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Board of Internal Economy meeting

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Meeting Minutes

Thursday, May 2, 2024

A meeting of the Board of Internal Economy (Board) of the House of Commons was held on Thursday, May 2, 2024, at 11:38 a.m., in Room 025-B, West Block.

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

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

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

Also Present: House of Commons: Chris d’Entremont, Chair, Working Group on the LTVP and the Centre Block Rehabilitation; Susan Kulba, Director General and Executive Architect; Paul St George, Chief Financial Officer; Carolyne Evangelidis, Chief Human Resources Officer; José Fernandez, Deputy Chief Financial Officer; Jennifer Ruff, Chief Audit Executive; Benoit Dicaire, Acting Chief Information Officer; Ian McDonald, Clerk Assistant, Committees and Legislative Services Directorate; Michel Bédard, Law Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel; Jeffrey LeBlanc, Deputy Clerk, Procedure; Michelle Tittley, Secretariat. Public Services and Procurement Canada: Jennifer Garrett, Acting Assistant Deputy Minister.

MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETINGS

The minutes of the meeting of April 11, 2024, were approved with amendments for tabling.


BUSINESS ARISING FROM PREVIOUS MEETINGS

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


LTVP WORKING GROUP UPDATE

Chris d’Entremont, Chair, Working Group on the LTVP and the Centre Block Rehabilitation, provided an update on recent activities of the House of Commons Working Group on the LTVP, and answered questions with Jennifer Garrett, Acting Assistant Deputy Minister, Public Services and Procurement Canada, and Susan Kulba, Director General and Executive Architect, Real Property.


The Board approved the working group’s recommendations for

• the Block 2 HoC core functional requirements, and

• the investigation of a one-phase approach for the rehabilitation of the Confederation Building, with the condition that PSPC provide a thorough analysis (including cost) of the Block 2 East Tower as a potential option for the remainder of the HoC swing space.


At 12:22 p.m., the sitting was suspended.

At 12:24 p.m., the sitting resumed in camera.


PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT BUDGET AND RELATED POLICIES

Paul St George, Chief Financial Officer, and Carolyne Evangelidis, Chief Human Resources Officer—supported by José Fernandez, Deputy Chief Financial Officer—presented a proposal to update certain policies related to the professional development and training of employees of Members, Members responsible for a national caucus research office (NCRO) and House Officers, and answered questions.


Accordingly, the Board approved the following policy changes retroactively to April 1, 2024:


A. Eligible employees’ travel expenses and other expenses related to professional development and training

1. Allow Members, Members responsible for an NCRO and House Officers to charge to their Professional Development Budget travel expenses (i.e. transportation, accommodation and per diem expenses) for their eligible employees to attend professional development and training.

2. Allow Members, Members responsible for an NCRO and House Officers to charge to their Professional Development Budget other reasonable expenses—including hospitality expenses—relating to the professional development and training of their employees, and allow Members responsible for an NCRO to charge such expenses to their NCRO budget.

3. Allow Members, Members responsible for an NCRO and House Officers to charge training instructors’ travel expenses (i.e. transportation, accommodation and meals) to their Professional Development Budget and office budget.

B. Group professional development and training organized by Members responsible for an NCRO and House Officers

1. Allow Members responsible for an NCRO and House Officers to charge expenses for group professional development and training for caucus employees and other reasonable related expenses (including hospitality but excluding travel expenses) to their Professional Development Budget and office budget

C. Eligibility of short-term employees

1. Allow short-term employees of Members, Members responsible for an NCRO and House Officers to attend the language training, media relations and presentation skills training, and computer software training provided by the House Administration, and allow Members, Members responsible for an NCRO and House Officers to charge expenses related to professional development and training for their short-term employees to their Professional Development Budget and office budget as well as to the Travel Points System, following the same rules as for regular employees.

D. Eligibility of employees to use travel resources

1. Modify the definition of eligible employee in section 34 of the Members By-law to include employees of Members, Members responsible for an NCRO and House Officers who work a minimum of 15 hours per week in total for one or more of these employers.

2. Allow the eligible employees of Members, Members responsible for an NCRO and House Officers to travel unaccompanied on special trips to attend professional development and training and charge their corresponding travel expenses (i.e. transportation, accommodation and per diem expenses) to their employer’s office budget and Professional Development Budget and to the Travel Points System, as applicable.

3. Allow House Officers to charge travel expenses (i.e. transportation, accommodation and per diem expenses) for their eligible employees who travel unaccompanied on special trips in the fulfillment of parliamentary functions to their office budget and to the Travel Points System, as applicable.


It was agreed to amend the Members By-law retroactively to April 1, 2024, to reflect the Board’s decision.


INTERNAL AUDIT CHARTER AND AUDIT AND IMPROVEMENT PLAN AND ANNUAL REPORT FOR 2024

Jennifer Ruff, Chief Audit Executive, presented an update on the House Administration’s Internal Audit Charter and the Audit and Improvement Plan and Annual Report for 2024, and answered questions.

The Board approved the 2024 Internal Audit Charter and the 2024-2025 Audit and Improvement Engagement Plan.


EMPLOYMENT MATTERS

The Board discussed an employment matter.


The meeting was adjourned at 12:51 p.m.

Eric Janse
Secretary to the Board of Internal Economy