Proceedings of the Standing Committee on
Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration
Minutes of Proceedings - May 3, 2018
OTTAWA, Thursday, May 3, 2018
(56)
The Standing Committee on Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration met this day at 8:30 a.m., in room 160- S, Centre Block, the chair, the Honourable Larry W. Campbell, presiding.
Members of the committee present: The Honourable Senators Batters, Campbell, Carignan, P.C., Dawson, Jaffer, Marshall, McCoy, Mitchell, Moncion, Plett, Pratte, Saint-Germain, Tannas, Tkachuk and Verner, P.C. (15).
Also in attendance: Pascale Legault, Chief Corporate Services Officer and Clerk of the Standing Committee on Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration; Richard Denis, Interim Clerk of the Senate; Jacqueline Kuehl, Law Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel; and other senior Senate officials.
Also present: The official reporters of the Senate.
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.
At 8:33 a.m., the committee proceeded in camera, pursuant to rule 12-16(1).
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.
At 9:11 a.m., the committee proceeded in public.
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.
CIBA/2018-05-03/434(P)|214| — Adoption of the Minutes of Proceedings
The committee considered the Minutes of Proceedings of Thursday, April 19, 2018, public portion.
The Honourable Senator Jaffer moved:
That the Minutes of Proceeding of Thursday, April 19, 2018, public portion, be adopted.
The Honourable Senator McCoy moved:
That the motion number CIBA/2018-04-19/429 be amended:
by adding the following after the words "Works of Art;'':
"That the advisory working group report to the committee for ratification, any recommendations it makes involving expenditures over $5,000 for the purchase, disposal, repair and restoration of heritage assets and works of art;'';
by adding the following after the words "quarterly to the committee'';
"its decisions and recommendations''.
After debate, the question being put on the motion in amendment, it was adopted.
The question was put on the motion of the Honourable Senator Jaffer:
That the Minutes of Proceedings of Thursday, April 19, 2018, public portion, as amended, be adopted.
The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.
CIBA/2018-05-03/435(P)|190| — Report from the Subcommittee on the Senate Estimates
The Chair of the Subcommittee on the Senate Estimates, the Honourable Senator Moncion, presented the seventh report of the subcommittee as follows:
Thursday, May 3, 2018
The Subcommittee on the Senate Estimates of the Standing Committee on Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration has the honour to present its
SEVENTH REPORT
Your subcommittee has the mandate to review the proposed estimates, keeping in mind the necessity for the Senate and its Administration to demonstrate responsible management of the public funds that are allocated to the institution.
During the subcommittee's review of the Senate 2018-19 Estimates, a letter from the Honourable Senator Yuen Pau Woo and the Honourable Senator Raymonde Saint-Germain was received requesting House Officer funding for the Independent Senators Group (ISG) in the amount of $1,200,000. At the time, the subcommittee deferred its consideration of the request to meet the Treasury Board of Canada's deadlines for the publication of the overall Main Estimates. Funds were included in the Senate's budget up to $400,000 for adjustments to the monies allocated to house officers, political officers, caucuses and groups under the Senate Administrative Rules, if warranted and approved.
Within the Senate Administrative Rules, Schedule "A'' outlines the "financial allowances, rates, amounts and limits [. . .] to the administration of the Senate.'' The schedule includes office allowances for house and political officers and research funds for caucuses and groups. Chapter 5:04, section 5, indicates that "Other caucuses (including any allocation to House Officers)'' with more than 20 members are entitled to receive $1,060,000 in funding.
Your subcommittee considered the request from the ISG during its meeting of March 28, 2018. At the meeting, the subcommittee agreed, on division, to recommend a temporary additional amount of $140,000 to be added to the actual funding of $1,060,000 which would bring the allocation of funds for the group to the amount of $1,200,000 for the 2018-19 budgetary year. The subcommittee recognizes that this request represents an exception to the current funding levels given to caucuses and groups.
The subcommittee's review of the request from the ISG has raised many questions related to the funding of caucuses and recognized groups in general. Senate modernization is still a work in progress. The impact of disruptive changes to past procedures of the Senate, such as government representation in the Senate without an official caucus, the largest group in the Senate not having a political affiliation and the presence of four distinct groups where only two existed before, are still working themselves out. This new structure has had a financial impact on the Senate's resources.
The subcommittee received an historical overview of the overall budgets for house officers, political officers, caucuses and groups in the Senate over the last ten years.
Total House Officers, Caucus
and Group FundingYears Budget Increase / (Decrease) Percentage 2009-10 $2,084,900 2010-11 $2,084,900 0% 2011-12 $2,084,900 0% 2012-13 $1,866,410 $ (218,490 ) -10% 2013-14 $2,254,710 $ 388,300 21% 2014-15 $2,709,710 $ 455,000 20% 2015-16 $2,856,605 $ 146,895 5% 2016-17 $4,125,364 $ 1,268,759 44% 2017-18 $5,294,635 $ 1,169,271 28% 2018-19 $5,445,089 $ 150,454 3%
The annual increases over time have been substantial, but the rationale for these needs to be understood by the members of the subcommittee.
Your subcommittee makes the following recommendation:
That the Independent Senators Group be allocated an additional $140,000 for the current budgetary year for a total allocation of $1,200,000 (retroactive to April 1, 2018).
A copy of Schedule "A'' of the Senate Administrative Rules is appended to this report.
Respectfully submitted,
LUCIE MONCION
Chair
The Honourable Senator Moncion made a statement.
The Honourable Senator Moncion moved:
That the report be adopted.
The Honourable Senator Carignan, P.C., moved:
That the motion be amended by adding after the word "adopted'' the following:
"and that the amount of $140,000 be reallocated from the budget of the Leader of the Government in the Senate''.
After debate, the question being put on the motion in amendment, it was negatived on the following vote:
YEAS
The Honourable Senators
Batters, Carignan, Marshall, Plett, Tkachuk — 5
NAYS
The Honourable Senators
Campbell, Dawson, Jaffer, McCoy, Moncion, Pratte, Saint-Germain, Tannas, Verner — 9
It was noted that the Honourable Senator Mitchell did not vote on the motion.
After debate, the question was put on the motion of the Honourable Senator Moncion:
That the report be adopted.
The question being put on the motion, it was adopted, on the following vote:
YEAS
The Honourable Senators
Campbell, Dawson, Jaffer, Marshall, McCoy, Moncion, Pratte, Saint-Germain, Tannas, Verner — 10
NAYS
The Honourable Senators
Batters, Carignan, Plett, Tkachuk — 4
It was noted that the Honourable Senator Mitchell did not vote on the motion.
CIBA/2018-05-03/436(P)|217| — Report from the Subcommittee on Communications
The Chair of the Subcommittee on Communications, the Honourable Senator Campbell, presented the third report of the subcommittee as follows:
Thursday, May 3, 2018
The Subcommittee on Communications of the Standing Committee on Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration has the honour to present its
THIRD REPORT
Your subcommittee, which was authorized by the Standing Committee on Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration on Thursday, December 10, 2015 to advise the Senate on communications strategy and implementation, received a request from the Honourable Senator Eggleton, P.C., to permit the broadcasting and archiving of Open Caucus meetings, hosted by the Independent Senators Group and the Senate Liberals, on the Senate's webcasting service (ParlVU).
After reviewing this request, your subcommittee recommends that the request be approved.
Your subcommittee notes that this recommendation is the view of a majority of the subcommittee and was not unanimous.
Respectfully submitted,
LARRY W. CAMPBELL
Chair
After debate, it was agreed that further discussion on the report be deferred to a future meeting.
At 10:12 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
Daniel Charbonneau
Recording Secretary