OTTAWA - Members of Parliament will make history today as a few dozen of them gather in the House of Commons where they'll be joined by the other 300-odd MPs participating via videoconference.
The new hybrid of in-person and virtual proceedings goes into effect after the NDP joined forces Tuesday evening with the Liberals to waive normal sittings for another four months while the country continues to grapple with the COVID-19 crisis.
Instead, they voted in favour of a government motion to continue with an expanded version of the special COVID-19 committee that has acted as a stand-in for the Commons over the past month.
The committee has been meeting twice a week virtually and once a week with a small group of MPs physically present.
Starting today, all special committee meetings will be a mix of virtual and in-person, with most MPs participating via big screens set up on either side of the Speaker's chair.
And there'll be four meetings each week, Monday to Thursday, until mid-June.