Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I will now take the time to ask the board to approve the templates of the House officers' expenditure reports, which will have to be published.
The publication of House officers' expenditures disclosure reports reflects the board's ongoing commitment to increased transparency and accountability.
Your approval of the templates of these reports of officers' expenditures in carrying out their parliamentary functions is one of the most important aspects of publishing these reports.
At its meeting on June 8, 2017, the board approved disclosure of expenditures for the Speaker and the other presiding officers, opposition leaders, House leaders, whips, national caucus chairs, national caucus research officer, and members who were former prime ministers.
The first House officer expenditure report will present a summary of expenses by category, and will cover the period of April 1, 2017 to March 31, 2018. The summary report to be disclosed in June will include for each House officer, their name, caucus, role, and the period of time in which they held the role for that particular fiscal year. The report will also include for each House officer, the total expenses by category, so their employee salaries, service contracts, travel, hospitality, and office expenses.
Starting in fiscal year 2018-19, expenses will be disclosed on a quarterly basis, within three months of the end of each quarter. The first quarter's House officer expenditure reports will be published by September 30, 2018. These quarterly reports will not only have the summary expenditure reports that I just explained, but will also have the detailed travel expenditure reports and detailed hospitality expenditure reports.
This graph here shows the templates of the officers' expenditure reports, the detailed reports of their travel expenditures and the detailed reports of their hospitality expenditures. If the board approves the proposed templates, the House administration will publish the officers' expenditure reports, based on the format presented today, on June 30, 2018, at the latest, as scheduled.
The publication of this report will benefit House officers by demonstrating the responsible management of taxpayer funds, highlight the board's commitment to transparency and accountability, and build a general public knowledge of House officers.
Mr. Speaker, I'm confident that these mock-ups proposed meet the intentions of the board.
I can now answer the board members' questions.