THE STANDING COMMITTEE ON INTERNAL ECONOMY, BUDGETS AND ADMINISTRATION
MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS
OTTAWA, Thursday, December 1, 2022
(16)
[English]
The Standing Committee on Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration met this day at 9:01 a.m., in room C128, Senate of Canada Building, the chair, the Honourable Lucie Moncion, presiding.
Members of the committee present: The Honourable Senators Bovey, Boyer, Carignan, P.C., Dawson, Deacon (Nova Scotia), Dean, Gagné, Loffreda, Marshall, Moncion, Moodie, Plett, Quinn, Saint-Germain, Seidman and Tannas (16).
Other senator present: The Honourable Senator Dalphond (1).
Participating in the meeting: Pascale Legault, Chief Corporate Services Officer and Clerk of the Standing Committee on Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration; Till Heyde, Acting Interim Clerk of the Senate and Clerk of the Parliaments and Chief Legislative Services Officer; Philippe Hallée, Law Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel; senior Senate officials and other support staff.
WITNESSES:
The Honourable Colin Deacon, Chair, Advisory Working Group on Environment and Sustainability;
Anne Burgess, Senior Parliamentary Counsel, Office of the Law Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel;
Monique Daigle, HR Operations, Human Resources Directorate;
Toni Francis, Chief Human Resources Officer, Human Resources Directorate;
Jennifer, Forsyth, Director Resource Management System and Processes, Finance and Procurement Directorate (by videoconference);
Till Heyde, Interim Clerk of the Senate and Clerk of the Parliaments and Chief Legislative Services Officer;
Pierre Lanctôt, Chief Financial Officer, Finance and Procurement Directorate.
Pursuant to rule 12-7(1) of the Rules of the Senate, the committee continued its consideration of financial and administrative matters concerning the Senate’s internal administration.
The Chair made a statement.
The Chair introduced all senators that were present.
CIBA/2022-12-01/179(P) – Adoption of Minutes of Proceedings from November 17, 2022 (public)
The committee considered the Minutes of Proceedings from November 17, 2022 (public).
The Honourable Senator Plett moved that the Minutes of Proceedings of Thursday, November 17, 2022 (public), be adopted.
The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.
CIBA/2022-12-01/180(P) – Update from the Advisory Working Group on Environment and Sustainability
The Honourable Senator Deacon made a statement and answered questions regarding the work of the Advisory Working Group on Environment and Sustainability.
After debate, it was moved by Senator Bovey that notwithstanding the decision of CIBA adopted on Thursday, April 28, 2022, the date for the final report of the Advisory Working Group on Environment and Sustainability be extended from December 31, 2022 to March 31, 2024.
The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.
CIBA/2022-12-01/181(P) – Amendments to the Senate Administrative Rules related to the Audit and Oversight Committee
Anne Burgess made a statement regarding the proposed amendments to the Senate Administrative Rules related to the Standing Committee on Audit and Oversight (AOVS).
The chair and Till Heyde answered questions.
After debate, the Honourable Senator Deacon moved:
That the proposed amendments to the Senate Administrative Rules be agreed to;
That the draft report be adopted; and
That the Chair be authorized to report the proposed amendments to the Senate.
The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.
CIBA/2022-12-01/182(P) – Unit4 – Leave and Compensatory Time System Roll Out for Senator Staff
Monique Daigle made a statement and, together with Toni Francis, answered regarding the implementation of the electronic leave management rollout for senators’ staff.
After debate, the Honourable Senator Boyer moved:
That the electronic leave rollout for senators’ offices be approved and implemented by April 1, 2023;
That Section 3.7.3 of SOMP be amended as of April 1, 2023 as follows:
“When practicable, regular employees shall enter all requests for paid leave, in the approved electronic leave management system, in advance for their senator’s or chief of staff’s approval. All leave must to be entered prior to the end of each month.
When practicable, regular employees shall indicate all unpaid leave taken on the paper form Application for Leave and/or Monthly Report in advance and submit it to the Human Resources Directorate. This form must be signed by their senator or chief of staff. All leave without pay must be submitted prior to the end of the fiscal year.” and
That Section 3.9.1 of SOMP be amended as of April 1, 2023 as follows:
“At the senator’s discretion, regular employees may be assigned or granted time off equivalent to the number of hours worked outside of their regular working hours. The additional hours must be entered in the approved electronic leave management system in order to be used at a later date. Regular employees shall enter any compensatory leave taken as soon as practicable, prior to the end of the fiscal year, in the approved electronic leave management system, for their senator’s approval. Regular employees cannot earn overtime pay for extra hours worked”.
The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.
CIBA/2022-12-01/183(P) – Unit4 Sole Source Contract for Maintenance
The Honourable Senator Plett raised a point of order regarding in-person attendance of witnesses.
The chair and Pascale Legault answered questions.
Jennifer Forsyth made a statement and answered regarding the sole source contract for Unit4 software support and maintenance.
CIBA/2022-12-01/184(P) – Report from the Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure – Decisions reported to CIBA
The chair of the Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure, the Honourable Senator Moncion, tabled the Tenth Report as follows:
Thursday, December 1, 2022
The Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure of the Standing Committee on Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration has the honour to table its
TENTH REPORT
Your subcommittee wishes to report on the following decisions taken on November 24, 2022.
1. Additional Budget for International and Interparliamentary Affairs for 2022-2023
It was agreed that an additional temporary funding of $500,000 for the annual budget for Parliamentary Exchanges be approved for the fiscal year 2022-23 (of which 30%, or $150,000 is funded by the Senate and 70%, or $350,000 is funded by the House of Commons).
2. Removal of Suspensions in Rebroadcast on the Cable Public Affairs Channel (CPAC)
It was agreed that the suspensions in Senate sittings be removed when CPAC is rebroadcasting.
Respectfully submitted,
LUCIE MONCION
Chair
The Honourable Senator Moncion answered questions regarding the Tenth Report.
At 9:42 a.m., the committee suspended.
At 9:43 a.m., pursuant to 12-16(1), the committee proceeded in camera.
At 10:57 a.m., the committee adjourned to the call of the chair.
ATTEST:
Pascale Legault
Chief Corporate Services Officer and Clerk of the Standing Committee on
Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration
Keli Hogan