The Covid-19 pandemic is ringing in systemic variations in the way wherein the branches of Government in Canada operate. The country’s Supreme Court has announced that it will, for the first time of all time, start virtual hearings. That came because the Speaker of Canada’s House of Commons, same in principle as the Lok Sabha, said technology is at location for start remote voting.
The Canadian Supreme Court has released a long 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 seal 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 is going to be live-streamed in the court’s website, and also the platform that can be used with the objective will likely make provisions for observers to “view” the proceedings as they would from 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.”
Special sittings related to the combating the disease and the various facets of its impacts have taken place, although the country’s Parliament was adjourned in March due to the coronavirus crisis. Some were face-to-face, using a minimum quantity of MPs in attendance, others were done remotely. Late last month, these focused sittings transitioned to “hybrid” sessions, with MPs joining in remotely even though some were present in the chamber.
The virtual vote could turn into a reality in the end with this month, like a spokesperson for the Government’s Leader in the home Pablo Rodriguez told the agency Canadian Press that they were “100 percent in favour of electronic voting.”
