STANDING COMMITTEES: VIRTUAL PRESENTER GUIDE June 2024

2 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA Virtual Standing Committee Meeting Presenter Guide Table of Contents Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 3 Contact Details for Technical Support ................................................................................... 3 Videoconferencing Tips ................................................................................................................ 4 Joining a Meeting .......................................................................................................................... 5 Waiting Room............................................................................................................................ 6 Participating in the meeting ......................................................................................................... 7 Setting your screen view ........................................................................................................... 7 When it is your turn to present: .............................................................................................. 8 Chat Function ............................................................................................................................ 8 Decorum during a Meeting ...................................................................................................... 8 Providing a Handout / Presentation Brief .............................................................................. 9 Speaking in French ....................................................................................................................... 9 Accidental Logout ......................................................................................................................... 9 How to present to the Committee .............................................................................................. 10

3 Introduction This guide is intended for members of the public who are presenting virtually to a Standing Committee of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba . Hybrid virtual/in-person Committee meetings will take place using Zoom, with Committee Members having the option to attend both in person or virtually. The Zoom meeting will be hosted by a member of the Assembly staff (the Moderator). If both Committee rooms (Rooms 255 and 254) are being used for multiple Committees, each room will have its own unique Zoom meeting and Moderator.

In the event of any technical difficulties, the Moderator can be contacted by email. Contact Details for Technical Support Moderators Room 255 Moderator email: moderator255@leg.gov.mb.ca Room 254 Moderator email: moderator254@leg.gov.mb.ca Committee Clerks (204) 945 4729 (204) 804-3606 committees@leg.gov.mb.ca Clerk’s Office (204) 945 3636 (8.30 a.m. to 4.30 p.m.)

4 Videoconferencing Tips • When presenting to the Committee it is important to act and behave as if you were present in the room with the MLA’s. Please remember to be polite, respectful and to use appropriate language. • Please find a location with sufficient lighting. Avoid too much lighting from behind (e.g. sitting with a window or lamp behind you). Poor lighting conditions have an enormous effect on how you will look on screen. • If you are participating from home, please make efforts to minimize what people can see of your private residence.

The background should ideally be a wall without personal photos, decorations, memorabilia or anything that could be perceived as a “prop” or an “exhibit”. An exhibit is anything that could be conceived as overtly political or could cause disorder . The Chairperson may intervene if there are objects that contravene the rule governing the use of props or exhibits in a Committee. • The video you transmit for videoconferencing should be of your head and shoulders (similar to what you might see on a passport photo).

You can test your video while waiting to join the meeting in the waiting room. • Please position the broadcast device in such a way that you can look directly at the camera and screen while sitting normally. The webcam should ideally be at head height. • When speaking, look into the camera. A common mistake is looking at the video feed instead of the camera when speaking to a virtual participant.

Looking into the camera lens is the equivalent of looking at the members of the committee. • To ensure the best possible video quality and internet connection, we strongly recommend using a desktop with a webcam, or if this isn’t possible, a laptop plugged in to a wired LAN network.

We also strongly recommend the use of a headset with built -in microphone to ensure a consistent sound quality. • Whichever device you are planning on using, please try to minimize movement of the device (i.e. place your computer on a desk or table as opposed to on your lap). • To ensure that you have the best connection to the meeting when joining from a private residence, please ask other members of your household or office to avoid the use of other broadband intensive apps or programs during the meeting (e.g.

Netflix, YouTube etc.) • In the event of someone having difficulties connecting video or audio through a computer or laptop, participants may also join the meeting with audio only via teleconference using a landline or mobile phone. The details for this will be in the Zoom invitation.

5 Joining a Meeting To avoid delays logging on to the Zoom call, please ensure that you have downloaded the latest version of the Zoom application to your device and tested the connection. Zoom will launch automatically when you click on the link in the meeting invitation that will be sent to you. If you wish to use the French Zoom interface, please consult the Zoom website to set or change the language. As per our usual practice, we ask that all virtual presenters join the Committee meeting via the Zoom call 15 minutes prior to the start of the Committee meeting.

We do not provide a presentation order in advance. If you have special requirements or requests, please inform the Committee Clerk prior to the start of the meeting. The Committee Clerk will endeavor to accommodate your request, however, please be aware they will be taken on a case by case basis and some will require the agreement of the Committee Members. Registered presenters will receive a calendar invitation sent by the Moderator on the day of the Committee meeting . The calendar invitation contains the Zoom link to join the meeting by videoconference.

It also includes th e teleconference “dial- in” information in case of video issues described above. Please note, participants to the meeting will include MLAs, the Clerks, Moderators, Hansard, Translation (when requested in advance), and Broadcasting. Committee proceedings, including all aspects of virtual sittings, will be streamed live on the Assembly website here and on YouTube here and here .

