‘Decisive action was required’: how MPs and Senators hammered out deal to close Parliament late into the night

‘We are in unprecedented times,’ says Conservative Whip Mark Strahl.

'We were able to have frank conversations where we trusted each other,' says Liberal Whip Mark Holland, left, of his negotiations with Conservative Whip Mark Strahl and other members of the Board of Internal Economy. The Hill Times photographs by Rachel Aiello and Andrew Meade

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BY PETER MAZEREEUW

March 18, 2020

It was about 10:30 on the night of March 12 when a small group of MPs and top staffers struck a deal to suspend Parliament amid the growing COVID-19 pandemic. That deal was laid out in a single motion passed in the House the next ...

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