Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Good afternoon, members of the committee.
I'm here today with Richard Denis, deputy law clerk, and Mark Watters, chief financial officer, in response to the committee's request for a technical briefing with respect to the Board of Internal Economy's recent decision on certain large-volume mailings.
Before I yield the floor to Mr. Denis, I think it's important that I address you, in my capacity as interim secretary of the Board of Internal Economy, so as to clarify the parametres which govern the information we can give the committee with respect to the board's decisions.
As members of the committee know, the proceedings of the board are confidential. Just as board members swear an oath of confidentiality in order to carry out their duties, employees of the House administration who support the board are bound by the conflict of interest policy that precludes us from communicating information obtained as a result of our employment that is not available to the public.
Consequently, the deputy law clerk will be able to comment the technical aspects of the board's decision that have already been made public. He will be able to describe for the members of the committee the administrative rules involved in this matter. He will be able to explain the differences between the responsibilities of the board and those of your committee. He may also describe the authority the board has to require that funds be paid back.
If the questions put by the members of the committee concern the technical practices with respect to the recovery of funds, Mr. Watters may answer.
With that, I will now turn the floor over to the deputy law clerk.