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Board of Internal Economy meeting

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Meeting Minutes

Thursday, November 9, 2023

A meeting of the Board of Internal Economy of the House of Commons was held on Thursday, November 9, 2023, at 11:06 a.m., in Room 225-A, West Block.

In the Chair: The Honourable Greg Fergus, Speaker of the Board of Internal Economy

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: Dominic Laporte, Chief Executive Officer, Translation Bureau, Public Services and Procurement Canada; Matthew Ball, Vice-President, Service to Parliament and Interpretation, Translation Bureau, Public Services and Procurement Canada; Ian McDonald, Clerk Assistant, Committees and Legislative Services Directorate; Scott Lemoine, Principal Clerk, Committees and Legislative Services Directorate; Yassine Aouididi, Senior Digital Product Manager; Matt DeCourcey, President, Canadian Association of Former Parliamentarians; Léo Duguay, Past President, Canadian Association of Former Parliamentarians; Stéphan Aubé, Acting Deputy Clerk, Administration; Jeffrey LeBlanc, Acting Deputy Clerk, Procedure; Paul St George, Chief Financial Officer; Michel Bédard, Interim Law Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel; Michelle Tittley, Secretariat

MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING

The minutes of the meeting of October 26, 2023, were approved for tabling.


BUSINESS ARISING FROM PREVIOUS MEETINGS

The Board noted correspondence distributed since its last meeting.


INTERPRETATION REPORT AND UPDATE

Dominic Laporte, Chief Executive Officer, Translation Bureau, Public Services and Procurement Canada; Ian McDonald, Clerk Assistant, Committees and Legislative Services Directorate; Scott Lemoine, Principal Clerk, Committees and Legislative Services Directorate; and Yassine Aouididi, Senior Digital Product Manager appeared before the Board and, along with Matthew Ball, Vice-President, Service to Parliament and Interpretation, Translation Bureau, Public Services and Procurement Canada, answered questions.

The Board agreed that translation services for committees would be discussed at a future meeting.


CANADIAN ASSOCIATION OF FORMER PARLIAMENTARIANS – REQUEST FOR ADDITIONAL FUNDING

Matt DeCourcey, President, Canadian Association of Former Parliamentarians and Léo Duguay, Past President, Canadian Association of Former Parliamentarians, appeared before the Board to provide additional information on a recent proposal to obtain supplementary funding for the Canadian Association of Former Parliamentarians, and answered questions.

The Board declined the request for additional funding and requested that the association return at a future meeting with a refined budget proposal that includes a mandate focused on supporting the entry and exit of parliamentarians as elected officials.


SUSTAINING THE TRANSFORMATION OF PARLIAMENTARY PROCEEDINGS

Eric Janse, Acting Clerk; Stéphan Aubé, Acting Deputy Clerk, Administration; Jeffrey LeBlanc, Acting Deputy Clerk, Procedure; and Paul St George, Chief Financial Officer presented a proposal to obtain permanent funding to sustain the resources required by the transformation of parliamentary proceedings and answered questions.

The Board approved on a permanent basis the measures taken by the House Administration to support the virtual participation of Members and witnesses in parliamentary proceedings and that these measures be funded from the operating budget or the carry-forward, unless this funding is insufficient, in which case the House Administration is to request the appropriate funding through the estimates process.


The meeting was adjourned at 1:02 p.m.

Eric Janse
Acting Secretary to the Board of Internal Economy