Proceedings of the Standing Committee on
Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration

Issue 9 - Minutes of Proceedings - June 13, 2013

OTTAWA, Thursday, June 13, 2013
(50)

[English]

The Standing Committee on Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration met this day, in camera, at 8:30 a.m., in room 160-S, Centre Block, the chair, the Honourable David Tkachuk, presiding.

Members of the committee present: The Honourable Senators Campbell, Carignan, Comeau, Cordy, Downe, Doyle, Fraser, Furey, Johnson, Kinsella, Marshall, Munson, Smith (Saurel), Stewart Olsen, and Tkachuk. (16).

In attendance: Mr. Gary W. O'Brien, Clerk of the Senate, and other senior Senate officials.

WITNESSES:

Deloitte:

Gary Timm, Partner, Financial Advisory;

Peter Dent, Partner, Financial Advisory;

Guillaume Vadeboncoeur, Senior Manager, Financial Advisory.

IE/2013-06-13/338(P) — Update on Actions Taken regarding Senators Brazeau and Harb

Senator Stewart Olsen asked the chair to update the Committee on the current status of the process for Senators Brazeau and Harb regarding repayment of the living allowance they received.

The chair informed the committee that letters had been sent to both Senators informing them of the amount owing and the timeline of 30 days to pay. The chair asked Nicole Proulx, Director of Finance and Procurement, to inform the committee of the amounts.

Ms. Proulx informed the Committee that the amounts were as follows:

Questions were asked regarding the details of the cheque received from Senator Duffy on the repayment for his living expenses.

IE/2013-06-13/339(P) — Adoption of Minutes of Proceedings

It was moved, by Senator Doyle, that the Minutes of Proceedings of June 6, 2013, public portion, be adopted.

The question being put on the motion, it was resolved in the affirmative.

IE/2013-06-13/340(P) — Thirty-Fifth Report of the Subcommittee on the Review of Committee Budgets and International Travel

The Chair of the Subcommittee on the Review of Committee Budgets and International Travel, Senator Comeau, tabled the Thirty-Fifth Report of the Subcommittee as follows:

Thursday, June 13, 2013

The Subcommittee on the Review of Committee Budgets and International Travel of the Standing Committee on Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration has the honour to table its

THIRTY-FIFTH REPORT

Your subcommittee has reviewed committee expenditures for 2012-2013 and is pleased to report as follows.

In 2012-2013, your subcommittee considered 26 budget requests from committees containing both requests for general expenses and activity-related expenses, such as travel.

Since 2007, the Finance and Procurement Directorate has prepared a post-expenditure report for each committee budget. Committee clerks review these reports and provide an explanation for any significant variances. In addition, any unused or unexpended funds within an activity are returned to the pool of funds available to all Senate committees.

Your subcommittee has examined all of the 2012-2013 post-expenditure reports in detail, activity-by-activity and line-by-line. We appreciate the efforts by committee clerks to explain the variances, and we are satisfied with the explanations given.

For fiscal year 2012-2013, a total of $2.1M were released to committees. Committee expenditures, however, were $758K, amounting to some 36 per cent of the funds released. During this period, committees conducted 18 trips for fact-finding or public hearings.

Your subcommittee notes and commends the concerted efforts by committees to reduce spending. This has been achieved in part by seeking out reduced, non-refundable or economy fares for certain air travel. Your subcommittee is confident that committees will continue to manage their funds responsibly and, where possible, to cut costs.

Respectfully submitted,

Senator Comeau answered questions.

IE/2013-06-13/341(P) — Thirty-Sixth Report of the Subcommittee on the Review of Committee Budgets and International Travel

Thursday, June 13, 2013

The Subcommittee on the Review of Committee Budgets and International Travel of the Standing Committee on Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration has the honour to table its

THIRTY-SIXTH REPORT

Your Subcommittee reviewed a budget application from the Standing Senate Committee on Official Languages requesting funds for a fact-finding trip to Switzerland and Finland as part of the committee's study of best practices for language policies and second-language learning in a context of linguistic duality or plurality.

While your subcommittee was generally supportive of the committee's proposal, it was agreed that a decision on the budget application should be delayed until the committee completes more background work.

It was not clear to the subcommittee members that the committee had done enough background work and held sufficient hearings in Ottawa on the subject to obtain maximum benefit from the proposed trip. While your subcommittee has no interest in micro-managing the work of committees, it wishes to emphasize the importance of committees undertaking solid preparatory work prior to travel. Such preparation assists in establishing clear objectives for any proposed trip.

In the case of the Official Languages Committee, your subcommittee has requested further information regarding which organisations and levels of government the committee would hope to meet, and the types of people they believe would be able to contribute to their learning. While your subcommittee does not require the names of specific individuals, a draft program outlining the proposed trip would be helpful.

Your subcommittee looks forward to receiving this information and revisiting this budget in the fall.

Respectfully submitted,

After discussion, it was agreed that:

A report listing the individual committees, the studies they have done, the number of senators who participated in each study and the dollar amounts released for each study along with the actual amount would be provided to committee members at the next meeting; and

A report showing if fact-finding missions across Canada are evenly distributed.

IE/2013-06-13/342(P) — Thirty-Seventh Report of the Subcommittee on the Review of Committee Budgets and International Travel

Thursday, June 13, 2013

The Subcommittee on the Review of Committee Budgets and International Travel of the Standing Committee on Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration has the honour to present its

THIRTY-SEVENTH REPORT

Your subcommittee recommends the release of the following supplementary amount for fiscal year 2013-2014:

Energy, the Environment and Natural Resources (hydrocarbon transportation)

Activity 1:
B.C., Washington State, Alaska	$ 139,560
Total	$ 139,560

(includes funds for a fact-finding mission)

Respectfully submitted,

It was moved by Senator Comeau that the Thirty-Seventh Report of the Subcommittee on the Review of Committee Budgets and International Travel be adopted.

The question being put on the motion, it was resolved in the affirmative.

At 8:56 a.m., the committee continued in camera.

At 9:15 a.m., the committee resumed in public.

IE/2013-06-13/344(P) — Update on the Review of Senator Wallin's Expense Claims

Committee members asked questions to officials from the Deloitte firm regarding perceived delays in reporting on the examination of Senator Wallin's expense claims.

Messrs. Timm, Dent and Vadeboncoeur answered questions.

At 9:32 a.m., the committee continued in camera.

At 10:15 a.m., the committee adjourned to the call of the chair.

ATTEST:

Gary W. O'Brien

Clerk of the Senate and Clerk of the Standing Committee on Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration

Lucie Lavoie

Recording Secretary