Procedure and House Affairs Committee on Dec. 2nd, 2008

[Rodger Cuzner, Liberal, Cape Breton—Canso, NS]

No, that's fine.

[The Chair, Conservative, Joe Preston]

Great.

Mr. Lukiwski.

[Tom Lukiwski, Conservative, Regina—Lumsden—Lake Centre, SK]

Thank you, Chair.

I want to go back, if I can. I might have to get Monsieur Bard back up at the witness table. I need some clarification on the issue that's been discussed by Michel, Marlene, Yvon, and others on the compatibility between Hill and constituency software and hardware.

I have to challenge Michel: I think I'm far more computer illiterate than he, even more illiterate than your Post-it ex-roommate. I'm back in the eight-tracks. I haven't progressed past eight-tracks yet, which tells you where I'm coming from.

But I know there have been some problems at the constituency office level. Just to give you a brief example, this summer when we were back in our constituencies, my constituency office was having a lot of difficulty just getting calendar items into my BlackBerry. For some reason--they said it was because of a compatibility issue--they had to eventually send all of my local appointments to Ottawa and then they had to put it into my calendar. For some reason, the software program, I guess it was, wasn't compatible. I don't know if it was Vista or whatever. I don't understand that. I just know that we had some problems.

You mentioned that you're going to be providing, as I think I heard you say, personal tutelage to members and the like. Is there some way we can get a calendar so that I can get my constituency office people to speak with your office to try to get a better sense of what they may need to do in terms of upgrading or changing software? If I went to a seminar on this, it would be over my head so fast I couldn't tell you. It's the people in my office who deal with these things on a daily basis whom I would want to be able to get the proper instruction.

So how would we go about getting my constituency office people to contact your people to make sure we're on the right track?

[Louis Bard]

We're always there to help you, sir. As you know, we offer 24/7 support. If there was an issue with your BlackBerry in synchronizing your calendar function, I don't think it would have been a Vista or software issue. It must have been something very particular at that time. But we'd be very pleased to go back and look at exactly what it was.

We have a good track record. We have a profile for each member of Parliament. We understand your environment and what you need in your offices. At the same time, what I will do for you is ask if we can contact your office to do a follow-up to this morning's discussion.

[Tom Lukiwski, Conservative, Regina—Lumsden—Lake Centre, SK]

I would appreciate that very much.

[Louis Bard]

At the same time, maybe you're not aware, but for every constituency we have developed a complete package of information on what to do, how to do it, who to call, and on the things to be looking for concerning the migration to Vista for constituency offices. Maybe we should redistribute that package to all offices. It may have been lost during the election period. That is something I will also take care of immediately.

[Tom Lukiwski, Conservative, Regina—Lumsden—Lake Centre, SK]

I would appreciate that. Again, the information package may have gone out to the constituency office, but I know that my people there said that they were trying to contact IT to fix this little problem we had and they got no resolution to it. If you could forward that to my office, that would be great. I just want to make sure that my constituency office has the proper coordinates to talk to the people they need to talk to when they have a problem.

[Louis Bard]

I will follow up with you on that later on.

[Tom Lukiwski, Conservative, Regina—Lumsden—Lake Centre, SK]

Okay. Thank you for that.

[The Chair, Conservative, Joe Preston]

Madame DeBellefeuille.

[Claude DeBellefeuille, Bloc, Beauharnois—Salaberry, QC]

Mr. Chairman, I want to congratulate you for pronouncing my name correctly.

[The Chair, Conservative, Joe Preston]

I practised all weekend.

[Claude DeBellefeuille, Bloc, Beauharnois—Salaberry, QC]

Mr. Chairman, my question is for Mr. Bard, unless of course the Speaker can give me an answer.

What I'm about to say might answer Mr. Lukiwski's question. For the past two and a half years, I've been taking part in a pilot project in which my BlackBerry agenda is linked to the work stations of my staff in my constituency and parliamentary offices. It's really quite ingenious. Each time I schedule something in my agenda, all of my staff are notified at the same time. That way, the schedule is always up to date. This pilot project was launched two and a half years ago and it has really proven to be quite successful.

Do you expect that everyone will soon be... Perhaps it has already been done. I wasn't informed that the pilot project was over.

[Louis Bard]

Mr. Chairman, Mr. Guimond was the one who asked us to go forward with this pilot project, because he was experiencing some serious problems with synchronizing his schedule. He was the first to sign on to the pilot project and it allowed us to experiment with possible solutions. Two or three months later, the project was expanded to include all Members.

[Claude DeBellefeuille, Bloc, Beauharnois—Salaberry, QC]

You are saying then that it is available to everyone?

[Louis Bard]

It has been for at least two years now.

We will take a closer look at Mr. Lukiwski's problem and rectify it, if possible.

[The Chair, Conservative, Joe Preston]

Mr. Godin.

[Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

I'm not sure if this is the right place to ask this question, but I will put it anyway. If it's not relevant, then I can always raise it again in another forum.

We are discussing the situation of employees of Parliament. I believe this falls within the budget and decisions can be made. I don't know if you are the one who makes these decisions.

Consider, for example, the employees of the parliamentary restaurant on the sixth floor. I know that staff does not always have access to this facility when they want. When Parliament shuts down, so too does the restaurant. Should we not consider the idea of keeping the restaurant open even when Parliament is not in session, so that Hill employees can access this facility? That way, they could enjoy the restaurant and pay for their meals just like anyone else. At the same time, it would solve the problem of having to lay the staff off when Parliament is not in session.

I'd like to know if this option could be explored. I'm not asking you to decide right away, but merely to consider the idea. Maybe this would be one way of helping the Hill restaurant workers. If the restaurant stayed open, all staff could use the facility.

[Audrey O'Brien]

To answer Mr. Godin's question, through you, Mr. Chairman, I appreciate that Members are very concerned about Hill workers, and they appreciate that concern, especially the restaurant staff who don't necessarily work part time, but rather for set periods of time, as you pointed out.

Obviously, we are exploring all kinds of options to ease their situation. For example, with the holidays fast approaching, the restaurant will remain open with a special buffet offering, and all employees can make reservations and dine at the restaurant with their colleagues, family or friends.

We would certainly be prepared to revisit the situation, to see if circumstances have changed. However, when we did consider this solution in the past, a problem arose. The shortfall that would be incurred would be unacceptable, given the efforts being made pretty much across the board to save money and operate more efficiently.

During the holiday season, many people will be around and the restaurant will probably be full. However, if the restaurant stays open during the summer when the House recesses for a fairly long period of time, then it will probably be empty.

[Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

Do we know that for a fact, or are these merely assumptions?

[Audrey O'Brien]

We haven't attempted to keep the restaurant open, for one very simple reason: at the time, there was every indication that it would not result in any major changes for the workers. Also, we would have been in an embarrassing position, given the restaurant's economic situation.

In any event, Mr. Godin, we will certainly revisit the situation of these workers. As I said, we have to consider many different things. When we return to discuss our main estimates, we will probably be able to discuss some specifics with you.

[Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Joe Preston]

We'll have Mr. Proulx first.

[Marcel Proulx, Liberal, Hull—Aylmer, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Before I put my questions, I would like to ask you this, Ms. O'Brien. When you check into this, could you possibly take into consideration the potential number of tourists during the summer months? Many tourists visit Parliament.

[Audrey O'Brien]

Yes, but with tourists, there is security to consider.