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Meeting Minutes

Thursday, May 18, 2023

A meeting of the Board of Internal Economy of the House of Commons was held on Thursday, May 18, 2023, at 11:04 a.m., in Room 225-A, West Block.

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

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

Acting Secretary to the Board: Eric Janse, Acting Clerk of the House of Commons

Also Present: Ken Hardie, Chair, Special Committee on the Canada–People’s Republic of China Relationship; Michel Patrice, Deputy Clerk, Administration; Michel Bédard, Interim Law Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel; Jeffrey LeBlanc, Acting 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; Michelle Laframboise, Chief Human Resources Officer; Paul St George, Chief Financial Officer; José Fernandez, Deputy Chief Financial Officer; Pat McDonell, Sergeant-at-Arms; Charles Major, Senior Security Program Manager; Myriam Beauparlant, Manager, Respectful Workplace, Diversity and Inclusion; Annie Carpentier, Deputy Director, Members’ HR Services; Ismail Albaidhani, Deputy Director, HR Strategy Planning and Execution; Michelle Tittley, Secretariat

MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING

The minutes of the meeting of April 20, 2023, were approved for tabling.


BUSINESS ARISING FROM PREVIOUS MEETINGS

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


TRAVEL BUDGET FOR THE SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON THE CANADA–PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA RELATIONSHIP

Mr. Ken Hardie, Chair, Special Committee on the Canada–People’s Republic of China Relationship, presented a proposal to seek approval for a travel budget for the Special Committee on the Canada–People’s Republic of China Relationship (CACN) to travel to Washington, D.C., in July 2023.

The Board approved the temporary additional funding request for $56,342, to be allocated from the 2023–2024 global budget envelope for standing committees.


INTERPRETATION RESOURCES

Ian McDonald, Clerk Assistant; Scott Lemoine, Principal Clerk, Committees and Legislative Directorate; and Stéphan Aubé, Chief Information Officer, provided updates on correspondence received from the Translation Bureau regarding the interpretation capacity for Parliament, the pilot project for remote simultaneous interpretation to support parliamentary activities, and ongoing audio testing related to the protection of the health and safety of interpreters.

The Board requested that, at its next meeting, representatives from the Translation Bureau be invited to appear, and that the House Administration provide additional statistics on remote participation levels and meeting cancellations in relation to parliamentary activities.


ANNUAL REPORT ON THE EMBERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS WORKPLACE HARASSMENT AND VIOLENCE PREVENTION POLICYM 2022–2023

Michelle Laframboise, Chief Human Resources Officer, presented the Annual Report on the Members of the House of Commons Workplace Harassment and Violence Prevention Policy for the 2022–2023 fiscal year, and answered questions.


DIVERSITY STATISTICS FOR THE HOUSE OF COMMONS ADMINISTRATION

Michelle Laframboise, Chief Human Resources Officer, presented diversity statistics for the House Administration for 2022-2023, and answered questions.


INTERNAL AUDIT CHARTER AND AUDIT AND IMPROVEMENT PLAN AND REPORT FOR 2023

Eric Janse, Acting Clerk, and Jennifer Ruff, Chief Audit Executive, presented an update on the House Administration’s Internal Audit Charter and the Audit and Improvement Plan and Report for 2022–2023, and answered questions.

The Board requested that the House Administration provide copies of previous internal audit reports to the Board’s members for their information.


MODERNIZATION OF POLICIES – PART 2

Paul St George, Chief Financial Officer; Stéphan Aubé, Chief Information Officer; and Michel Bédard, Interim Law Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel, proposed changes to policies applicable to Members, House Officers, and Members responsible for a national caucus research office (NCRO).


At 12:07 p.m., the sitting was suspended.

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


The Board approved the following:

1. Closing period

a. That in the event of a judicial recount, the 21-day closing period for any Member concerned begin the day following the completion of the judicial recount; and

b. That holidays, as defined in the Members By-law, be excluded from the calculation of the 21 day closing period.

