Digital disruption: how heckling has changed in a hybrid Parliament

Green parliamentary leader Elizabeth May initially welcomed the shift to a hybrid sitting—until she realized that giving MPs power over their mute buttons made the problem of heckling worse.

The empty House of Commons is pictured set up for a virtual sitting, which MPs and experts say has changed the nature of the age-old art of heckling.The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

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BY ALICE CHEN

March 10, 2021

Heckling has long been a part of the parliamentary process. But the shift to hybrid sittings has changed how MPs heckle, in ways that are not necessarily better. The House moved to a full sitting format that mixes virtual attendees with physical ones back in September. Though the hybrid agreement l...

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