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Board of Internal Economy meeting

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Meeting Minutes

Thursday, February 15, 2024

A meeting of the Board of Internal Economy (Board) of the House of Commons was held on Thursday, February 15, 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; Mr. Mark Gerretsen, Ms. Claude DeBellefeuille and Mr. Peter Julian

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

Also Present: Chris d’Entremont, Chair, Working Group on the LTVP and the Centre Block Rehabilitation; Jennifer Garrett, Acting Assistant Deputy Minister, Public Services and Procurement Canada; Susan Kulba, Director General and Executive Architect, Real Property; Greg Dack, Director, Security Project Management and Technical Operations; Albéric Bilodeau, Chief Operations Officer; Mitch Monette, Director, Parliamentary Protective Services; Paul St George, Chief Financial Officer; Jean-Marc Lundy, Acting Director, Financial Planning and Analysis; Ian McDonald, Clerk Assistant, Committees and Legislative Services Directorate; Yassine Aouididi, Senior Digital Product Manager; Matt DeCourcey, President, Canadian Association of Former Parliamentarians; Dorothy Dobbie, past President, Canadian Association of Former Parliamentarians; Michel Bédard, Law Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel; Carolyne Evangelidis, Chief Human Resources Officer; Stéphan Aubé, Acting Deputy Clerk, Administration; Michelle Tittley, Secretariat

NEW MEMBER OF THE BOARD

Pursuant to subsection 50(5) of the Parliament of Canada Act, the Honourable Mona Fortier (February 6, 2024) was recently sworn in as a member of the Board.

Pursuant to subsection 50(2) of the Parliament of Canada Act, the Honourable Ruby Sahota was appointed as representative of the King’s Privy Council.


MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING

The minutes of the meeting of December 7, 2023, were approved for tabling.


BUSINESS ARISING FROM PREVIOUS MEETINGS

The Board took note of correspondence distributed since its last meeting. Ian McDonald, Clerk Assistant, Committees and Legislative Services Directorate, and Yassine Aouididi, Senior Digital Product Manager, answered questions related to the Virtual Committees Dashboard.


LTVP WORKING GROUP UPDATE

Chris d’Entremont, 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 answered questions with Jennifer Garrett, Acting Assistant Deputy Minister, Public Services and Procurement Canada, and Susan Kulba, Director General and Executive Architect, Real Property.


The Board approved the working group’s recommendations for:

• the accessibility improvements in the Memorial Chamber and Peace Tower;

• the general layout for lobbies and the new lobby support space;

• the multimedia-enablement strategy, including the proposal to look at options for the location of simultaneous interpretation;

• the proposed circulation (excluding material handling); and

• the strategies for heritage rooms within Centre Block.

The working group’s recommendation on the topic of the designated and intended use of the space in the fourth-floor central courtyard infill was not presented for consideration but will be at a future meeting.


At 11:41 a.m., the sitting was suspended.

At 11:45 a.m., the sitting resumed in camera.


LTVP WORKING GROUP UPDATE – SECURITY

The Board approved the proposed security approach for Centre Block and the Parliament Welcome Centre.


LEGAL MATTERS

The Board approved a revision to the Legal Fees Policy of the Board of Internal Economy, effective February 15, 2024, with the rates for outside counsel to be first adjusted as of April 1, 2025.


EMPLOYMENT MATTERS

The Board approved the updated House of Commons Workplace Harassment and Violence Prevention Policy for Members and their Employees and agreed that the House Administration amend all related documents, policies, training and programs to reflect the updated Policy.


At 12:31 p.m., the meeting resumed in public.


CANADIAN ASSOCIATION OF FORMER PARLIAMENTARIANS – REQUEST FOR ADDITIONAL FUNDING

Matt DeCourcey, President, Canadian Association of Former Parliamentarians and Dorothy Dobbie, past President, Canadian Association of Former Parliamentarians, appeared before the Board to present a revised proposal for additional funds and answered questions.


The Board declined the revised proposal.


QUARTERLY FINANCIAL REPORT FOR THE THIRD QUARTER OF 2023–2024

Paul St George, Chief Financial Officer, supported by Jean-Marc Lundy, Acting Director, Financial Planning and Analysis, presented the Quarterly Financial Report for the Third Quarter of 2023–2024.


The Board took note of the report.


The meeting was adjourned at 1:04 p.m.

Eric Janse
Secretary to the Board of Internal Economy