Thank you, Mr. Del Mastro.
I am going to make a ruling on the admissibility of the motion. I thank the honourable member for having moved his motion; however, I am of the opinion that, as moved, the motion is inadmissible for the following reasons.
I should note that although I recognize that decisions taken in a different iteration of a same committee are not binding to a current committee, I would be remiss if I didn't restate, for the benefit of the current members of the committee, a decision made in a similar case in the last Parliament, on March 7, 2011, by the first vice-chair, as I feel it answers many questions surrounding the admissibility of the motion now before us.
First of all, I believe the motion goes beyond the mandate of the committee specifically with regard to Standing Order 108.(3)(h)(vi), which states:
...the proposing, promoting, monitoring and assessing of initiatives which relate to access to information and privacy across all sectors of Canadian society and to ethical standards relating to public office holders; and any other matter which the House shall from time to time refer to the Standing Committee.
It is important to understand the definition of “public office holders” with regard to the mandate of the committee. This standing order refers to the definition as described in the Conflict of Interest Act, 2006, which was cited in a previous ruling in this Parliament by my predecessor, Mr. Cullen, on September 27, 2011. Most importantly, however, the Parliament of Canada Act in section 52.6(1) states that:
The Board has the exclusive authority to determine whether any previous, current or proposed use by a member of the House of Commons of any funds, goods, services or premises made available to that member for the carrying out of parliamentary functions is or was proper, given the discharge of the parliamentary functions of members of the House of Commons, including whether any such use is or was proper having regard to the intent and purpose of the by-laws made under subsection 52.5(1).
This is further emphasized on page 238 of the second edition of the House of Commons Procedure and Practice, O'Brien and Bosc, which goes on to say:
The Board determines the terms and conditions of managing and accounting for the funds by Members and has exclusive authority to determine whether their use is or was proper. Other By-laws set out the terms governing Members' use of their budgets and other benefits provided by the House, including travel points, printing privileges, staff, and the purchase of goods.
As members of Parliament, the proper use of parliamentary resources is something that concerns all of us. However, I believe, for the reasons stated above, that this committee is not the proper forum in which to have this discussion.
I assume you're challenging the ruling of the chair, Mr. Butt.