Sarah Rennie
On April 28, the first virtual meeting of the House of Commons took place in Ottawa in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and the government-imposed social distancing regulations that saw Parliament shut down on March 13. Salaberry-Suroît MP Claude DeBellefeuille took part in this historic sitting of the House. It has also been decided that along with weekly virtual sessions there will also be on-site sittings in the House of Commons every Wednesday in order to allow opposition parties to voice concerns and hold the present federal government to account as it attempts to govern during this unprecedented time.
DeBellefeuille and the Bloc Québécois have requested that the virtual sessions take place twice per week so parliamentarians are better able to influence decisions being made. “Incredible measures have been put in place to respond to the unprecedented scale of the pandemic. In our counties, our partners are reporting legitimate problems. I therefore think it is important for members to be able to express themselves and the virtual parliament makes it possible to do so,” she concludes.
Claire IsaBelle makes history
In-person parliamentary proceedings are also adjourned at the National Assembly in Quebec. To ensure democracy during this time, virtual parliamentary committee meetings with members of opposition parties took place on April 24, including one led by Huntingdon MNA Claire IsaBelle, who chairs the parliamentary committee on the economy and labour. “I am pleased to have been given this opportunity to lead the first virtual parliamentary committee sessions,” says IsaBelle, who notes that chairing the virtual meeting was made easier thanks to the collaboration of MNAs, committee assistants, and the technicians.
Leading a virtual session was also a nod to IsaBelle’s past. As the director of graduate studies in the Faculty of Education at the University of Ottawa, she and her colleagues developed and offered the first distance education master’s degree in French-language school administration and dissertation. IsaBelle taught the first course offered entirely online.
Virtual meetings locally as well
Teamwork led by Claire IsaBelle and her associates since the beginning of the pandemic to bring together stakeholders from across the western portion of the Huntingdon riding has resulted in a weekly hour-long conference call around a virtual table to discuss what is happening on the ground in the area. The meeting brings together Salaberry-Suroît MP Claude DeBellefeuille, the prefect for the MRC du Haut-Saint-Laurent, Louise Lebrun, and its director general, Laurent Lampron, the prefect for the MRC de Beauharnois-Salaberry, Maude Laberge, along with the mayors, Guy Francoeur of the CISSSMO, and several individuals representing community organizations, including Rémi Pelletier of the Haut-Saint-Laurent CDC, Nathalie Collin of the Maison des Jeunes in Huntingdon, and Gabrielle Limoges of Une Affaire de Famille.
The virtual meetings have allowed for the monitoring of the situation within the different municipalities, as well as a sense of collaboration in supporting citizens and responding to needs as they emerge. “The support and ideas brought forward by all of the stakeholders during these meetings are valuable and appreciated,” says IsaBelle. “I would like to highlight the excellent work being done by each of them; their dedication is remarkable.”