Minutes

The Joint Interparliamentary Council met this day at 3:50 p.m., in room 356‑S of the Centre Block, Mr. Joe Comartin, MP, presiding.

Representing the Senate:  Hon. David Tkachuk, Marjory LeBreton and Jim Munson, Senators.  Hon. Larry Smith for David Tkachuk at 4:05 p.m.

Representing the House of Commons: Joe Comartin, Dave Mackenzie, Hon. Rob Merrifield, Sadia Groguhé, Frank Valeriote and Randy Hoback, MPs.

Others present:

Chairs and Co-Chairs of Parliamentary Associations:

Hon. Andrée Champagne, P.C., Senator, International President of the Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie (APF);
Hon. Paul E. McIntyre, Q.C., Senator, Acting Chair of the Canadian Section of the APF;
Robert Aubin, MP, Vice-President of the APF;
Anne-Marie Day, MP, Member of the APF;
Pierre Dionne Labelle, MP, Member of the APF; and
Robert Goguen, MP, Member of the APF.

In attendance:

From the International and Interparliamentary Affairs Directorate: Natalie Foster, Deputy Principal Clerk, Parliamentary Associations; Gérald Lafrenière, Deputy Principal Clerk, Parliamentary Exchanges; and Marie-Andrée Rainville, Manager, Resource Planning and Administration.

From the Senate: Sloan Mask, Financial Advisor, Planning and Corporate Reporting, Finance and Procurement Directorate.

From the House of Commons: Gilles Larocque, Senior Financial Advisor, Policy and Financial Planning; and Naim Bellemare, Senior Financial Advisor, Policy and Financial Planning.

1. Approval of Minutes:

On motion of Senator Tkachuk, the minutes of the meeting of February 26, 2014 were approved.

2. Staff accompanying delegations of single parliamentarians – APF Executive Committee:

Senator Champagne, International President of the Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie (APF), accompanied by Senator McIntyre (Acting Chair of the Canadian Section of the APF), as well as Ms. Day, Mr. Goguen, Mr. Aubin, and Mr. Dionne Labelle, Members of the Executive Committee, appeared to seek a reversal of the JIC’s decision that states ‘That no staff member accompany delegations composed of a single parliamentarian unless the JIC has granted approval following a request from a given association’.

After the APF members made their presentation and answered questions from JIC members, a discussion ensued.

At 4:20 pm, the Council proceeded to sit in camera.

After debate, it was agreed, that agreement in principle be given to the notion of agreeing to such requests in the future if the following criteria have been met: the parliamentarian is travelling alone, there will be no support for the individual upon arrival at the meeting or conference in question and that the activity is taking place outside of Canada, with a final decision to be taken on precise wording at the next meeting of the JIC.

3. Budgets 2014-2015:

The Clerk provided an overview of a package containing information concerning budget requests, allocations and expenditures in previous fiscal years, as well as a number of options for the potential distribution of available funds.  A discussion ensued.

On motion of Mr. Mackenzie, it was agreed that an initial allocation be granted to all Parliamentary Associations to incur some initial and necessary expenses for upcoming priority activities for the 2014-2015 fiscal year, and that it be distributed as follows:

It was further agreed to consider final allocations at the next meeting of the Council.

At 5:25 p.m., the Council adjourned to the call of the Co-Chairs.

Eric Janse

Clerk