Board of Internal Economy meeting

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Minutes

Meeting Minutes

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

A meeting of the Board of Internal Economy of the House of Commons was held on Tuesday, November 4, 2014 at 11:00 a.m., in Room 340-S, Centre Block.

In the Chair: The Honourable Andrew Scheer, Speaker of the House of Commons

Present: The Honourables Peter Van Loan, John Duncan, and Dominic LeBlanc; Mrs. Stella Ambler; Mrs. Nycole Turmel; Mr. Philip Toone

Acting Secretary to the Board: Marc Bosc, Acting Clerk of the House of Commons

Also Present: Kevin Vickers, Sergeant-at-Arms; Patrick McDonell, Deputy Sergeant-at-Arms and Director of Security Services; Richard Denis, Deputy Law Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel; Pierre Parent, Chief Human Resources Officer; Mark Watters, Chief Financial Officer; Robin Kells, Secretariat

Minutes of Previous Meeting

The minutes of the meeting of October 27, 2014 were adopted and approved for tabling.

Business Arising from Previous Meeting

The Board reviewed and discussed correspondence distributed since its last meeting.

Security

Constituency Office Security Measures

The Board was briefed on additional security measures for constituency offices and on the financial implications of these measures. After discussion, the Board approved the proposed enhanced security measures for constituency offices.

Administration

Main Estimates 2015-2016 and Supplementary Estimates (C) 2014-2015

The Board approved the Main Estimates for 2015-2016 in the amount of $443,449,092, which represents an increase of $29,724K or 7.18% over fiscal year 2014-2015. This amount includes the following adjustments:

Reductions from the 2014-2015 Main Estimates of $394K:

$227,000 resulting from the temporary funding for the 40th Annual Session of the Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie held in Ottawa in July 2014; and
$167,000 resulting from the temporary funding for the 11th Conference of Parliamentarians of the Arctic Region held Whitehorse in October 2014.

Increases from the 2014-2015 Main Estimates of $30,118K – items previously approved by the Board:

$17,561,000 for the electoral boundaries redistribution ;
$5,717,000 for sustaining information technology assets acquired through the Long Term Vision and Plan (LTVP);
$3,310,000 for the Members' Expenditures Report (disclosure);
$1,172,000 for the annual sessional allowance and additional salaries adjustments for Members, House Officers, the Speaker and other presiding officers;
$967,000 for the Employee Benefit Plan (EBP) adjustment and EBP annual rate increase from 16.5% to 16.8%, as determined by the Treasury Board for fiscal year 2015-2016;
$758,000 for the 24th Annual Meeting of the Asia Pacific Parliamentary Forum ;
$533,000 for arming all House of Commons uniformed Security Services personnel;
$78,000 for the economic increase for senior managers; and
$22,000 for the increase (linked to tuition increases) to Pages' remuneration under the House of Commons Page Program .

In addition, the Board approved the Supplementary Estimates (C) for fiscal year 2014-2015 in the amount of $9,946,911, which would cover items previously approved by the Board to arm all House of Commons uniformed Security Services personnel and for the one-time transition payment to accommodate the change to provide pay in arrears.

Report to Canadians 2014

The Board took note of the Report to Canadians 2014 , which provides an annual update on Members’ activities and the House Administration’s accomplishments for the fiscal year in support of Members and the institution, and agreed that the Speaker proceed with its tabling in the House of Commons as soon as practicable.

Members’ Allowances and Services

National Caucus Research Office Employees at Dissolution

The Board continued its discussion on the impact of dissolution on the work of Members and Research Offices.

The Board agreed that National Caucus Research Office budgets would continue until the day of the election. Employees would remain on staff and the Member responsible for the Research Office would continue in this capacity until the day of the election. Employees will be provided with 60 days’ notice of termination on the day of dissolution. This would be working notice and, as such, the employees could either continue to work or take leave during this period.

The Board requested that the House Administration provide advice in order to ensure compliance with the Canada Elections Act during dissolution and that the By-Law amendment be brought back to the Board for its consideration.

Language Training Cancellation Policy

The item was deferred to the next meeting.

The meeting was adjourned.

Marc Bosc
Acting Secretary to the Board