Procedure and House Affairs committee  We hadn't sought an increase in the actual.... We fund the travel for MPs on an actual basis and we've been cash-managing that now for a good number of years. The kinds of increases that have occurred because of taxes and surtaxes for fuels and this, that, and the other thing haven't been in our base budget.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Mr. Albrecht, I think you are correct that there are restrictions on the number of staff, because we have the number of staff that we've found appropriate to handle the average number of requests for teleconferencing. It's unusual to have a situation in which there is more demand for teleconferencing than we have staff to handle it, so I don't think that's proved to be a problem.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I'd have to check. I would hesitate to say “never”, but it's unlikely to have been a regular issue, because it would be something we would have had to address.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  That is basically a way for people to put forward their CVs and to apply for jobs online. It allows us to use the online information to do a triage for the people who will move on to the next stage. One of the things we've found, as the Speaker mentioned in his opening remarks, is that we have a growing number of applications for any kind of position that comes open, so we need to use the technology that is available in order to be able to work smarter to get through these hundreds of applicants and cull those that we want to keep through the various stages of the selection and competitive process.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Oh, no. I'm sorry. I thought you were talking about the televising.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  As you say, we have the two rooms set up for televising committees. We realize there is pressure on the use of those rooms. Over time, one of the problems we're facing is that with the long-term vision and plan and all the renovations that are being planned for new committee rooms, that is likely to be in the mix.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Two are permanently set up for it.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  The teleconferencing is in the new rooms—for example, at 1 Rideau. We have set up the meetings to allow for teleconferencing, because that's one of the ways in which we think technology can assist committees in having access to witnesses across the country without incurring either the time or expense involved in travel.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  The timing now for new or expanded services is probably not the best.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  That's right.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  We have an agreement with Library and Archives Canada, but the entire broadcast, gavel to gavel, is not retained automatically. There's selectivity, because you end up with too much. I think digitization is going to help that, but we have to see.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Arguably we're kind of in the best of both worlds, because we basically control the members—that is to say, the House controls the guidelines under which the broadcasting is actually done. Then CPAC and the consortium look after the distribution, which is the really big and tricky thing.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  We'll certainly look at that and see how we can improve things, because obviously everything you say is quite true about Fridays. Many members have left for their ridings.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I'll certainly do that, because it's a concern, and I can see where it would be practical to know about the cameras.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  This can occur, for instance, during the 30-minute period following a time allocation motion. A very quick question may be asked, followed by a brief answer, and then back. So, there is no time, really, to simply cover the member who is speaking. That is where you would use a wider shot.