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Board of Internal Economy meeting

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Meeting Minutes

Thursday, October 22, 2020

A meeting of the Board of Internal Economy of the House of Commons was held on Thursday, October 22, 2020, at 11:17 a.m., in Room 035-B, West Block.

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

Present: The Honourables Mark Holland, Dominic LeBlanc, Ginette Petitpas Taylor and Pablo Rodríguez; Mr. Gérard Deltell, Mr. Blake Richards, Ms. Claude DeBellefeuille and Mr. Peter Julian

Secretary to the Board: Charles Robert, Clerk of the House of Commons

Also Present: Michel Patrice, Deputy Clerk, Administration; Philippe Dufresne, Law Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel; Daniel Paquette, Chief Financial Officer; José Fernandez, Deputy Chief Financial Officer; Charly Thivierge-Lortie, Audit Senior Manager, KPMG; Andrew Newman, Audit Partner, KPMG; Patrick McDonell, Sergeant-at-Arms of the House of Commons; Gregory Dack, Acting Deputy Director, Security Project Management and Technical Operation; Paul Mellon, Chief of Operations and Assistant Sergeant-at-Arms; Christian Bourgeois, Executive Advisor to the Sergeant-at-Arms; Guillaume La Perrière-Marcoux, Secretariat

MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING

The minutes of the meeting of October 8, 2020, were adopted and approved for tabling.


BUSINESS ARISING FROM PREVIOUS MEETINGS

The Board noted correspondence distributed since its last meeting.


2019-2020 AUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Daniel Paquette, Chief Financial Officer, presented the 2019–2020 audited financial statements. Andrew Newman, Audit Partner, KPMG, presented the House of Commons Audit Findings Report for the year ended March 31, 2020, and answered questions.


The Board agreed to proceed in camera, without the participation of House Administration officials, to allow its members to discuss the preparation of the year-end audited financial statements.


At 11:34 a.m., the sitting was suspended.

At 11:38 a.m., the sitting resumed in camera.


SECURITY MATTERS

The Board approved the implementation and funding of initiatives to enhance Members’ security and provide additional support when they are outside the Parliamentary Precinct, as follows::


1. Residential security: the Office of the Sergeant-at-Arms and Corporate Security will conduct security assessments of Members’ residences and make appropriate recommendations. The funding approved amounts to $4,267,975 as a one-time cost and $778,524 ongoing annually.

2. Mobile duress service in Canada: Members will be provided with a mobile device that will trigger an alert at a third-party monitoring centre when activated. The funding approved amounts to $203,220 as a one-time cost and $313,021 ongoing per year.

3. Records Management System: a new Records Management System will be implemented to support enhanced communications with other security partners. The funding approved amounts to $1,000,000 as a one-time cost and $130,000 ongoing per year.


COVID-19 – HEALTH AND SAFETY MEASURES

The Board discussed health and safety measures related to COVID-19.


The meeting was adjourned.

Charles Robert
Secretary to the Board of Internal Economy