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Jun 2, 2020 10:25 PM -

House of Commons can manage virtual voting securely if MPs want it, Speaker says

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Speaker of the House of Commons Anthony Rota rises in the House of Commons, Wednesday, May 13, 2020 in Ottawa. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

House of Commons Speaker Anthony Rota says he is comfortable the technology is in place to safely allow MPs to vote remotely during the hybrid Parliament sittings.

Rota tells the procedure and House affairs committee today he is confident the process for public votes is secure and that it's up to MPs to decide which kind of system is appropriate to approve.

Security concerns and other barriers to letting MPs vote while attending the House of Commons virtually kept the Liberals and NDP from supporting a return to normal last month.

The House of Commons is continuing with hybrid sittings of the special COVID-19 committee, with some MPs attending in person and others via an adapted online videoconference.

Conservative and Bloc MPs want a return to normal proceedings, which they say allow them to better hold the government accountable for hundreds of billions of dollars in pandemic aid.

Rota says any electronic or virtual voting system must ensure MPs know what they are voting on, that the House can verify their identities and that have enough time to make it to the vote.

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