2. Contracts during dissolution and following a general election

a. Continuation of contracts

That Members responsible for an NCRO and House Officers (except for the Deputy Chair of Committees of the Whole, the Assistant Deputy Chair of Committees of the Whole, and the national caucus chairs of recognized parties) be allowed to continue current contracts during dissolution, subject to existing restrictions set by the Board;

b. Contract signature

That Members, Members responsible for an NCRO and House Officers (except for the Deputy Chair of Committees of the Whole, the Assistant Deputy Chair of Committees of the Whole, and the national caucus chairs of recognized parties) be allowed to enter into new contracts during dissolution, subject to existing restrictions set by the Board; and

c. Contract termination

That the policy on the termination of contracts for professional services and for goods and other services be amended as follows:

1. Post-electoral assignment for House Officers (except for the Deputy Chair of Committees of the Whole, the Assistant Deputy Chair of Committees of the Whole, and the national caucus chairs of recognized parties):

• all contracts be assigned to a successor when the House Officer ceases in their functions, and the assignee has 15 days to terminate the contract;

2. Post-electoral assignment for Members responsible for an NCRO:

• all contracts be assigned to a successor when the Member ceases to be responsible for the NCRO, and the assignee has 15 days to terminate the contract;

3. General assignment:

• any House Officer’s contract may be assigned to another House Officer of the same recognized party at any given time, and

• the assignee has 15 days to terminate the contract.

3. Relocation

a. That non-NCR Members be allowed one relocation from a residence or dwelling in Canada to a residence in the NCR and one relocation back from the NCR to a residence or dwelling in Canada at any point during their continuous mandate, and up to a year after ceasing to be a Member; and

b. That the Chief Financial Officer be allowed to exceptionally grant additional relocations of one residence to another as a charge against the central budget following the receipt of a written justification from the Member under special circumstances including death, health condition and other significant life events in situations that are beyond the Member’s control.

4. Use and conversion of designated websites and domain names

a. That expenses related to a Member’s designated website and domain names remain a charge to the MOB during dissolution if the Member can assure, through a House-provided form, that the entirety of their digital content and domain names continue to relate to parliamentary functions; and

b. That should a Member not submit the form, current practice be maintained, and that expenses related to the Member’s designated website and domain names be deemed personal expenses during dissolution.

5. Delegation and form signatures

a. That delegations of authority to employees expire on their last day of work for a given Member, House Officer or Member responsible for an NCRO, unless the latter notifies the Administration in writing of an amendment or termination;

b. That declarations of primary and secondary residences remain in effect until the Member notifies the Administration in writing of an amendment;

c. That declarations of designated travellers remain in effect for at least 12 months and until the Member notifies the Administration in writing of an amendment for situations described in the Members By-law, unless, as per current policy, a change is exceptionally approved by the Chief Financial Officer before the end of the minimum period;

d. That declarations of dependants remain in effect until:

• the Member notifies the Administration in writing that one of their dependants has become disabled, and

• dependants are 20 years of age on March 31 of the fiscal year, after which an annual confirmation of full-time attendance at a recognized educational institution is required; and

e. That designations of websites and domain names remain in effect for least 12 months and until the Member notifies the Administration in writing of an amendment unless a change is exceptionally approved by the Chief Information Officer before the end of the minimum period.

6. Nomination of the national caucus meeting organizer

That the Party Leader or the Whip inform the Chief Financial Officer of the House Officer designated by the Party Leader to organize national caucus meetings.

7. Additional salaries of certain House Officers during dissolution

The Board discussed the practice of paying additional salaries to certain House Officers during the dissolution period and decided to further discuss the matter at a subsequent meeting.

8. By-law amendment

That the Members By-law be amended accordingly.


SECURITY MATTERS

Pat McDonell, Sergeant-at-Arms, and Charles Major, Senior Security Program Manager, presented recommendations on security matters and answered questions.

The Board approved the following:


1. That the Office of the Sergeant-at-Arms and Corporate Security (SAA-CS) centralize and enhance its Constituency Office Security Program, which will allow the House Administration to contract third party firms to procure and install equipment following a Member’s approval of the SAA-CS’s constituency office security assessment and recommendations.

2. That former parliamentarians be required to obtain a House-issued identification card to access the parliamentary precinct and that their spouses no longer be provided with a House-issued identification card.

3. That Members be encouraged to obtain and use a House-issued identification card as the primary means to access the parliamentary precinct.



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

Eric Janse
Acting Secretary to the Board of Internal Economy