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Board of Internal Economy meeting

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Meeting Minutes

Thursday, February 28, 2019

A meeting of the Board of Internal Economy of the House of Commons was held on Thursday, February 28, 2019, at 11:21 a.m., in Room 225-A, West Block.

In the Chair: The Honourable Geoff Regan, Speaker of the House of Commons

Present: The Honourables Bardish Chagger, Dominic LeBlanc, Mark Holland and Candice Bergen; Mr. Mark Strahl; Ms. Ruth Ellen Brosseau

Secretary to the Board: Charles Robert, Clerk of the House of Commons

Also Present: Michel Patrice, Deputy Clerk, Administration; Philippe Dufresne, Law Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel; Stéphan Aubé, Chief Information Officer; Pierre Parent, Chief Human Resources Officer; Robyn Daigle, Director, Members’ HR Services; Benoit Giroux, Chief Operations Officer, Parliamentary Precinct Operations; Daniel Paquette, Chief Financial Officer; Christian Bourgeois, Deputy Director, Corporate Security; Guillaume La Perrière Marcoux, Secretariat

Minutes of Previous Meeting

The minutes of the meeting of December 6, 2018, were adopted and approved for tabling.


Business Arising from Previous Meetings

The Board noted correspondence distributed since its last meeting.


WEST BLOCK UPDATE

Michel Patrice provided an update on West Block and, with Stéphan Aubé, answered questions. The Board also discussed the governance of the Centre Block Rehabilitation Project and agreed to establish a working group reporting to the Board; and that it be composed of one Member from each recognized party to be designated by them.


ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FOR THE PROVISION OF ADVISORY SERVICES TO MEMBERS AS EMPLOYERS

Pierre Parent and Robyn Daigle presented and answered questions regarding a request for additional resources to provide advisory services and programs to Members to assist them in fulfilling their role as employers.


The Board approved additional human and financial resources for Human Resources Services to support Members’ human resources needs. Funding will be sought through the Estimates process.


MODERNIZATION OF POLICIES RELATED TO COMMUNICATING WITH CONSTITUENTS

Benoit Giroux and Daniel Paquette proposed changes to modernize policies related to communicating with constituents and, with Philippe Dufresne, answered questions.


The Board approved the following, effective April 1, 2019, unless otherwise indicated:

1. Maintain the current administrative practice for printed materials provided by the House Administration that allows Members to include third-party contact information, and expand the practice to allow the inclusion of website addresses for third-party local community, government or not-for-profit resources, subject to conditions approved by the Board;

3. Modify the policy regarding external printing services by:

• increasing the limit to 5,000 copies when using external printing services;

• requiring that the originating Member’s name and status as a Member of Parliament (i.e. name, M.P.) appear clearly and distinctly on all printed correspondence;

• maintaining the current policy whereby expenses for printed materials used at third-party events or activities are charged to the Advertising Expenses Account, in compliance with the advertising policy;

• maintaining the current policy to allow Members to distribute externally printed mailings, correspondence and other printed materials to stakeholders outside their own constituency in the discharge of their parliamentary functions; and

• reiterating that the current conditions and restrictions approved by the Board for documents printed using the House printing and photocopying services apply to any documents printed externally;

4. Remove the limit of $250 per advertisement for event signage and banners, and only maintain one single limit of $500 which Members cannot exceed for advertising at third-party events or activities; and

5. Amend the Members’ Allowances and Services Manual accordingly.


The Board agreed to continue, at a future meeting, the discussion on the replacement of ten percenters with constituency mail and associated policy and By-law modifications, as well as on the process for the review of these publications by the House Administration.


USE OF HOUSE PREMISES FOR SOLICITING CONTRIBUTIONS

Philippe Dufresne and Daniel Paquette provided information and options relating to the use of House of Commons premises by Members for electoral campaign activities or for soliciting political contributions.


The Board agreed to set an amount for payment as an appropriate remedy for non-compliance with the By-law in the case of the use of the Prime Minister’s parliamentary office for a fundraising video, and accepted the reimbursement in the amount of $500 offered for non-compliance.


The Board also directed the House Administration to provide periodic reminders to Members regarding the By-law requirements not to use House of Commons resources for the benefit of a third party, electoral campaign activities, or for the purpose of soliciting political contributions.


At 12:42 p.m., the meeting was suspended.

At 12:45 p.m., the meeting resumed in camera.


EMPLOYEE SUPPORT TO MEMBERS

The Board considered proposals to modernize certain provisions relating to employee support to Members and certain House Officers during the dissolution and post-election periods, and agreed to the following:


1. Approve an optional mechanism for Members’ employees—typically one employee per constituency and parliamentary office—to be retained under their existing terms and conditions of employment for winding up purposes for a maximum of 14 calendar days starting the day after the election, and that these salary costs be charged to the former Member’s MOB;

2. Approve, for the employees of Leaders, House Leaders, and Chief Whips of recognized parties, a policy aligned with that for Members’ employees, which allows these employees to work (parliamentary functions only) through the dissolution period and provides them 60 calendar days of separation indemnity as of the day following the election, and that these salary costs be charged to the House Administration central budget;

3. Approve an optional mechanism for employees of Leaders, House Leaders, and Chief Whips of recognized parties to be retained under their existing terms and conditions of employment for winding-up purposes and to facilitate transition to the new House Officer, for a maximum of 14 calendar days starting the day after the election, and that these salary costs be charged to the former House Officer’s Office Budget;

4. Approve, for employees of Leaders, House Leaders, and Chief Whips of recognized parties whose employment is terminated due to a budget reduction following the general election, a policy aligned with that for employees of Leaders, House Leaders, and Chief Whips of recognized parties whose employment is terminated due to a budget reduction due to loss in party standing, allowing employees of those House Officers whose employment is terminated due to a budget reduction to receive the 60-day separation indemnity as of the day following the general election and that these salary costs be charged to the House Administration central budget.

5. Amend the Members By-law accordingly; and

6. Amend the related Terms and Conditions of Employment and the Members’ Allowances and Services Manual accordingly and approve a mandatory standard contract to be used to extend employment for up to 14 days.


REQUEST FOR EXCEPTION

The Board considered a request for reimbursement of security-related expenses and did not authorize the reimbursement.


The meeting was adjourned.

Charles Robert
Secretary to the Board of Internal Economy