating count towards quorum;

(b)such meetings be considered to be occurring in the parliamentary precinct, irrespective of where participants may be; and

(c)the committee be directed to approach in camera meetings with all necessary precaution, taking account of the risks to confidentiality inherent in such technologies;

9.subject to variations that may be required by the circumstances, to participate in a meeting by videoconference senators must:

(a)participate from a designated office or designated residence within Canada;

(b)use a desktop or laptop computer and headphones with integrated microphone provided by the Senate for videoconferences;

(c)not use other devices such as personal tablets or smartphones;

(d)be the only people visible on the videoconference;

(e)have their video on and broadcasting their image at all times; and

(f)leave the videoconference if they leave their seat; and

10. when a committee holds a hybrid meeting or meets by videoconference, the provisions of rule 14-7(2) be applied so as to allow recording or broadcasting through any facilities arranged by the Clerk of the Senate, and, if a meeting being broadcast or recorded cannot be broadcast live, the committee be considered to have fulfilled the requirement that a meeting be public by making any available recording publicly available as soon as possible thereafter;

That the Senate recognize the principle that, as hybrid capacity increases, the frequency of meetings entirely by videoconference will decrease in consequence; and

That the Government Representative in the Senate be encouraged to deploy best efforts, in collaboration with the Speaker and the Senate Administration, to explore ways to expand hybrid capacity as quickly as possible.

The Hon. the Speaker: Is leave granted, honourable senators?

Hon. Senators: Agreed.