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Board of Internal Economy meeting

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Meeting Minutes

Monday, October 21, 2013

A meeting of the Board of Internal Economy of the House of Commons was held on Monday, October 21, 2013 at 11:15 a.m., in Room 112-N, Centre Block.

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

Present: The Honourables Peter Van Loan, John Duncan and Rob Merrifield; Mr. Nathan Cullen; Mrs. Nycole Turmel; Ms. Judy Foote

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

Also Present: Mark Watters, Chief Financial Officer; Pierre Parent, Chief Human Resources Officer; Stéphan Aubé, Chief Information Officer and Suzanne Verville, Secretariat

Tabling of Minutes

The minutes of the meeting of September 16, 2013 were approved for tabling .

Minutes of Previous Meeting

The minutes of the meeting of October 3, 2013 were adopted.

Administration

Arbitral Awards Concerning the House of Commons

The Board took note of the arbitral awards rendered by the Public Service Labour Relations Board (PSLRB) following collective bargaining for the Postal Services Sub-Group bargaining unit and the Reporting and Text Processing Sub-Groups bargaining unit.

Collective Agreement

The Board ratified the Collective Agreement reached with the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC) for the Procedural Clerks and Analysis and Reference bargaining unit.

Unrepresented Employees

The Board approved the implementation of certain terms and conditions of employment for unrepresented employees, consistent with those negotiated with the bargaining units, or awarded by the Public Service Labour Relations Board (PSLRB) or agreed to with groups at the Library of Parliament and the Senate of Canada.

Requests for Exception

The Board did not approve a former Member’s request for reimbursement of winding-up expenses two years after they were incurred.

The Board did not approve a Member’s request for reimbursement of an expired unused flight pass segment.

Members’ Allowances and Services

Language Training Cancellation Policy

The Board discussed the Language Training Cancellation Policy and upheld its current policy. The Board also requested that the House Administration return with a statistical report with data on cases where absences are due to unforeseen and unavoidable parliamentary business.

Travel

The Board approved the recommendations of the Sub-Committee on Travel regarding special points and road travel.

The Board approved the changes to the House Officers’ travel points regime and requested additional information.

Members’ Expenditures Report - Improved Reporting

The Board agreed to further improve the public reporting of Members’ expenditures by presenting the following as stand-alone categories, effective April 1, 2014:

  • Service contracts;
  • Members’ accommodation expenses as a separate category from Members’ per diem expenses;
  • Hospitality sub-divided by Events, Gifts and Meetings

The Board agreed to disclose further details regarding the use of special points.

The Board also agreed that, starting on April 1, 2014, Members’ expenditures will be reported quarterly and published within three months of the end of each quarter.

The meeting was adjourned.

Marc Bosc
Acting Secretary to the Board