Yesterday evening, Seamus O’Regan tweeted that after a persistent head cold, he went to his doctor and was self-isolating until he got the results of the COVID-19 test that he got. Around the same time, former Conservative Cabinet minister (and sexting blackmail victim) Tony Clement was on Power & Politics saying that it may be time to think about taking Parliament “digital,” and holding debates and votes remotely for the duration. Yeah, that’s a big nope.

I get that being a politician is a tactile business, and there are concerns that the House of Commons is essentially one big cruise ship, however Parliament needs to happen face-to-face. It’s inconceivable that it could be done remotely because so many of the needed conversations happen off-camera and on the sidelines. That can’t be replicated by everyone working remotely. Should they take additional precautions? Sure – additional hand-washing, practicing social distancing when they take meetings, and so on, but that’s not exactly a big hardship. And it’s not like there aren’t a number of constituency weeks coming up for MPs to hunker down if they need to, and even though it may be a hung parliament, there are more than enough provisions for members from different parties to “pair” absences so that there are no accidental losses of confidence in the meantime (because as much as the Conservatives claim they want an early election, this is largely bravado as their party organization is in chaos and they are in no shape for it, not to mention that neither the Bloc nor the NDP want one either, and they have the votes that count).

The bigger danger, however is contagion – not of the virus, but of the notion that MPs can “work remotely,” which many have been pushing for in the ongoing effort to make Parliament more “family friendly.” But that way lies madness – MPs won’t bother to leave their constituencies, believing they can do more good there (even though constituency work is actually not part of their job description), and without those sideline conversations, it will polarize the environment even more than it already is. Recall how collegiality was shattered after evening sittings were ended and MPs no longer ate dinner together – this would make it that much worse, if they no longer have to look one another in the eye or cross paths. This nonsense needs to be quashed here and now. You can’t Skype Parliament.

Good reads:

• Justin Trudeau and several ministers will be announcing their measures for those affected by COVID-19 this morning.
• While Canadians from the cruise ship off the coast of California have mostly be repatriated, a “handful” of Canadians on the crew have tested positive for COVID-19.
• Dealing with COVID-19 is taking a toll on front-line healthcare workers, which may be invisible to a lot of people.
• Lawrence MacAulay says they identified the problem with “inconsistently applied” rules for mental health support for veterans’ families and are dealing with it.
• The declassified version of the NSICOP report on foreign espionage in Canada is due to be tabled by Thursday.
• As Indigenous leaders prepare to meet with First Ministers, there is a rift between provincial Métis leaders.
• A former Wet’suwet’en hereditary chief says the Coastal GasLink issue has been “hijacked” by five men, and criticized the “secret deal” with the government.
• Carolyn Bennett told the same committee that her discussions were only on rights and title, and not about the pipeline.
• Officials from both the Parole Board and Correctional Services were not forthcoming at committee regarding the offender who killed a sex worker on parole.
• Telecom companies are asking for more time to implement technology to prevent spoofed fraudulent calls, because they say they need time for systems to catch up.
• Here’s a look at how the ways in which global supply chains are being disrupted by the factory shut-downs in China as a result of COVID-19.
• Ethics Commissioner Mario Dion has declined to investigate Michael Wernick over his role in the Double-Hyphen Affair.
• Here’s an interview with Mark Carney, on the eve of his return to Ottawa to start the next (unknown) phase of his career.
• Justin Trudeau has named Bob Rae as a special envoy on humanitarian and refugee issues.
• Here is Conservative leadership candidate Leslyn Lewis on her pro-life and social conservative credentials, as she takes shots at Peter MacKay.
• Kady O’Malley’s Process Nerd column looks at some options for Bill Morneau to consider regarding timing his budget given the current economic situation.
• Max Fawcett makes the case for why the collapse in oil prices is no win for the environment. (Just wait for sales of SUVs to boom even more).
• Heather Scoffield calls on Bill Morneau to up his game before there is lasting economic damage from COVID-19.
• My column notes that the Conservatives are advocating for the same policies from the Great Recession that created a monetary policy problem in this country.

Odds and ends:

Here’s an exploration of the economics of stockpiling, as irrational fears of shortages explodes.

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