House of Assembly Management Commission
Minutes
January 24, 2024
A meeting of the House of Assembly Management Commission was held in the Committee Room of One Government Place on Wednesday, January 24, 2024, following immediately following the meeting of the Special Committee to Review the Estimates of the Auditor General and the Chief Electoral Officer at 4:00 p.m.
Present were: Hon. Karla MacFarlane, Chair; Nolan Young; John White (substituting for Hon. Kim Masland); Hon. Allan MacMaster; Danielle Barkhouse; Hon. Derek Mombourquette; Hon. Keith Irving; Susan Leblanc; and James Charlton, Chief Clerk and Secretary to the Management Commission.
Also
present were Matthew Timmons, Director of Operations and Administration, Gordon
D.
Hebb, kc, Chief Legislative
Counsel
The meeting was called to order by Ms. MacFarlane at 4:49 p.m.
1) Minutes of September 27, 2023, meeting
It was moved by Mr. MacMaster and seconded by Mr. Young that the minutes of the September 27, 2023, meeting be approved as circulated.
CARRIED
2) 2023 Audit Committee Annual Report
The Chief Clerk advised that the 2023 Audit Committee Annual Report was reviewed and approved by the Audit Committee on January 10, 2024, and is presented to the Management Commission for its approval.
It was moved by Mr. MacMaster and seconded by Mr. Mombourquette that the 2023 Audit Committee Annual Report be accepted and approved by the Management Commission.
CARRIED
3) 2023 House of Assembly Management Commission Annual Report
The Chief Clerk advised that the 2023 Audit Committee Annual Report was reviewed and approved by the Audit Committee on January 10, 2024, and is presented to the Management Commission for its approval.
It was moved by Ms. Barkhouse and seconded by Mr. Young that the 2023 House of Assembly Management Commission Annual Report be accepted and approved by the Management Commission.
CARRIED
4) Amendments to House of Assembly Management Commission Regulations
The Chief Clerk reviewed proposed amendments to ss. 18, 27 and 28 of the House of Assembly Management Commission Regulations respecting overnight hotel stays and timelines for using start-up allocations.
A discussion ensued with Mr. Irving, the Chair, the Chief Clerk, Mses. Leblanc and Barkhouse and Messrs. White and MacMaster participating.
It was moved by Mr. White and seconded by Ms. Barkhouse that the proposed amendments to the House of Assembly Management Commission Regulations be amended by striking out section 3 (the amendment to section 28 of the Regulations).
CARRIED
It was moved by Mr. White and seconded by Mr. MacMaster that the proposed amendments to the House of Assembly Management Commission Regulations be approved as amended.
CARRIED
5) 2023-24 financial reports – 2nd Quarter
The Director of Operations and Administration reviewed the 2nd Quarter report for the 2023-24 fiscal year.
6) Appeal of rejected MLA expense claim
The Chief Clerk reviewed the circumstances under which a claim by MLA Gary Burrill for reimbursement for the cost of producing a holiday card was rejected on the grounds that it contained a partisan message and advised that Mr. Burrill was exercising his right of appeal to the Management Commission. The Chief Clerk stated that the question of whether the message is partisan is a matter of interpretation and advised that the Management Commission would have to decide whether the message was partisan for itself, which decision would determine whether the expense was reimbursable.
A discussion ensued with Ms. Leblanc and Messrs. White, Mombourquette, MacMaster, Irving participating.
The Chair put the question of the appeal to a vote by the members of the Management Commission.
APPEAL DISMISSED
7) MLA office security
The Chief Clerk gave an overview of the issue, the proposals advanced by MLAs to address it and the recommendations made by Corporate Security at the Department of Justice, which performs assessments of constituency offices for MLAS, on how to best address the security issue.
A discussion ensued with Mr. Mombourquette, Ms. Leblanc, Messrs. MacMaster and White, Ms. Barkhouse and Mr. Irving participating.
It was moved by Mr. Mombourquette that the meeting be extended to 6:20 p.m.
DEFEATED
The discussion continued with Mr. MacMaster, Ms. Leblanc, Mr. Mombourquette, Ms. Barkhouse and Mr. Irving participating.
It was moved by Ms. Leblanc and seconded by Mr. Mombourquette that the discussion of this matter be deferred and that the Management Commission meet again within the next two weeks to discuss the matter.
A recorded vote on the motion was called.
YES NO
John White
Danielle Barkhouse
Hon. Allan MacMaster
Nolan Young
Susan Leblanc
Hon. Keith Irving
Hon. Derek Mombourquette
CARRIED
The agenda being concluded, the meeting adjourned at 6:05 p.m.
Certified approved by the House of Assembly Management Commission on January 24, 2024.
________________________
James Charlton
Chief Clerk and Secretary to the
House of Assembly Management Commission
