Skip to main content

Board of Internal Economy meeting

The Agenda includes information about the items of business to be dealt with by the Board and date, time and place of the meeting. The Transcript is the edited and revised report of what is said during the meeting. The Minutes are the official record of decisions made by the Board at a meeting.

For an advanced search, use Publication Search tool.

If you have any questions or comments regarding the accessibility of this publication, please contact us at accessible@parl.gc.ca.

Previous day publication Next day publication

Meeting Minutes

Thursday, October 30, 2025

A meeting of the Board of Internal Economy (Board) of the House of Commons was held on Thursday, October 30, 2025, at 11:03 a.m., in room 225 A, West Block.

In the Chair: The Honourable Francis Scarpaleggia, Speaker of the House of Commons

Present: The Honourables Steven MacKinnon, Mark Gerretsen, Arielle Kayabaga and Andrew Scheer; Mr. Chris Warkentin and Mr. Yves Perron

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

Also Present:

House of Commons: Tom Kmiec, Chair, Working Group on the Long Term Vision and Plan (LTVP) and the Centre Block Rehabilitation; Benoit Dicaire, Chief Information Officer; Patrick McDonell, Sergeant-at-Arms; Paul St George, Chief Financial Officer; Robin Kells, Senior Director, Corporate Procurement and Asset Management Services; Michel Bédard, Law Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel; Carolyne Evangelidis, Chief Human Resources Officer; Zahira Abbas, Acting Deputy Director, Labour Relations; Stéphan Aubé, Chief Executive Administrator; Jeffrey LeBlanc, Deputy Clerk, Procedure; Natacha Flanagan, Secretariat

Parliamentary Protective Service (PPS): Mitch Monette, Director

Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC): Jennifer Garrett, Assistant Deputy Minister; Joelle Paquette, Acting Associate Assistant Deputy Minister

Translation Bureau: Jean-François Lymburner, Chief Executive Officer; Annie Plouffe, Vice-President, Services to Parliament and Interpretation

MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING

The minutes of the meeting of October 2, 2025 were approved for tabling.


BUSINESS ARISING FROM PREVIOUS MEETINGS

The Board took note of correspondence distributed since its last meeting.


LTVP WORKING GROUP UPDATE

Tom Kmiec, Chair, Working Group on the LTVP and the Centre Block Rehabilitation, provided an update on recent activities of the House of Commons Working Group on the LTVP and, with Jennifer Garrett, Assistant Deputy Minister, PSPC; Benoit Dicaire, Chief Information Officer; and Mitch Monette, Director, PPS, answered questions.


The Board approved the Working Group’s recommendation for the following items:

• Updated Centre Block sustainability strategy

• One-phase Confederation Building rehabilitation – swing space

• Centre Block cost-optimization strategy

The Board requested further information on the Sir Robert Borden statue location and the Centre Block forecourt trees.


INTERPRETATION SERVICES

Jean-François Lymburner, Chief Executive Officer, Translation Bureau, appeared before the Board and, with Annie Plouffe, Vice-President, Services to Parliament and Interpretation, Translation Bureau and Joelle Paquette, Acting Associate Assistant Deputy Minister, PSPC, answered questions.


2024–2025 REPORT ON COMMITTEE ACTIVITIES AND EXPENDITURES

The Board took note of the 2024–2025 Report on Committee Activities and Expenditures.

In accordance with the provisions of Standing Order 121(4), the Board agreed that the Speaker proceed with tabling the report in the House of Commons as soon as possible.


REQUEST FOR EXCEPTION

The Board approved a Member’s request for exception to allow the reimbursement of reasonable office relocation costs incurred due to the electoral district redistribution and boundaries readjustment (EBR) as a charge against the House Administration budget.

The Board also agreed to extend the authority of the Clerk of the House of Commons, from 6 months to 12 months from the date of the general election, to make temporary exceptions to EBR-related Board By-laws and policies and approve related reasonable costs, provided these exceptions do not result in additional funding and the Clerk reports periodically to the Board on these exceptions.


UPDATES TO THE BOARD OF INTERNAL ECONOMY’S RULES OF PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE

Michel Bédard, Law Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel, presented a submission to seek the Board’s approval for amendments to the Rules of Practice and Procedure of the Board of Internal Economy.


The Board agreed that the Rules of Practice and Procedure be amended to

• Allow the Board to make all types of decisions by walkaround;

• Allow Board members to approve by means other than signature proposals that are submitted by walkaround;

• Require the approval of all Board members for the adoption of any proposal submitted by walkaround; and

• Require that at least five Board members and no less than a majority of members agree to waive the notice-of-meeting requirements.


At 12:34 p.m. the meeting was suspended.

At 12:35 p.m. the meeting resumed in camera.


RATIFICATION OF A COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT

The Board ratified the tentative agreement reached between Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) and the House Administration for the Operational Group and Postal Services Sub-Group, which includes a 2.5% economic increase, effective April 1, 2025.


ACCOMMODATION REQUEST FOR A MEMBER

The Board discussed a request for an exception related to a secondary residence.

The meeting was adjourned at 12:56 p.m.

Eric Janse
Secretary to the Board of Internal Economy