Senator Moncion: Certainly.

Hon. Lucie Moncion: I have a few points I’d like to make with regard to this motion. First, the premise of this motion, which suggests that the only time any work gets done in the Senate is when we are in person in Ottawa, is wrong. A lot of work is getting done, whether we are in hybrid sessions or in person in Ottawa. The premise suggested in some of the speeches made with respect to work in the Senate is, in my view, wrong.

The second comment I wanted to make has to do with modernization, in other words, modern technology. We now know that we can do our banking online, shop online and order a meal online. The pandemic has given us an opportunity to work differently, to use the internet to stay connected to one another.

We have managed to remain productive throughout the pandemic and to continue to do our work, both in the Senate and in committee, as well as the personal work we all do individually. I don’t see how anyone can justify saying that our productivity has gone down.

Perhaps the productivity of some senators has gone down, but that is not the case for most of us. Our productivity has increased as we have organized meetings and continued to see representatives from all of our interest groups. We have also continued to work on bills and have drafted new public interest bills.

In my opinion, our productivity has not gone down, and not being in Ottawa does not make us less productive. We can use modern technology, have access to all our colleagues at the same time and be productive and independent whether we are on site in Ottawa or in the comfort of our own homes, as some like to say. The message seems to be that the only work that counts is work that is done in person, which brings me back to the arguments I just made.

The other thing about the motion is that it gives us one week, roughly 10 days, to meet all the requirements that are associated with this motion. I do not think that 10 days is enough to get all the information being requested. Asking for an extension that would allow us to continue to have hybrid sittings until the end of June seems like a reasonable request to me.

It seems like the May 9 deadline is intended to use up the valuable and limited time we have for debating bills, and to relitigate this motion, which calls on us to once again allow hybrid sittings and meetings. I will be voting against this amendment and in favour of the original proposal. Thank you.

Senator Moncion: Thank you for your question, Senator Boisvenu. If you are talking about productivity, but you are basing your productivity analysis only on the time spent in committee, then it seems as though your premise, or your reasoning, leads you to think that the only work we do is the work in committee. That is unfortunate. You and I both know that over 90% of the work we did on the bill concerning jury members was not done in committee. You are currently working on a series of bills that you want to introduce, and I am doing the same with regard to universities and other issues. That work is not being done in committee.

The work that we do in committee is on bills that have reached the committee stage. Over the past two years, we have done less work in committee but a lot of work in other areas. You, Senator Boisvenu, are an excellent example because of how much work you accomplished, even if it was not in committee or in the Senate. You worked in your office, in Ottawa or back home, and continued to advance your causes. We therefore need to consider that productivity is not necessarily measured only by our speeches, committee meetings or even time spent in person in the Senate.

Senator Moncion: That is not so, and that is not what I said, Senator Boisvenu.

Also, I would like to strike the “social aspect” from my answer, because I don’t see our work here in the Senate as social work. It’s much more professional and legislative. No, I don’t agree with your statement. What I’m saying is that there is excellent work, important work, necessary work being done in committee, but there is work being done elsewhere too.

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