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Some of the 98 rookie MPs elected in the last election say theyre missing out on the cut-and-thrust of Ottawas parliamentary experience as Canadas federal lawmakers, and a Conservative MP says if theres an early election this could become the forgotten Parliament, the one during the global pandemic.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, which the World Health Organization officially declared a pandemic on March 11, Parliament has only sat for about six weeks since the last federal election on Oct. 21, 2019. The House was suspended on March 13.

The rookie MPs interviewed for this article acknowledge the importance of suspending Parliament during the pandemic, but also say theyre missing out on a big part of being federal legislators, including not attending House committees, the daily Question Period, official functions, diplomatic functions, meeting in-person with staff, other MPs, lobbyists, and building key relationships in-person in Ottawa.

Doing democracy by Zoom meetings is just not the same as being there in the House of Commons, said rookie Conservative MP Michael Kram (Regina-Wascana, Sask.), who unseated former Liberal cabinet minister Ralph Goodale in the last election. Certainly the new opportunities to learn are not there as much for the new MPs but thats something we all have to deal with.

Rookie Liberal MP Han Dong (Don Valley North, Ont.) said he misses his regular parliamentary duties in Ottawa but under the circumstances theres no option but to work remotely.

I do miss Ottawa, I miss sitting in the Parliament, said Mr. Dong. It is what it is, the nature of things. We just have to cope with it.

In 2019, 98 rookie MPs 43 Conservatives, 24 Liberals, 22 Bloc Qubcois, eight NDP, and one Greenwere elected to the House. Since the October federal election, Parliament had sat for only six weeks until it was suspended on March 13. The House resumed last month for virtual sittings and a quorum of MPs from all parties has attended weekly Special COVID-19 Pandemic Committee meetings three days a week in the House Chamber since last month. But its unknown when the full contingency of all 338 MPs will return to Ottawa again. There are 157 Liberals, 121 Conservatives, 32 Bloc Qubcois, 24 NDP, three Green MPs, and one Independent MP.

Liberal Kevin Lamoureux (Winnipeg North, Man.), who is also parliamentary secretary to Government House Leader Pablo Rodriguez (Honor-Mercier, Que.), told The Hill Timesrecently that he does not personally expect the House to return with all MPs until early next year.

Liberal MP Kevin Lamoureux told The Hill Times that he doesnt personally expect the Parliament to return before the end of this year. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

I cant see that happening this year, personally. Thats a personal opinion, just based on what I see happening in the environment around me, Mr. Lamoureux told The Hill Times.

I think it would probably be better to have a discussion of this nature in July, when we would have a better sense of [the situation], Mr. Lamoureux said.

During regular in-person Commons sittings, MPs attend House proceedings and take part in debates on a variety of government and private members legislative issues. The opposition MPs come to Ottawa to hold the government to account in the daily 45-minute Question Period and scrutinize legislative issues in one of the more than 20 House committees. Every Wednesday morning, when the House is in session, all parliamentary caucuses hold weekly regional and national meetings to discuss parliamentary strategy and MPs share feedback and information on what their constituents are telling them back home about their partys policies. In between their official duties, MPs also mingle with their colleagues in the parliamentary hallways, during lunch time, and often socialize after hours whether it be at popular political pubs around town, restaurants, or at official parliamentary functions and receptions in political Ottawa.

In their constituencies, MPs meet with their constituents as much as possible to discuss individual and collective community issues and try to help. In normal times, they also welcome their constituents to walk into their constituency offices, even without appointments to meet with their staff for help on any issue. As well, MPs like to attend community events and the larger the gathering the better as it gives them more exposure and name recognition.

But these days MPs and their staffers are interacting with the constituents only online or by phone. All in-person meetings have been cancelled.

In the 2019 election, Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus (Papineau, Que.) Liberals were reduced to a minority from a majority, which also means an election could theoretically happen anytime as the Liberals need the support of at least one opposition party on every legislation.

Considering the ongoing speculation about a possible fall election, if the next election happens before the House returns for full in-person sittings, new MPs could theoretically have had only six weeks in Ottawa.

Two-term Conservative MP Michael Cooper says if the next election is called before Parliament returns for its full regular sitting, the current Parliament will be the forgotten Parliament. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Two-term Conservative MP Michael Cooper (St. Albert-Edmonton, Alta.) said that if the next election happened prior to the House returning back to the full sittings, the current Parliament could be the forgotten Parliament.

