Procedure and House Affairs Committee on April 18th, 2013

[The Chair, Conservative, Joe Preston]

Thank you very much.

Mr. Menegakis.

[Andrew Scheer, Conservative, Regina—Qu'Appelle, SK]

Sorry, Madame O'Brien would like to come back to a previous question.

[The Chair, Conservative, Joe Preston]

Please.

[Audrey O'Brien]

My apologies for breaking in here, Mr. Chair, but the deputy clerk has just handed me a note.

To answer Ms. Turmel's question concerning the Université du Québec en Outaouais, I regret to say that there are no pages from that university this year.

[Nycole Turmel, NDP, Hull—Aylmer, QC]

But it is nevertheless open to them.

[Audrey O'Brien]

Yes.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Joe Preston]

Mr. Menegakis.

[Costas Menegakis, Conservative, Richmond Hill, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I too want to thank our Speaker, Madam O'Brien, and Mr. Watters for being here with us today. I want to also commend you for the leadership role you're showing in doing the best you can to assist with cost reductions in pertinent areas, and also for your focus on the page program and the guide program, I might add, which are very important services to the public here.

My question is not going to speak to reductions. In light of the very horrific and tragic events that transpired on Monday in Boston—and I see our Sergeant-at-Arms is here with us today, and being very cognizant of the important role he has with his team to ensure the security of the facility and of course the security of not only parliamentarians and senators but the public here—I wonder if you're satisfied with the level of security here or if you are considering in any way a review of that process to ensure even tighter security for the premises and whether that would possibly include additional costs.

[Andrew Scheer, Conservative, Regina—Qu'Appelle, SK]

I certainly share your sentiments on the tragic events that happened in Boston. I can say—and it will come as no surprise—that the House of Commons, Parliament in general, has unique security challenges as well as threat assessments. Being a high-traffic area where members of the public are encouraged to come and visit, we want to maintain that openness to Canadians while at the same time providing the security you would expect for a head of government and elected representatives.

It's something that is constantly monitored. Without, obviously, going into detail about security postures and things like that, I can say that all of the House administration, the Sergeant-at-Arms, the Board of Internal Economy, and I are often seized with security questions and with questions regarding how to enhance the protection of the buildings while at the same time making this a place that's welcoming to Canadians.

[Costas Menegakis, Conservative, Richmond Hill, ON]

I didn't want my question to be misconstrued in any way. I happen to think and believe that the security staff does an exemplary job here on the premises, but in light of what transpired on Monday, I thought I would ask that question.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Joe Preston]

Madame Latendresse.

[Alexandrine Latendresse, NDP, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Mr. Menegakis' question reminds me of a topic we often discuss when you are here, which is where we stand on the idea of merging the various security services and the possibility of cutting certain expenses.

[Andrew Scheer, Conservative, Regina—Qu'Appelle, SK]

You are correct. That was pointed out by the Auditor General. It was a recommendation. The Board of Internal Economy is considering working with the Senate to achieve that objective. As for setting a date, I cannot give you a specific answer, but I can tell you that regular meetings are being held and that both Houses are putting a great deal of effort into this matter.

[Alexandrine Latendresse, NDP, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

My next question concerns a memorandum that was recently sent, stating that second-language courses would no longer be paid for by the House of Commons but rather by the members' offices. In other words, those offices will have to pay the cost of all second-language courses offered to House of Commons' employees. We also learned that that change had not been applied to the Senate. Consequently, the Senate will continue to pay those expenses, whereas we in the House of Commons will now have to draw on our budgets to pay for second-language courses. However, our budgets are also used to pay the expenses associated with our riding offices and a host of other things.

Have any savings really been achieved in this way? This is somewhat unfortunate because we would like to encourage as many employees of the House of Commons as possible to take second-language courses. I believe this measure could have the effect of reducing the number of courses given. Budgets can be very tight at the end of the fiscal year. They are used to cover so many expenses. I would like to hear your comments on the subject.

[Andrew Scheer, Conservative, Regina—Qu'Appelle, SK]

Reductions are of course being made to the House administration. I cannot comment on the impact that will have on members because it is a recent decision. However, I can say that the process for identifying the reductions was very difficult. The Board of Internal Economy considered many factors. Decisions were made to reduce certain types of expenses and not others. A lot of factors are involved in this process. It is difficult to consider any one factor in isolation because many other aspects are affected by this decision.

[Alexandrine Latendresse, NDP, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Nathan, do you want to ask a question?

[Nathan Cullen, NDP, Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC]

I don't know if it was in your statements earlier, but with the changes, particularly to the language programs, what kind of review process will there be in terms of the impacts if we're seeing a significant drop-off? We all seek to follow the government guidelines on reducing expenditures, but the ability of MPs to become better at their second language is an important one—a principle that we also hold—and we're seeking not to have unintended consequences, I suppose is the term I'm looking for.

How will the board or your administration seek to make sure the changes to the way we handle language training don't have a significant impact on the House's ability to communicate in both official languages?

[Andrew Scheer, Conservative, Regina—Qu'Appelle, SK]

That's a very good question. I can tell you specifically for this one, because it has been raised before.... In every area that the House administration or the board has made significant changes in policy, there is a monitoring to see the impacts. Information can be provided back to the board after some time has passed and the data is available, to show the impact of that decision. Then it's up to the board to decide to tweak or not tweak, to determine if savings have been realized in other areas that can now alleviate the pressure that has accumulated.

As you well know, it's a complicated puzzle. There are a lot of pieces that need to shift from one area to the other. When the data is available, the board can look at everything holistically and consider whether to change it, stick with it, or try it another year. The House administration will endeavour to make every piece of information available to the board so they can make a well-informed decision.

[The Chair, Conservative, Joe Preston]

Thank you very much, Mr. Cullen.

Thank you to our witnesses today.

I think it was a fairly easy session. You see that as you cut expenditures it gets a lot easier around here.

[Andrew Scheer, Conservative, Regina—Qu'Appelle, SK]

I know how to win you over.

[The Chair, Conservative, Joe Preston]

If you don't mind, the chair is going to take the prerogative to ask you a question.

We've certainly reduced a lot of paper. I find that by using my iPad I'm also able to reduce a lot of paper.

But when will I have wireless on the House of Commons side of this place for my iPad?

[Andrew Scheer, Conservative, Regina—Qu'Appelle, SK]

As you can imagine, there are security and network security issues.

[The Chair, Conservative, Joe Preston]

I understand all that.

[Andrew Scheer, Conservative, Regina—Qu'Appelle, SK]

Not being as adept with electronics as I used to be, I might ask my—

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Beauséjour, NB]

[Inaudible—Editor]