6 Waiting Room Before joining, the following two options will be displayed: “Join with Computer Audio” and “Test Speakers and Microphone”. It is always recommended that you test the audio settings to ensure that your microphone and headset (or speaker) are working correctly. Click on “Test Speakers and Microphones”. Please also ensure you click on “Join with Computer Audio”. When you first join Zoom, you will be prompted to enter your name. Please enter your first and last name exactly as it was registered with the Clerk’s office, so that the Moderator can easily identify you.

If you have previously signed in and did not use your full name, there is a n option to change it once you join a meeting. To change your name within a meeting, right mouse click on your image and select “Rename” as shown in the image below. The Moderator can also do this on your behalf. Following sign-in, presenters will need to wait in the waiting room until the Moderator approves them to join the meeting. This should not take more than a minute or two. If the Moderator does not have your name on their list of registered presenters, they will not let you into t he meeting.

The Moderator may send a message to the waiting room with instructions if this situation arises. If you think your name has been missed, you must email the Moderator and explain the situation.

7 Participating in the meeting Setting your screen view There are two views available for those participating in the videoconference. When you join a meeting, it will be in “Speaker View” by default. The Speaker View shows the person speaking, with images of some of the other

part icipants shown in small tiles above. Alternatively, the Gallery View displays the video feeds of up to a maximum 49 participants on one screen. To switch between the two views, click on the appropriate icon in the top right corner of the application screen. It is recommended that participants use the Speaker View in order to see the Member who currently holds the floor. The Moderator also has the ability to “spotlight,” which prioritizes a view for all virtual participants. They may do this during debate, quorum or a vote if and when required.

8 When it is your turn to present: When you first join the meeting your microphone will automatically be muted and your webcam turned off. When it is your turn to present, the Chairperson will announce your name and ask you to unmute. At this point, you will be promoted by the Moderator to a full participant in the Zoom meeting, and your webcam and microphone will be enabled for the Committee members to see and hear you. As with our standard practice, presenters participating virtually must first be recognized by the Chairperson before they are allowed to speak.

This means the Chairperson will actually have to say your name before you can speak, each time you speak. Please remember to turn on your microphone by clicking on the unmute icon. Once you have finished your presentation, please do not disconnect or move away from your camera as the Members of the Committee may have questions for you. Again, please wait for the Chairperson to recognize you before replying to these questions.

In order to reduce background noise and to improve the experience for all those participating and following the proceedings, participants should keep their microphones muted at all times when not speaking. Chat Function While watching the meeting, the Chat function is only to be used by presenters to make the Moderator aware that they have a technical question or if an emergency situation has come up. The Chat function is not to be used to communicate with other participants in the meeting.

When it is your turn to present, if you have not already done so, you can use the Chat function to send the Moderator a presentation handout if you have one (please see explanation on page 9).

Decorum during a Meeting While you are participating in a hybrid virtual Committee meeting, the same rules of decorum apply to all virtual presenters as they would in-person presenters: • The use of props or exhibits are not permitted • Eating or taking telephone calls while you are visible on screen is not permitted • The use of profanity or rude behaviour will not be permitted As noted above, please ensure that your microphone remains muted unless you are speaking. If you need to temporarily leave your computer, please do not leave the Zoom meeting.

Instead, if you wish to take a short break , please ensure your video is turned off using the “Stop Video” button on the bottom left hand corner of your screen.

9 Providing a Handout / Presentation Brief If you wish to provide supplementary information alongside your presentation, we ask that , where possible, you email it in advance to the Committee Clerks prior to the start of the meeting otherwise there is the risk the MLAs may not see it until after your presentation. Alternatively, if this is not possible you may send the document through the Chat function of Zoom to the Moderator in a private message as soon as you are first recognized by the Chairperson. We ask that all documents be sent in PDF format where possible.

To send a document using the Zoom Chat function, in the Participant tab, click the button with the three dots to bring up the menu shown in the image below. Then select “Your Computer,” which will bring up the file explorer. If you are using a mobile device or an Apple product this may be different. Speaking in French As with our standard practice, if you wish to make your presentation in French, this must be requested when you register to present with the Clerks Office. They will ensure a translator is present (where possible).

The Committee Clerks will then provide you with additional instructions on the translation services available. Accidental Logout If for any reason you are logged out of the Zoom meeting during the Committee proceedings, try to log back in. If this is unsuccessful, please contact the Moderator to make them aware.

10 How to present to the Committee As with our past practice, members of the public are given 10 minutes to present their opinions on the legislation currently before the Committee. Five minutes are then allowed for questions from the Committee Members. For detailed information on how to present to a Standing Committee, please refer to the information on our website: https://www.gov.mb.ca/legislature/committees/presentation_how_to.html