The Covid-19 pandemic is ringing in systemic changes in the manner in which the branches of Government in Canada operate. The country’s Supreme Court has announced that it will, for the first time in history, start virtual hearings. That came as the Speaker of Canada’s House of Commons, equivalent of the Lok Sabha, said technology was in place for start remote voting.
The Canadian Supreme Court has released a list of matters that it will hear via video conferencing starting next week. In a statement, Chief Justice Richard Wagner said, “While the Covid-19 pandemic has forced us to close our building to physical visitors for everyone’s health and safety, it hasn’t stopped us from doing our work. We may not be able to welcome members of the public to our physical courtroom, but we are excited to invite everyone to our virtual courtroom for the first time.”
These hearings will be live-streamed on the court’s website, and the platform that will be used for the purpose will also make provisions for observers to “view” the proceedings as they would in the actual court chambers in Ottawa.
As the Supreme Court is going virtual, Canada’s House of Commons may soon allow its members to vote on matters like legislation. Speaker Anthony Rota told a House Committee that they were “technically ready for virtual voting.”
The country’s Parliament was adjourned in March due to the coronavirus crisis, but special sittings related to the combating the disease and the various facets of its impacts have taken place. Some were in person, with a minimum number of MPs in attendance, others were done remotely. Late last month, these focused sittings transitioned to “hybrid” sessions, with MPs joining in remotely while some were present in the chamber.
The virtual vote could become a reality by the end of this month, as a spokesperson for the Government’s Leader in the House Pablo Rodriguez told the agency Canadian Press that they were “100 per cent in favour of electronic voting.”
