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Board of Internal Economy meeting

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Meeting Minutes

Tuesday, February 3, 2015

A meeting of the Board of Internal Economy of the House of Commons was held on Tuesday, February 3, 2015 at 11:15 a.m., in Room 340-S, Centre Block.

In the Chair: The Honourable Andrew Scheer, Speaker of the House of Commons

Present: The Honourables Peter Van Loan, John Duncan and Dominic LeBlanc; Mrs. Stella Ambler; Mrs. Nycole Turmel; Mr. Philip Toone

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

Also Present: Richard Denis, Deputy Law Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel; Pierre Parent, Chief Human Resources Officer; Mark Watters, Chief Financial Officer; Robin Kells, Secretariat

Minutes of Previous Meeting

The minutes of the meeting of December 9, 2014 were adopted and approved for tabling.

Business Arising from Previous Meeting

The Board reviewed correspondence distributed since its last meeting.

Satellite Offices

The Board noted that it was seized of this issue in February 2014 and that a significant amount of research and analysis was undertaken by the House Administration at the Board’s request. It noted that the NDP was invited on numerous occasions to make information available to assist with the Board’s study. Further, it noted that negotiations between counsel in the legal proceedings had not yet produced a resolution. The Board also noted that, regardless of the status of those negotiations, it has a duty to bring the matter to a close.

With Mrs. Turmel and Mr. Toone dissenting, the Board determined the remedies it will seek further to its August 12, 2014 finding that some NDP Members inappropriately used parliamentary resources for certain shared employment expenses: Since individual Members’ Office Budgets were used to supplement the NDP Research Office Budget, the Board directed the House Administration to inform each of the 68 participating Members, including House Officers and one former Member, of the salary costs each incurred from May 2, 2011 to December 31, 2014 that must be reimbursed, as a personal expense. The total amount to be reimbursed is $2,749,362.

The Board expressed its hope that the legal matter could still be resolved via a negotiated settlement.

Legal Fees

The Board agreed to pay the legal fees at Department of Justice Canada rates and settlement costs incurred by a Member in connection with a case that was settled out of court.

The Board agreed to pay the legal fees at Department of Justice Canada rates incurred by a Member in connection with a complaint filed against him.

Use of House Resources

The Board discussed the matter of the use of House resources with respect to the sale of plants in the Parliamentary Precinct and agreed that no further action is required.

Ratification of Economic Increases

The Board ratified the agreement in principle that has been reached by the House of Commons and the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada, Unifor and the Security Services Employees Association regarding economic increases.

The Board also approved the same economic increases for unrepresented employees in the ADG and CSG groups.

Other Items

The Board agreed to defer the remaining items to the next meeting.

The Board directed the House Administration to provide analysis on certain policy areas at upcoming meetings.

The meeting was adjourned.

Marc Bosc
Acting Secretary to the Board