HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY MANAGEMENT COMMISSION
MINUTES
A meeting of the House of Assembly Management Commission was held in the Committee Room of One Government Place on Wednesday, January 25, 2023, following the conclusion of a meeting of the Special Committee to Review the Estimates of the Auditor General and the Chief Electoral Officer.
Present were: Hon. Keith Bain, Chair, Angela Simmonds, Hon. Kim Masland, Hon. Allan MacMaster, Danielle Barkhouse, Hon. Derek Mombourquette, Hon. Keith Irving, Susan Leblanc and James Charlton, Chief Clerk.
Also present were Matthew Timmons, Director of Operations and Administration, and Gordon D. Hebb, KC, Chief Legislative Counsel.
The meeting was called to order by Mr. Bain at 4:39 p.m.
1) Minutes of November 3, 2022 meeting
It was moved by Ms. Barkhouse and seconded by Ms. Leblanc that the minutes of the November 3, 2022 meeting be approved as circulated.
CARRIED
2) 2021-2022 Audit Report
The Chief Clerk noted that the 2020-2021 Audit Report was presented to the Audit Committee on May 30, 2022 and reviewed the opinions set out therein.
It was moved by Ms. Masland and seconded by Mr. Mombourquette that the 2021-2022 Audit Report be accepted by the Management Commission as presented by the Chief Clerk.
CARRIED
3) 2022 Audit Committee Annual Report
The Chief Clerk advised that the 2022 Audit Committee Annual Report was reviewed and approved by the Audit Committee on January 9, 2023 and is presented to the Management Commission for its approval.
It was moved by Ms. Barkhouse and seconded by Ms. Leblanc that the 2022 Audit Committee Annual Report be accepted and approved by the Management Commission.
CARRIED
4) 2022 House of Assembly Management Commission Annual Report
It was moved by Mr. Mombourquette and seconded by Ms. Simmonds that the 2022 House of Assembly Management Commission Annual Report be accepted and approved by the Management Commission.
CARRIED
5) Asset tagging for Members
The Director of Operations and Administrations reviewed the recommendation of the Audit Committee that the $50 threshold for MLAs tagging capital assets of the Crown purchased by them be raised to $150. Discussion followed with Mr. Irving and the Director of Operations and Administration participating.
It was moved by Mr. Mombourquette and seconded by Ms. Barkhouse that the threshold for MLAs tagging capital assets of the Crown purchased by them for the purpose of inventory control be raised from $50 to $150 in value.
CARRIED
6) Regulation amendments re Member records retention
The Chief Clerk reviewed the recommendation of the Audit Committee that the period of record retention be reduced to seven years following the creation of the record and that the onus for keeping records shift to the Speaker’s Administration Office. He further advised that the regulation amendments before the Management Commission had been drafted by the Chief Legislative Counsel for the purpose of giving effect to the Audit Committee’s recommendation.
It was moved by Mr. MacMaster and seconded by Ms. Leblanc that the proposed amendments to the House of Assembly Management Commission Regulations to repeal Section 9 and enact Section 15A be approved.
CARRIED
7) Delegation of authority by Management Commission to the Chair to determine the salaries of Order-in-Council appointees
The Chief Clerk advised that while he had determined that this item would not give rise to a conflict of interest for him, he would nonetheless leave the meeting for the discussion of this matter out of an abundance of caution.
The Director of Operations and Administration advised that while most Orders in Council appointing officers of the House assigned the Chair responsibility of determining the salary of the officers from time to time, the Order in Council appointing the Chief Clerk assigned that responsibility to the Management Commission itself. For the previous Chief Clerk, this responsibility was assigned to the Chair. The proposed delegation would allow the determination of salary for all officers of the House to be dealt with uniformly.
Discussion followed with Mr. MacMaster, the Director of Operations and Administration, Mr. Mombourquette, the Chief Legislative Counsel, Mr. Irving and Ms. Masland. Mr. Irving asked who determines the salary and salary increases for the Chief Clerk in the other Provinces.
In light of Mr. Irving’s request, the Chair moved that consideration of the question be delayed until the next meeting of the Management Commission.
CARRIED
8) 2022-2023 3rd Quarter Financial Report
The Director of Operations and Administration reviewed the 2022-2023 3rd Quarter Financial Report and noted the forecasted surplus of $842,400.
The agenda being concluded, the meeting adjourned at 5:02 p.m.
Certified
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Chair
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Chief Clerk
