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Rules of Practice and Procedure of the Board of Internal Economy

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BOARD OF
INTERNAL ECONOMY
Rules of Practice and
Procedure of the Board of Internal Economy
Current as of March 1, 2018




HOUSE OF COMMONS OF CANADA
Rules of Practice and
Procedure of the Board of Internal Economy
Definitions
Definitions
1 The definitions in this section apply in these Rules.
Board means the Board of Internal Economy established by section 50 of the Parliament of Canada Act. (Bureau)
By-law means a by-law made by the Board under the Parliament of Canada Act. (règlement administratif )
House Administration means the Clerk of the House of Commons and the employees under the Clerk’s authority. (Administration de la Chambre)
Member means a member of the House of Commons. (député)
Meetings
Meeting times and places
2 (1) The Board meets at the times and places directed by the Board.
Absence of direction by the Board
(2) In the absence of a direction by the Board, the Board meets at a time and place determined by the Speaker or, in the absence of the Speaker, by a member of the Board designated under subsection 52(2) of the Parliament of Canada Act.
Notice of Meetings
Notice of meetings
3 (1) Notice of a meeting must be given
(a) no less than 24 hours before a meeting to be held on a day when the House is scheduled to sit;
(b) no less than 48 hours before a meeting to be held on a day when the House is not scheduled to sit; or
(c) at a lesser time before any meeting with the consent of the Board member to whom the notice is given.
Manner of providing notice
(2) Notice must be given
(a) in writing
(i) by direct delivery, ordinary mail or facsimile transmission to the member of the Board or his or her designated employee at the Parliamentary office of the member or at the member’s constituency office, or
(ii) by delivery to the member personally;
(b) by telephone to the member of the Board or to his or her designated employee;
(c) by internal mail to the Board member’s Parliamentary office and by ordinary mail to the Board member’s constituency office; or
(d) by electronic transmission to the Board member’s Parliamentary office and to the member’s constituency office.
Exception
(3) The requirements set out in subsection (1) or (2) may be waived if supported, by vote, by five members of the Board, including at least one Member from the government party and one Member from the official opposition party.
Meeting in camera
3.‍1 The Board must hold a meeting or portion of a meeting in camera in circumstances where it considers:
(a) matters subject to solicitor-client or litigation privilege; or
(b) sensitive matters respecting the health or family situation of an identifiable individual.
Telephone or Electronic Meetings
Adequate communication
4 The Board may hold a meeting at which a quorum is present in person or by means of such telephonic, electronic or other communications facilities as permit all persons participating in the meeting to communicate adequately with each other during the meeting.
Resolutions
Resolutions in writing
5 The Board may make a By-law by a resolution in writing, without holding a meeting, if a copy of the resolution making the By-law is signed by five members of the Board within a period of 30 days from the day on which the resolution is made.
Distribution
Distribution of By-laws
6 (1) The Board must send a copy of every By-law to every Member as soon as practicable after it is made.
Unofficial consolidations
(2) The Board may, from time to time, prepare for and distribute to Members unofficial consolidations of the By-laws.
Official consolidations
(3) The Board may, from time to time, prepare official consolidations of the By-laws.
Effective Date
Effective date
7 (1) A By-law comes into force on the day specified in it or, if none is specified, on the day it is made by the Board.
Immediate application
(2) For greater certainty, nothing in subsection (1) prevents the immediate application of Board decisions that may require amendments to a By-law before the Board amends that By-law.
Emergencies
Requirement
8 If the Speaker exercises the power, granted by subsection 52.‍1(1) of the Parliament of Canada Act, to deem that there is an emergency and to exercise a power of the Board, the Speaker must forthwith send a report to every member of the Board stating the circumstances of the emergency, the reason it was not possible to convene a meeting of the Board to address the matter and the action taken, and must also report on the matter to the Board at its next meeting.
Requests for Direction or Exemption
Requests
9 (1) A Member or the House Administration may make requests to the Board for
(a) direction on the interpretation or application of the By-laws;
(b) direction on a matter that is within the jurisdiction of the Board but that is not addressed in a By-law; or
(c) an exception to a By-law.
Manner of request
(2) A request referred to in subsection (1) must be made in writing
(a) in the case of a Member from a party, through the Whip of their party or to the Board directly;
(b) in the case of an independent Member, through the Speaker or to the Board directly; and
(c) in the case of the House Administration, through the Clerk.
Board response
(3) The Board must respond to a request in writing within 20 sitting days of receipt of the request when the House is sitting or within 30 days of receipt of the request when the House is not sitting.
Notice
(4) For greater certainty, subsection (1) is in addition to a Member’s right to request an opinion from the Board under subsection 52.‍6(2) of the Parliament of Canada Act and the Board’s power to issue opinions under section 52.‍6 or 52.‍8 of that Act.
Decisions
10 (1) After considering a request referred to in section 9, the Board may
(a) provide the direction referred to in paragraph 9(1)‍(a) or (b);
(b) make or amend a By-law to address the matter;
(c) if it considers the matter to be an unusual or unique situation and does not consider it advisable to make or amend a By-law, determine that the matter be addressed in a specified manner for the case in question and, if necessary, as an exception to the By-laws; or
(d) refuse the request for an exception to a By-law.
Confidentiality
11 If the Board makes a determination under paragraph 10(c), it may require that the order be recorded in the minutes of the Board in terms that do not identify a Member or other person, if it considers that the right to privacy outweighs the public interest in identification.

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