The Joint Interparliamentary Council
met this day at 3:35 p.m., in room 356-S of the Centre Block,
Joe Comartin, M.P,presiding.
Representing
the Senate: Hon. David Tkachuk
and Jim Munson, Senators.
Representing
the House of Commons: Joe Comartin, Gordon Brown, Hon. Ron Cannan, Randy
Hoback, Dave Mackenzie and Frank Valeriote, MPs.
Others
present:
Chairs and Co-Chairs of Parliamentary Associations:
Hon. Salma
Atauhullajan, Senator and Chair of the Canadian Group of the
Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU).
Member of the Executive Committee of the Canadian Group of IPU
Irene Mathyssen,
M.P., Member of the Executive Committee of the Canadian Group of IPU
David McGuinty, Member of the Executive
Committee of the Canadian Group of IPU
In attendance:
From the International and Interparliamentary Affairs Directorate:
Patrice Martin, Deputy Principal Clerk, Parliamentary Associations;
Natalie Foster, Former 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:
Naim Bellemare,
Senior Financial Advisor, Policy and Financial Planning.
1.IPU
Hon. Salma Atauhullajan, Senator and
Chair of the Canadian Group of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), accompanied
by Irene Mathyssen and David McGuinty, and M.P.’s and Members of the Executive
Committee, made a presentation on Canada’s role and participation within the
IPU and described the organization’s efforts to reduce costs.
2.Approval of Minutes
On motion of Mr. Hoback, the minutes of
the meeting of June 4, 2014 were approved.
3.APF and Canada-China Requests
The Chair provided an overview of two
recent requests and of the decisions made by the Council’s Co-Chairs. The
first request was from the Chair of the Canadian Branch of the Assemblée
parlementaire de la Francophonie (APF) to have a single parliamentarian
accompanied by a staff member on an outgoing activity. The request was
granted. The second request came from the Co-Chairs of the Canada-China
Legislative Association and sought approval for a political staffer to
accompany the delegation on an outgoing activity. The request was denied.
Mr. Mackenzie moved that the Co-Chairs’
decisions be ratified.
The question was put on the motion and
it was agreed to.
4.Activity Budget Status Report
The Clerk provided an update on the
status of the envelope for association activities.
After debate, it was agreed that, at
its next meeting, the Council consider requests for additional funds from
associations projecting a shortfall.
5.JIC Annual Report
The Chair drew members’ attention to
the fifth report on Parliamentary Associations’ Activities and Expenditures,
related to activities for the 2013-2014 fiscal year.
After debate, it was agreed to add a
section on the composition of the Council, to forward the report to the
internal economy committees of both Houses and then make it publicly available
via the International and Interparliamentary Affairs’ section of the
Parliamentary Web site.
6.Other business
Senator Munson requested an update on
the formula used to establish the composition of outgoing delegations. It was
agreed to consider the policy at the next meeting of the Council.
Mr. Hoback informed the Council
that the Canada-Israel Interparliamentary group would be seeking full
parliamentary association status in the near future.
Mr. Hoback informed the Council
that ParlAmericas would like to hold its annual conference in Canada in 2016 or
2017 and will eventually come before the Council to request funds to do so.
At 4:15 p.m., the Council adjourned to
the call of the Co-Chairs.