LIAI Committee Meeting

The Liaison Committee met at 1:05 p.m. this day, in Room 253-D, Centre Block, the Chair, Dean Allison, presiding.

The Clerk of the Committee presided over the election of the Vice-Chair.

On motion of Shawn Murphy, it was agreed, — That Yasmin Ratansi be elected Vice-Chair of the Committee.

It was agreed, — That Yasmin Ratansi be added to the list of Members of the Subcommittee on committee budgets.

At 1:06 p.m., the sitting was suspended.

At 1:07 p.m., the sitting resumed.

At 1:07 p.m., the Committee proceeded to sit in camera.

The Chair apprised members that at its meeting of February 5, 2007, the Board of Internal Economy discussed the request of the Liaison Committee regarding administrative and financial matters relating to the management of House of Commons committees and agreed to the following:

• That a fund in the amount of $250,000 annually, for the hiring of expert and other services, be granted to the Liaison committee on a permanent basis;

• That the maximum allowable per diem rate for service contracts be increased from $600 to $1,000 per day; and

• That the number of printed copies of committee reports be decreased from 550 to 350.

The Chair also apprised members that during its meeting of February 15, 2007, the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs studied the Liaison Committee's request regarding travel in the National Capital Region and agreed that no change be made to the process for requesting authority from the House for committee travel within the National Capital Region.

It was agreed, — That the document entitled “Post-Travel Report“ be adopted as a template and the such reports be prepared following all Committee travel and presented to the Liaison Committee.

The Chair gave a presentation on the financial status of the global envelope for committee activities.

The Chair apprised members that the following budget requests have been appproved:

• The Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration - a travel budget of $9,066 to travel to Kingston on February 11 and 12, 2007, in relation to its study on refugee issues;

• The Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights - a travel budget of $475 to visit the RCMP DNA Centre in Ottawa on February 14, 2007.

It was agreed, — That the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration be granted an operational budget of $65,200 for its study on the Loss of Canadian Citizenship 1947, 1977 and 2007.

It was agreed, — That the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage be granted a travel budget of $95,747 to travel to Yellowknife and Vancouver from March 13 to 15, 2007, in relation to its study on the role of a Public Broadcaster in the 21^st Century.

It was agreed, — That the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage be granted a travel budget of $66,097 to travel to Winnipeg and Toronto on April 4 and 5, 2007, in relation to its study on the role of a Public Broadcaster in the 21^st Century.

It was agreed, — That the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage be granted a travel budget of $62,221 to travel to St. John's and Montreal on May 23 and 24, 2007, in relation to its study on the role of a Public Broadcaster in the 21^st Century.

At 1:25 p.m., the Committee adjourned to the call of the Chair.