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Meeting Minutes

Thursday, February 29, 2024

A meeting of the Board of Internal Economy of the House of Commons was held on Thursday, February 29, 2024, at 11:02 a.m., in Room 225-A, West Block.

In the Chair: The Honourable Greg Fergus, Speaker of the House of Commons

Present: The Honourables Mona Fortier, Steven MacKinnon, Ruby Sahota, Andrew Scheer and Kerry-Lynne Findlay; Mr. Mark Gerretsen, Ms. Claude DeBellefeuille and Mr. Peter Julian

Secretary to the Board: Eric Janse, Clerk of the House of Commons

Also Present: House of Commons: Patrick McDonell, Sergeant-at-Arms; Paul Mellon, Deputy Sergeant-at-Arms; Erika Kirkpatrick, Analyst, Open-Source Intelligence; Paul St George, Chief Financial Officer; Michel Bédard, Law Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel; José Fernandez, Deputy Chief Financial Officer; Stéphan Aubé, Acting Deputy Clerk, Administration; Jeffrey LeBlanc, Deputy Clerk, Procedure; Michelle Tittley, Secretariat

MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING

The minutes of the meeting of February 15, 2024, were approved with amendments for tabling.


BUSINESS ARISING FROM PREVIOUS MEETINGS

The Board noted correspondence distributed since its last meeting.


At 11:15 a.m., the sitting was suspended.

At 11:17 a.m., the sitting resumed in camera.


SECURITY MATTERS

The Board discussed security matters and requested that the Sergeant-at-Arms return with a proposal for their consideration at the next meeting.


At 12:23 p.m., the meeting resumed in public.


USE OF HOUSE OF COMMONS RESOURCES FOR A VIDEO

At 12:24 p.m., the Speaker recused himself for this item and in his absence, the Honourable Andrew Scheer took the Chair.

Michel Bédard, Law Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel, and Paul St George, Chief Financial Officer, supported by José Fernandez, Deputy Chief Financial Officer, provided information and sought direction from the Board in the case of the use of House of Commons resources by the Speaker to produce and distribute a video aired at a provincial party convention, and answered questions.

The Board agreed to set an amount for payment of $1,500 as an appropriate remedy for non-compliance with the Members By-law in the case of the use of House of Commons resources.


The meeting was adjourned at 12:50 p.m.

Eric Janse
Secretary to the Board of Internal Economy