Procedure and House Affairs committee  We received the production order from this committee. The way we read the order is that the House administration is considered a department, so we are to apply the principles that were set out in the order respecting redactions. If the committee wants to provide further clarification on the production order, we'd be happy to implement the production order as adopted by the committee.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Sir, respectfully, when committees adopt production orders, we have to interpret them. When we read the order, the way it was written.... It's not unusual in an act of Parliament that the House of Commons is deemed to be a department for a very specific purpose, but in general and because of the separation of powers, very clearly the House of Commons is not a department.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Thank you for your question. I'm going to cover the parliamentary privilege aspect. Then my colleagues can provide you with more details on the mandate of the House of Commons Administration as it pertains to our IT infrastructure. With respect to parliamentary privilege, the Speaker of the House of Commons acknowledged the situation in that decision.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  This will depend on the circumstances. You're correct that there's no major ruling addressing the issue. If it's an exhaustive reproduction of parliamentary proceedings, there will be a common law protection that will apply. It will be an absolute protection. If it's only an abstract of the proceedings that are republished, that will depend on the circumstances and the intention of the person who did the replication.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I alluded earlier to the absolute common law protections for the publishing of the entire proceedings of the House, which is based on the public interest. It's the fact that people have a public interest to know what is taking place in Parliament and in committee. It's the same thing for when it's an abstract or partial reproduction.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  The various instruments you refer to, the Criminal Code, libel and slander, have specific thresholds. Those thresholds that are applicable will not be the same as the one that will apply to harassment. The threshold for harassment in the workplace will be different. You first will meet the threshold for harassment, then civil liability and then criminal liability.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  With respect to the swords, we haven't taken any measurements recently.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  You alluded to some definition of harassment and examples. The definitions you alluded to are in the labour code, and these were examples. Regarding the code of conduct, sexual harassment or general harassment, members may want to start from the existing definition of harassment, which is applicable in the federal workplace, and adjust it to the savour of Parliament, because there is a unique component to Parliament as a workplace, the House of Commons.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Until changes to the labour code in 2019, which came into force a year or two years later through what was known as Bill C-65, which made applicable amendments to what we call PESRA, the Parliamentary Employment and Staff Relations Act, prior to these amendments the health and safety provisions of the labour code were not applicable to Parliament as a workplace.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Provincial labour codes will not apply to federal entities. They are subject to federal legislation. That's why amendments were made to PESRA and then to the labour code to make it applicable to parliamentary employers. The provincial labour codes are not applicable.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  The changes that were made to the legislation in 2019 made applicable part II of the Canada Labour Code almost in its entirety, with some minor adjustments, to Parliament as a workplace and to our parliamentary employers, including members.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Currently, there are no House instruments that govern this relationship. The code of conduct on sexual harassment is limited to sexual harassment, as its title indicates, and the policy does not apply to member-to-member conduct. Of course, if what is posted on social media reaches a certain threshold of criminal harassment, it will be subject to the Criminal Code.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Currently, there is no House policy or code of conduct that will address such behaviour.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  The process described by Mr. Janse would apply if the committee were to recommend changes to the code of conduct on sexual harassment, which falls under this committee's mandate. It can, therefore, ultimately present its recommendations on the matter to the House. The last time, it was felt that a subcommittee was a more appropriate forum for this kind of a discussion.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I know that the code of conduct for members of the House of Commons currently applies to sexual harassment. It would be very tempting to say that we will simply remove the words “sexual” and “sex” wherever they appear in the code and that this will solve the problem. However, that would only be the beginning of the work.