Simply put, there have been very few sitting weeks that the House has been back with all 338 MPs present, a little more than a month, said Mr. Cooper. So essentially, this Parliament has barely gotten off the ground and if theres an early election, it could go down as the forgotten Parliament.

Mr. Cooper said that the full in-person sittings allow all MPs the experience of engaging in the cut and thrust of politics by debating and asking questions in the Question Period.

Certainly having the opportunity to engage in debate to give speeches to hone the skills better that you develop in the House of Commons, in terms of parliamentary debate and the back and forth, said Mr. Cooper in a phone interview with The Hill Times.

Mr. Cooper said parliamentarians who have quality skills to ask pertinent questions and to analyze legislation in committees are absolutely essential to hold the government to account. He said he understands the reasons why Parliament is not sitting and added that virtual sittings are better than no sittings at all.

Thats vital to Canadian democracy that we have a functioning House of Commons that is sitting regularly in person, he said. And weve seen over the last several weeks, Parliaments sitting virtually that is better than not sitting at all, but its no substitute for the real thing, to speak in-person and sitting in Ottawa in the Chamber.

Moreover, he said being in Ottawa offers MPs an opportunity to get to know each other across party lines and to build relationships that play a key role in making progress in the legislative process in the House and in committees.

Frankly, the opportunity to get to know colleagues, not just within your own caucus, but in all different political parties. And thats one of the things that is really lacking in terms of virtual sittings, said Mr. Cooper.

You may not agree with someone on an issue but you might actually quite like [him or her], as a person, because you talk to them, youve dealt with them, youve worked with them. And you dont have that same sort of interaction in a virtual capacity.Its certainly important in terms of being able to work with your caucus. But also, in terms of being able to find common ground on issues. Sometimes those relationships can make all the difference in terms of moving an issue forward successfully, such as in different ways, but, you know, its something like a private members bill, for example.

Rookie MPs told The Hill Times that they do miss the in-person parliamentary experience of attending regular House proceedings, committee meetings, weekly national caucus meetings, and informal interactions with colleagues in between House duties and after work.

In Ottawa, going to in-person sessions, there is the ability to talk in the lobbies with your colleagues, said NDP MP Laurel Collins (Victoria, B.C.). For me, Im on the Environment Committee, and the only committees that are sitting right now are committees that are directly related to the COVID response. And so everything on the Environment Committee has been postponed until we can start back up again. And so definitely, I miss being able to bring my constituents and Canadians concerns around the environment to that space.

As well, Ms. Collins said being in Ottawa, rookie MPs can have access to their mentors in-person and build a network of friendships. Working remotely, she said, new MPs can still reach out to veteran MPs, but the in-person meetings are easier as everyone is on Parliament Hill.

I miss kind of the informal interactions with MPs across party lines, said Ms. Collins. And so you just have to put in a little more effort to reach out to, you know, I had a conversation a couple weeks ago with one of the MPs from the Liberals who had heard one of my questions on a technical briefing call. And so we were able to have a conversation. It just takes a little more effort than if you would just see them in the lobby or see them on the Hill.

Prior to COVID-19, an overwhelming majority of the constituency work was about immigration. But now MPs say theyre mostly dealing with government-related COVID-19 spending programs. Close to seven and a half million people have applied for emergency financial aid under the governments spending programs.

My office has been inundated with requests for support; either people who are wanting help navigating the programs are being put out by the federal government, the support benefits; and a lot of people who are falling through the cracks of those programs, said Ms. Collins.

Mr. Dong who represents a GTA riding said that COVID-19 is still the leading subject in his constituents questions. However a significant number of those questions still have immigration component related to wait times, eligibility requirements, whether government financial assistance during the pandemic would affect someones ability to sponsor, and international students qualification for immigration, among others, he said.

Whether its processing time, whether its eligibility, theyre all triggered by whats going on with COVID-19, said Mr. Dong.

All MPs interviewed said that theyre using online resources such as Facebook Live, Zoom, or regular telephone conference calls to reach out to their constituents. All said they are holding regular virtual town halls to meet with their constituents. My office has been quite busy, said Mr. Dong.[We use] virtual platforms to connect with our constituents and local businesses.

The Hill Times

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'Doing democracy by Zoom just not the same as being there in the House': rookie MPs missing out on parliamentary experience - The Hill Times