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Board of Internal Economy meeting

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Meeting Minutes

Thursday, November 3, 2022

A meeting of the Board of Internal Economy of the House of Commons was held on Thursday, November 3, 2022, at 11:06 a.m., in Room 225-A, West Block.

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

Present: The Honourables Steven MacKinnon, Kerry-Lynne D. Findlay, Ms. Ruby Sahota, Ms. Claude DeBellefeuille, and Mr. Peter Julian

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

Also Present: Julie Dzerowicz, M.P., Chair, Canadian NATO Parliamentary Association; Michel Patrice, Deputy Clerk, Administration; Michel Bédard, Interim Law Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel; Eric Janse, Deputy Clerk, Procedure; Ian McDonald, Clerk Assistant, Committees and Legislative Services Directorate; Scott Lemoine, Principal Clerk, Committees and Legislative Services Directorate; Stéphan Aubé, Chief Information Officer; Jeremy LeBlanc, Clerk Assistant and Director General, International and Interparliamentary Affairs; Jeffrey LeBlanc, Clerk Assistant, House Proceedings; Paul St George, Chief Financial Officer; José Fernandez, Deputy Chief Financial Officer; and Michelle Tittley, Secretariat

MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING

The minutes of the meeting of September 29, 2022, were approved for tabling.


BUSINESS ARISING FROM PREVIOUS MEETINGS

TThe Board took note of correspondence distributed since its last meeting.


NATO PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY, 70th ANNUAL SESSION MONTRÉAL, QUEBEC, NOVEMBER 22 to 25, 2024

Ms. Julie Dzerowicz, M.P., Chair, Canadian NATO Parliamentary Association, presented a proposal to host the 70th Annual Session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Montréal, Quebec, in November 2024.

The Board approved the request to host this conference with funding as follows, excluding employee benefit plans:

• $214,568 for 2023-2024; and

• $1,785,318 for 2024-2025.

The total cost will be shared using the usual formula (30% Senate, 70% House of Commons) between the Senate ($599,966) and the House of Commons ($1,399,920).


INTERPRETATION SERVICES

Stéphan Aubé, Chief Information Officer, provided an update on the preliminary results of the joint audio quality tests conducted in the House of Commons Chamber and committee rooms by the House Administration, independent specialists, the National Research Council of Canada and the Translation Bureau. The tests results were consistent with the report provided by the House Administration in June which confirms the in-person audiovisual system is ISO-compliant and that the hybrid system does not impair speech intelligibility. He was joined by Ian McDonald, Clerk Assistant, Committees and Legislative Services Directorate, to answer questions. The Administration will provide the Board with a copy of the full report when it becomes available.

The Board requested that a letter be sent from the Chair of the Board to the Senate and to the Prime Minister to encourage best practices in supporting interpretation services.

The Board also requested that the Administration:

• Work with the Translation Bureau to prepare a report on the capacity of interpretation, and House IT services required to support the core business of the House of Commons and other parliamentary events, in case the Chamber is in session until midnight; and

• provide additional information on interpretation services at the Welsh Assembly.


JOINT INTERPARLIAMENTARY COUNCIL REPORT – PARLIAMENTARY ASSOCIATIONS’ ACTIVITIES AND EXPENDITURES FOR 2021–2022

Jeremy LeBlanc, Clerk Assistant and Director General, International and Interparliamentary Affairs, presented the 2021–2022 Parliamentary Associations’ Activities and Expenditures Report, and answered questions.


PARLIAMENTARY INTERNSHIP PROGRAM – POTENTIAL ENHANCEMENT AND EXPANSION

Jeffrey LeBlanc, Clerk Assistant, House Proceedings, presented a submission to request permanent funding for the Canadian Political Science Association in support of the Parliamentary Internship Program.

The Board approved:

• an annual contribution of $64,782, beginning in fiscal year 2023-2024, to fund an increase in the stipend amount;

• an annual contribution of $121,265, beginning in fiscal year 2023-2024, to fund two (2) additional intern positions (both stipend and non-stipend related costs);

• the purchase of 12 laptop computers in fiscal year 2022-2023, at a one-time cost of $20,520; and

• the ongoing maintenance and life cycling costs of these devices, at a cost of $5,250 per year starting in fiscal year 2023-2024

The Board also agreed to review this support in five years, that is to say at the end of the 2027-2028 fiscal year.


CANADIAN ASSOCIATION OF FORMER PARLIAMENTARIANS – REQUEST FOR ADDITIONAL FUNDING

Jeremy LeBlanc, Clerk Assistant and Director General, International and Interparliamentary Affairs, presented a submission on behalf of the Canadian Association of Former Parliamentarians (CAFP) to request additional funding, and answered questions.

The Board requested additional information from the CAFP on how the funding would be spent and on any existing overlap of services that would be provided by the CAFP under this proposal with those offered by the Administration or other government agencies.


GROUND TRANSPORTATION BETWEEN THE SECONDARY RESIDENCE AND A NORMAL PLACE OF WORK

Paul St George, Chief Financial Officer, presented a proposal to allow the reimbursement of Members’ ground transportation expenses for travel between their secondary residence and a normal place of work.

The Board approved the following, effective immediately:

• that the reimbursement of Members’ and House Officers’ local ground transportation expenses incurred for travel between their secondary residence and a normal place of work be authorized as a charge against their Member’s Office Budget or House Officer’s Office Budget;

• that the rental of cars in the NCR for Members and House Officers in travel status and for their eligible employees who are more than 100 km from their normal place of work be authorized as a charge against the Member’s Office Budget or House Officer’s Office Budget, provided it is the most economical yet practical means of transportation; and

• that the Members By-law be amended accordingly.


At 12:35 p.m., the sitting was suspended.

At 12:38 p.m., the sitting resumed in camera.


SECURITY MATTERS

The Board discussed a security matter.


The meeting was adjourned at 12:55 p.m.

Charles Robert
Secretary to the Board of Internal Economy