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Board of Internal Economy meeting

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Meeting Minutes

Thursday, October 26, 2023

A meeting of the Board of Internal Economy of the House of Commons was held on Thursday, October 26, 2023, at 11:05 a.m., in Room 225-A, West Block.

In the Chair: The Honourable Greg Fergus, Speaker of the House of Commons

Present: The Honourables Karina Gould, Steven MacKinnon, Andrew Scheer and Kerry-Lynne Findlay; Ms. Ruby Sahota, Mr. Mark Gerretsen, Ms. Claude DeBellefeuille and Mr. Peter Julian

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

Also Present: Chris d’Entremont, Chair, Working Group on the Long-Term Vision and Plan (LTVP) and the Centre Block Rehabilitation and Co-Chair, Joint Interparliamentary Council; Rob Wright, Assistant Deputy Minister, Public Services and Procurement Canada; Susan Kulba, Director General, Real Property; Ian McDonald, Clerk Assistant, Committees and Legislative Services Directorate; Stéphan Aubé, Acting Deputy Clerk, Administration; Jeremy LeBlanc, Clerk Assistant and Director General, International and Interparliamentary Affairs; Michel Bédard, Interim Law Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel; Jeffrey LeBlanc, Acting Deputy Clerk, Procedure; Paul St George, Chief Financial Officer; José Fernandez, Deputy Chief Financial Officer; Sylvie Lafontaine, Senior Director, Decision Support and Financial Planning; Carolyne Evangelidis, Chief Human Resources Officer; Pat McDonell, Sergeant-at-Arms of the House of Commons; Michelle Tittley, Secretariat

NEW MEMBERS OF THE BOARD

Pursuant to section 50(5) of the Parliament of Canada Act, the Honourable Greg Fergus (October 24, 2023), the Honourable Karina Gould (October 26, 2023), and Mr. Mark Gerretsen (October 24, 2023) were recently sworn in as members of the Board.

Pursuant to section 50(2) of the Parliament of Canada Act, the Honourable Karina Gould and the Honourable Steven MacKinnon were appointed as representatives of the King’s Privy Council.


APPOINTMENT OF BOARD SPOKESPERSON

Pursuant to Standing Order 37(2), the Honourable Steven MacKinnon was appointed to act as spokesperson for the Board, replacing Mr. Mark Holland.


MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETINGS

The minutes of the meeting of June 15, 2023, were approved for tabling. Ian McDonald, Clerk Assistant, Committees and Legislative Services Directorate, answered questions regarding the interpretation resources required to support parliamentary proceedings, and noted that the House Administration will provide an updated Virtual Committees dashboard to the Board at its next meeting.

The Board agreed to include interpretation resources as an agenda item at its next meeting.


BUSINESS ARISING FROM PREVIOUS MEETINGS

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


RECORD OF DECISIONS SINCE THE LAST MEETING

On July 19, 2023, the Board agreed to set an amount for payment as an appropriate remedy for non-compliance with the By-law in the case of the use of House of Commons resources by a Member to endorse a candidate in a nomination contest, and accepted the reimbursement in the amount of $500 offered for non-compliance.

On September 2, 2023, the Board approved a revised collective bargaining mandate for the renewal of House of Commons collective agreements.


LTVP WORKING GROUP UPDATE

Chris d’Entremont, Chair, Working Group on the Long Term Vision and Plan (LTVP) and the Centre Block Rehabilitation, provided an update on recent activities of the House of Commons Working Group on the LTVP, and with Rob Wright, Assistant Deputy Minister, Public Services and Procurement Canada, and Susan Kulba, Director General, Real Property, Mr. d’Entremont answered questions.

The Board requested additional time to review the proposals and participate in a guided tour of Centre Block.

It was agreed that this be discussed again at the Board meeting scheduled for November 23, 2023.


JOINT INTERPARLIAMENTARY COUNCIL 2022–2023 PARLIAMENTARY ASSOCIATIONS’ ACTIVITIES AND EXPENDITURES REPORT AND INCREASED BUDGET FOR PARLIAMENTARY ASSOCIATIONS

Chris d’Entremont, Co-Chair, Joint Interparliamentary Council, presented the 2022–2023 Parliamentary Associations’ Activities and Expenditures Report and a proposal for an increased budget for parliamentary associations. With Jeremy LeBlanc, Clerk Assistant and Director General, International and Interparliamentary Affairs, he answered questions.

The Board took note of the report and declined the request for additional temporary funding.


BRITISH COLUMBIA LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY’S CONSTITUENCY OFFICE LEASING MODEL AND CONSTITUENCY OFFICE BUDGET

The Board took note of the report on the British Columbia Legislative Assembly’s constituency office leasing model and the impacts that the Constituency Office Budget (COB) had on Members’ Office Budgets (MOBs) in fiscal year 2022–2023 and agreed to potentially address any additional concerns at a future meeting.


At 12:47 p.m., the sitting was suspended.

At 12:50 p.m., the sitting resumed in camera.


PAYMENT OF LEGAL FEES FOR A MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT

The Board took note of a request for the payment of a Member’s legal fees. The Board requested that the Administration review the reimbursement rates and return with a proposal for revised rates at a future meeting. It was also agreed that a reminder be communicated to Members about the legal representation services available at the House of Commons.


ECONOMIC INCREASES AND ADJUSTMENTS FOR UNREPRESENTED EMPLOYEES (ADG-B TO K AND CSG) AND THE MANAGEMENT GROUP (ADG-A AND HCX LEVELS 1 TO 5)

The Board reviewed the proposed economic increases and adjustments for unrepresented employees and for employees of the Management Group.

The Board approved the following:

• Economic increases and adjustments for unrepresented employees (ADG-B to K and CSG) and for employees of the Management Group (ADG-A and HCX levels 1 to 5) as follows:

• a 4.75% retroactive increase effective April 1, 2022 (3.5% economic increase and 1.25% adjustment);

• a 3.5% retroactive increase effective April 1, 2023 (3% economic increase and 0.5% adjustment); and

• a 2.25% increase effective April 1, 2024 (2.0% economic increase and 0.25% adjustment).

• A one-time lump-sum payment of two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500), in line with the federal public service sector, to incumbents of positions within the ADG-B to K and CSG groups.

• The inclusion of $15,148,516 (excluding funding for employee benefit plans [EBPs] in the amount of $2,090,495) in the 2024–2025 Main Estimates to fund economic increases and adjustments to unrepresented employees, the Management Group and Governor in Council appointees.

• The inclusion of $22,321,626 (excluding funding for EBPs in the amount of $3,392,887) in the 2023–2024 Supplementary Estimates to fund these increases and adjustments.


The meeting was adjourned at 1:21 p.m.

Eric Janse
Acting Secretary to the Board of Internal Economy