Keep it short, please.
Evidence of meeting #7 for Library of Parliament in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was staff.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Evidence of meeting #7 for Library of Parliament in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was staff.
A recording is available from Parliament.
1:05 p.m.
Parliamentary Librarian, Library of Parliament
—on the Hill, our bigger problem is presenteeism, rather than sick leave. I cannot tell you the level of dedication of the library staff to be there for you when you are here, no matter how awful they are feeling. Sometimes, we have to tell them, “You must stay home,” because they want to be here for you.
While I don't have the numbers, and I'm happy to come back to you with that, I think the level of dedication of the library staff is extraordinary, and I'm extremely proud of the fact that they make themselves available to you at every opportunity.
1:05 p.m.
Liberal
The Joint Chair Liberal Gagan Sikand
Thank you, Ms. Lank. We certainly do appreciate your services, and those who serve us at the library.
Mr. Iacono, you have the floor for five minutes.
1:05 p.m.
Liberal
Angelo Iacono Liberal Alfred-Pellan, QC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
In 2017-18, the research and analysis services and business support services had lower expenditures than planned. Why were the actual expenditures for these services lower than expected?
1:05 p.m.
Parliamentary Librarian, Library of Parliament
You missed the previous question. I think that you'll recall, Mr. Iacono, the substantial increase in the library's budget, which amounted to $5 million. This increase included $4 million for research services and $1 million for collections.
Change takes time, because the necessary networks must be established. Even though we had more money to invest in research, we weren't yet able to launch staffing processes and hire people to serve you. We needed time. So it's simply a gap between the budget and the staffing processes.
1:10 p.m.
Liberal
Angelo Iacono Liberal Alfred-Pellan, QC
Okay.
You said that you must now serve two separate spaces, whereas before everything was under one roof. I know that the House of Commons has a boutique. Does the Senate have a boutique?
1:10 p.m.
Parliamentary Librarian, Library of Parliament
Thank you for your question, Mr. Iacono.
Unfortunately, it doesn't have a boutique. There has been a great deal of discussion on this issue. However, the space available in the new Senate building is very limited, and we haven't been able to find a place to set up a boutique.
1:10 p.m.
Liberal
Angelo Iacono Liberal Alfred-Pellan, QC
My next questions will focus on the current performance of the boutique in relation to the previous performance.
Have product sales increased? Have you noticed a difference?
1:10 p.m.
Parliamentary Librarian, Library of Parliament
Thank you for your question, Mr. Iacono.
We're still in transition. The fact that we haven't yet gone through a summer tourist season in the West Block and Senate building explains the significant decrease in the number of tourists since the move.
Sales have decreased slightly, but we now hope for an increase in these figures as summer approaches. However, we need to work on communications and marketing. In addition, people aren't yet familiar with the new building and are wondering where to find the boutique and what they can purchase there. We're considering providing online access to the boutique so that people can shop from their office or iPads. We also have plans for the Senate building, where we could open a pop-up boutique, despite the lack of space. We're looking for ways to increase our sales.
1:10 p.m.
Liberal
Angelo Iacono Liberal Alfred-Pellan, QC
One way or another, the performance of your store helps you cover your expenses.
1:10 p.m.
Liberal
Angelo Iacono Liberal Alfred-Pellan, QC
Could you capitalize a little more on the boutique?
You have a much larger space than before. Could you change the items that you sell?
Not long ago, I went into the boutique. To be honest, I didn't see many items that appealed to me. Perhaps it would be necessary to change the products.
You could make this change by involving the members of Parliament. In their provinces, there may be items that are labelled “Canada” and that are made by someone from the province. That way, tourists would have the opportunity to purchase items from different parts of Canada.
We would need to receive an email from you, which we could then forward on your behalf. In the email, you would introduce the West Block and the items in the boutique. We all have constituents who visit Ottawa. Sometimes, we don't know that they're visiting or we hear about their visit after the fact. We could make posters and advertisements for you to inform people about what they can expect to find.
For example, if I travel to Italy, I'll do a Google search.
What is the hot tourist item to buy at this point? It's exactly the same thing I'm trying to bring here.
Why not sell products that are very popular with tourists who come from around the world? It would be necessary to have items that are much more popular than the current items. That way, you would perform better. First, the boutique would pay for itself, and second, the revenues from the boutique would help you pay for other things. I think that the boutique's revenues should be maximized.
It would also be useful to consider setting up a boutique at the Senate to cater to visitors. All visitors must be given the opportunity to purchase a souvenir.
1:15 p.m.
Liberal
Angelo Iacono Liberal Alfred-Pellan, QC
I want to finish my point.
Some people will visit the West Block and then visit the Senate. They figure that they'll purchase souvenirs at the Senate. However, they then realize that the Senate doesn't have a boutique.
1:15 p.m.
Parliamentary Librarian, Library of Parliament
Yes. That's very important and useful. Thank you.
1:15 p.m.
Liberal
1:15 p.m.
Liberal
Angelo Iacono Liberal Alfred-Pellan, QC
You said that the sales were affected by tourism. The report would show us the result linked to summer tourism.
1:15 p.m.
Liberal
1:15 p.m.
Conservative
Jim Eglinski Conservative Yellowhead, AB
I'll come back to the 3.9% increase over the 2018-19 main estimates. Is that 3.9% what you were referring to in the latter half of page 5, and page 6, of your report? The library requested $1.3 million, and an increase in program funding of $843,000. The second allocation is $463,000.
Is that where the $3.9 million is coming in?
1:15 p.m.
Conservative
Jim Eglinski Conservative Yellowhead, AB
My math might be a little off, but I seem to be shy about a million dollars here somewhere. My quick figures for 3.9% of $49 million was about $3 million, and I figure we've got about $2 million here. I'm wondering where the other $1 million is that I'm missing in my quick calculations.
1:15 p.m.
Parliamentary Librarian, Library of Parliament
Is it possible, Mr. Eglinski, that it's the $1 million for the boutique that you didn't take into account? You'll see a line there, in the mains, with respect to one—