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Board of Internal Economy meeting

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Meeting Minutes

Thursday, November 24, 2016

A meeting of the Board of Internal Economy of the House of Commons was held on Thursday, November 24, 2016, at 11:15 a.m., in Room 340-S, Centre Block.

In the Chair: The Honourable Geoff Regan, Speaker of the House of Commons

Present: The Honourables Dominic LeBlanc, Andrew Leslie and Candice Bergen; Messrs. Gordon Brown and Murray Rankin

Acting Secretary to the Board: Marc Bosc, Acting Clerk of the House of Commons

Also Present: Philippe Dufresne, Law Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel; Daniel Paquette, Chief Financial Officer; Pierre Parent, Chief Human Resources Officer; André Gagnon, Acting Deputy Clerk; Colette Labrecque-Riel, Acting Clerk Assistant and Director General, International and Interparliamentary Affairs Directorate; Guillaume La Perrière Marcoux, Secretariat

MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING

The minutes of the meeting of October 27, 2016 were adopted and approved for tabling.

BUSINESS ARISING FROM PREVIOUS MEETINGS

The Board noted correspondence distributed since its last meeting and discussed documentation regarding Members’ pensions requested at its last meeting.

BUSINESS ARISING FROM PREVIOUS MEETINGS

The Board noted correspondence distributed since its last meeting and discussed documentation regarding Members’ pensions requested at its last meeting.

  • That the Board approve payment of legal fees of a former Member involved in a legal action at the usual rates calculated at the House rates for legal counsel, subject to those fees being reviewed by the Law Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel;
  • That the Board approve an exception to its rules and allow a Member to charge to his Member's Office Budget certain expenses necessary to terminate a constituency office lease before its expiry;
  • That the Board direct the House Administration to review the standard termination clause included in all leases signed by Members of Parliament;
  • That the Board approve an exception to its rules and allow the reimbursement of a former Member’s re-employment counselling expenses for services that will be completed beyond the deadline set by the Board; and
  • That the Board direct the House Administration to review the policy deadline for the reimbursement of re-employment counselling expenses for Members who are not re-elected.

JOINT INTERPARLIAMENTARY COUNCIL

Permanent Funding Increase for Parliamentary Associations

The Board approved the proposal for an increase to the parliamentary associations’ budgetary envelope of $1,000,000 for fiscal year 2017 2018 and subsequent years which would be shared using the usual formula (30% Senate, 70% House of Commons) between the Senate ($300,000) and the House of Commons ($700,000).

ADMINISTRATION

Second Quarter Financial Status Report for Fiscal Year 2016-2017

The Board took note of the Second Quarter Financial Status Report for fiscal year 2016-2017, as at September 30, 2016.

Proposed Main Estimates 2017-2018

The Board approved the Main Estimates for 2017-2018 in the amount of $473,569,084, which represents an increase of $9,941,301 over fiscal year 2016-2017. This amount includes the following adjustments:

Reductions from the 2016-2017 Main Estimates of $407,130:

  • $307,652 resulting from an adjustment to the electoral supplement following the final election results; and
  • $99,478 resulting from temporary funding for the Sir John A. Macdonald and 180 Wellington buildings (LTVP).

Increases from the 2016-2017 Main Estimates of $10,862,433 related to items previously approved by the Board:

  • $3,634,117 for security resources and enhancements;
  • $2,430,968 for the life cycle costs of building components and connectivity (LTVP);
  • $2,376,794 for an increase of 1.8% (CPI rate, September 2016) to the Members' Office Budget;
  • $1,538,420 for the increase of 20% to the Members' Office Budget Supplements;
  • $407,511 for the increase of 1.8% (CPI rate, September 2016) to the House Officers' Budgets;
  • $323,551 for the Global Conference of Young Parliamentarians;
  • $71,658 for the 64th Annual Session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly;
  • $60,256 for the increase to Pages' remuneration under the House of Commons Page Program for fiscal years 2015-2016 and 2016-2017; and
  • $19,158 for the 56th Regional Commonwealth Parliamentary Association Conference.

An overall decrease to statutory items from the 2016-2017 Main Estimates of $514,002 due to:

  • a decrease of $2,370,736 for technical adjustments to the Employee Benefit Plans (EBP);
  • offset by an increase of $1,113,600 for the annual adjustments of Members' sessional allowance and additional salaries for fiscal year 2016-2017; and
  • offset by an increase of $743,134 for the correction of previous adjustments to the Travel Status Expenses Account for fiscal years 2013-2014 and 2015-2016.

The meeting was adjourned.

Marc Bosc
Acting Secretary to the Board