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Board of Internal Economy meeting

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Meeting Minutes

Thursday, December 2, 2021

A meeting of the Board of Internal Economy of the House of Commons was held on Thursday, December 2, 2021, at 11:03 a.m., in Room 225-A, West Block.

In the Chair: The Honourable Anthony Rota, Speaker of the House of Commons

Present: The Honourables Mark Holland, Steven MacKinnon and Ms. Ruby Sahota; Mr. Gérard Deltell, Mr. Blake Richards, Ms. Claude DeBellefeuille and Mr. Peter Julian

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; Eric Janse, Deputy Clerk, Procedure; Ian McDonald, Clerk Assistant, Committees and Legislative Services; Robert Benoit, Principal Clerk, Committees; Stéphan Aubé, Chief Information Officer; Michelle Laframboise, Chief Human Resources Officer; Robyn Daigle, Director, Members’ HR and Business Partner Services; Paul St George, Chief Financial Officer; José Fernandez, Deputy Chief Financial Officer; Alexandra Racine, Senior Accountant, KPMG; Andrew Newman, Audit Partner and Office Manager, Ottawa, KPMG; Jeffrey LeBlanc, Acting Clerk Assistant, House Proceedings; Patrick McDonell, Sergeant at-Arms; Michel Denault, Deputy Sergeant-at-Arms; Sabrina Guay, Senior Officer, OpenSource Intelligence; Guillaume La Perrière-Marcoux, Secretariat

NEW MEMBERS OF THE BOARD

Pursuant to section 50(5) of the Parliament of Canada Act, the Hon. Steven MacKinnon (December 1, 2021) and Ms. Ruby Sahota (December 1, 2021) were recently sworn in as members of the Board.

The Hon. Anthony Rota (December 12, 2019), the Hon. Dominic LeBlanc (February 26, 2020), Mr. Gérard Deltell (September 9, 2020), Mr. Blake Richards (September 9, 2020), Ms. Claude DeBellefeuille (December 10, 2019), and Mr. Peter Julian (March 21, 2019), previously sworn in, continued their appointment to the Board.

Pursuant to section 50(2) of the Parliament of Canada Act, the Hon. Mark Holland (September 27, 2018) was appointed as representative of the Queen’s Privy Council.


MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING

The minutes of the meetings of June 28 and October 19, 2021, were adopted and approved for tabling.


BUSINESS ARISING FROM PREVIOUS MEETINGS

The Board took note of the correspondence distributed since its last meeting and the document on the capacity to support committee meetings for the 44th Parliament.The Board noted correspondence distributed since its last meeting.

The Administration will seek further information on the capacity of interpretation services provided by the Translation Bureau to support House activities and will prepare a dashboard-style report on the languages used by witnesses during committee meetings.


RATIFICATION OF URGENT REQUESTS

1. Extension of COVID-19 preventative measures until September 15, 2021

The Board ratified its decision of August 3, 2021, to extend the COVID-19 preventative measures until September 15, 2021.

2. LTVP Block 2 redevelopment – architectural competition – parliamentary jury member

The Board ratified its decision of August 25, 2021, regarding the LTVP Block 2 redevelopment – architectural competition – parliamentary jury member.

3. Extension of COVID-19 preventative measures until October 19, 2021

The Board ratified its decision of September 13, 2021, to extend the COVID-19 preventative measures until October 19, 2021.

4. Application of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation to Members’ employees and the House of Commons Administration

The Board ratified its decision of September 10, 2021, to apply the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation to Members’ employees and the House of Commons Administration.


SUPPORT FOR COMMITTEE OPERATIONS

Ian McDonald, Clerk Assistant, Committees and Legislative Services, and Stéphan Aubé, Chief Information Officer, presented a request seeking the Board’s approval for additional resources to support increased pressures on committee operations, including those related to the new Standing Committee on Science and Research and, with Michel Patrice, Deputy Clerk, Administration, answered questions.

The Board approved permanent funding in the amount of $302,382 for 2022–2023 and subsequent years, excluding employee benefit plans, for three full-time equivalents to support the new Standing Committee on Science and Research. In addition, the Board took note that an amount of $19,200 will be included in the statutory authority in 2022–2023 for the salaries of the chair and vice-chair of this new standing committee, in accordance with the Parliament of Canada Act. The Administration will return to the Board to provide supplementary information on the need for additional resources to support committee activities.


REVIEW OF THE HARASSMENT AND VIOLENCE PREVENTION POLICY AND RELATED PROCESSES

Michelle Laframboise, Chief Human Resources Officer, and Robyn Daigle, Director, Members’ HR and Business Partner Services, provided a report on the review of the harassment and violence prevention policy and related processes, and answered questions.

The Board approved the report’s conclusions on the review of the harassment and violence prevention policy.


QUARTERLY FINANCIAL REPORT FOR THE SECOND QUARTER OF 2021–2022 AND REVISED 2021–2022 SUPPLEMENTARY ESTIMATES (B)

Paul St George, Chief Financial Officer, presented the Quarterly Financial Report for second quarters of 2021–2022 and the revised 2021–2022 Supplementary Estimates (B), and answered questions.

The Board also received the Quarterly Financial Report for the first quarter of 2021–2022 and took note that the 2021–2022 Supplementary Estimates (B) have been revised downward to $17.7M.


2020–2021 AUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Paul St George, Chief Financial Officer, and José Fernandez, Deputy Chief Financial Officer, presented the 2020–2021 audited financial statements. Andrew Newman, Audit Partner, KPMG, and Alexandra Racine, Senior Accountant, KPMG, presented the House of Commons Audit Findings Report for the year ended March 31, 2021, and answered questions.

The Board agreed to proceed in camera, without the participation of House Administration officials, to allow its members to discuss the audited financial statements and address any questions or concerns from the auditor and members.


At 12:38 p.m., the sitting was suspended.

At 12:40 p.m., the sitting resumed in camera.


LEGAL MATTERS

The Board discussed a legal matter.


The meeting was adjourned at 1:05 p.m.

Charles Robert
Secretary to the Board of Internal Economy