September 22, 2015
The
Management Commission met at approximately 10:28 a.m. in the House of Assembly
Chamber.
MR. SPEAKER (Verge):
I would like to welcome members of the Commission here for this meeting on
Tuesday, September 22, which began at 9:00 a.m. with an in camera session.
I will
ask members if they would take a minute to introduce themselves.
I will start with myself; I am Wade Verge, the Member for Lewisporte
district and Chair of the Commission.
MR. HUTCHINGS:
Keith Hutchings, MHA,
Ferryland.
MR. A. PARSONS:
Andrew Parsons, MHA, Burgeo –
La Poile.
MS MICHAEL:
Lorraine Michael, MHA, Signal
Hill – Quidi Vidi.
MR. LITTLEJOHN:
Glenn Littlejohn, MHA, Port
de Grave.
MS KEEFE:
Marie Keefe, Clerk's Office.
MS MERCER:
Wanda Lee Mercer, Chief
Financial Officer.
MR. SPEAKER:
Thank you very much.
The
meeting started at 9:00 a.m. with an in camera session.
There were two matters that we considered in camera and I will report the
decisions accordingly. The
Commission, in camera, in decision one, directed that its solicitors take action
to pursue payment of the cost as ordered by the court decision respecting Fraser
March. In the second matter, we
considered at length a personnel matter, but there was no decision made at this
time.
We will
now move into the official business.
First, in Tab 2, we have minutes from previous meetings: March 31, 2015; May 26,
2015; and June 8, 2015. I would
entertain a motion, separately, for each one, that these minutes be adopted.
Ms
Michael, moving that the minutes for March 31 meeting be adopted; seconded by
Mr. Parsons.
All
those in favour?
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Aye.
MR. SPEAKER:
Contra-minded?
Carried.
On
motion, minutes adopted as circulated.
MR. SPEAKER:
Second, moving the minutes of
the May 26, 2015 motion be adopted.
Moved by
Mr. Hutchings; seconded by Mr. Parsons.
All
those in favour?
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Aye.
MR. SPEAKER:
Contra-minded?
Carried.
On
motion, minutes adopted as circulated.
MR. SPEAKER:
Third, a motion made that the
minutes of the June 8 meeting be adopted.
Moved by
Ms Michael; seconded by Mr. Hutchings.
All
those in favour?
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Aye.
MR. SPEAKER:
Contra-minded?
Carried.
On
motion, minutes adopted as circulated.
MR. SPEAKER:
Tab 3 is for reporting
purposes. We have reports on
authorizations that were made by the Speaker since our last meeting, and there
is no decision to be made here. I do
not know if there are any questions.
Seeing
none, we move to Tab 4. In Tab 4 we
have some financial information that is being dispersed.
Again, there is no decision; it is for reporting purposes.
The House of Assembly Accountability, Integrity and Administration Act
requires that information be reported to the Commission on a regular basis, and
this agenda item, as I have said, is for reporting purposes only.
There
are two sets of financial statements provided in your briefing package for the
House of Assembly service, caucus offices, and for the statutory offices.
The Member Accountability and Disclosure Reports outlining expenditures
for each member are also provided for each period.
The first statements are for the fiscal year April 1, 2014 to March 31,
2015 and the second statements are for April 1, 2015 up to June 30, 2015.
Any
questions or comments?
Seeing
none, we move to Tab 5, which is the report of the Audit Committee.
Section 23 of the House of Assembly Accountability, Integrity and
Administration Act requires that the Audit Committee provide reports to the
Commission with respect to its activities.
This report is the eighth report of the Audit Committee, and it is also
provided for reporting purposes only.
Does
anybody or any member of the Committee wish to speak to it?
Mr.
Parsons.
MR. A. PARSONS:
As a member of the Audit
Committee, I think the report speaks for itself.
MR. SPEAKER:
Okay.
Ms
Michael.
MS MICHAEL:
Mr. Speaker, not to that, but
if I might, I would like to come back to Tab 4 with one point I would like to
make.
MR. SPEAKER:
Yes.
MS MICHAEL:
It has to do with the
Statement of Revenue and Expenditure for the Office of the Auditor General,
2.1.02. There are four footnotes
noted but we do not have the information on the footnotes.
It is just for a full report it would be good for us to have the
footnotes put in.
MR. SPEAKER:
Wanda Lee, can you speak to
that?
MS MERCER:
Which –
MS MICHAEL:
Subhead 2.1.02 indicates four
footnotes and so does 2.1.0.3, but 2.1.03 has five and they are in there.
They are explained, but in 2.1.02 the explanation for the footnotes is
not included on the page.
MS MERCER:
Yes, it must have been a printing issue when the explanation was printed.
MS MICHAEL:
Yes, but for the record I
think it needs –
MS MERCER:
We can bring those back to the Commission with the explanations.
MS MICHAEL:
Yes, thank you.
I am
sorry, Mr. Speaker, that I missed that initially.
MR. SPEAKER:
No problem.
Moving
on with Tab 6. We do need a decision
of the Commission here. The House of
Assembly, under section 23(7)(b) of the House of Assembly Accountability,
Integrity and Administration Act, requires that the Audit Committee would make
recommendations to the Commission with respect to the choice and terms of the
auditor appointed under section 43 of the act.
As per
the letter from the Audit Committee included in your briefing package, the
Committee has recommended that the Auditor General be appointed to be the
auditor for the House of Assembly and Statutory Offices for the fiscal year
ending March 31, 2016.
Would
someone like to make a motion that the Auditor General be appointed as the
auditor?
Moved by
Ms Michael; seconded by Mr. Hutchings.
All
those in favour, 'aye.'
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Aye.
MR. SPEAKER:
Contra-minded.
Carried.
Under
Tab 7, again, there are two sets of audited financial information for the
Commission's review. The first are
the statements for the House of Assembly and its statutory offices.
These must be signed on air.
The
financial statements for the House of Assembly for the year ending March 31,
2015, were prepared by the Auditor General and they were also reviewed by the
Audit Committee. The Audit Committee
has recommended acceptance of the statements by the Commission.
The
proposed motion is that the Commission approves the audited financial
information for April 1, 2014 to March 31, 2015 for the House of Assembly and
its statutory offices as recommended by the Audit Committee.
Is there
any member prepared to make that motion?
Moved by
Ms Michael; seconded by Mr. Parsons.
All
those in favour, 'aye.'
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Aye.
MR. SPEAKER:
Contra-minded, 'nay'.
Carried.
We will
take a minute to sign this. I have
to sign, and one other member. Mr.
Hutchings, thank you. It is
completed.
The
other financial report is – this is just a reporting requirement.
The financial statements of the Office of the Auditor General must be
submitted to the Management Commission.
The statement in your briefing material is that financial information for
the Office of the Auditor General for the fiscal year which ended March 31,
2015, prepared by an independent auditor for the Office of the Auditor General.
Are
there any questions or comments on that?
Seeing
none, we will go to Tab 8, which is again a reporting requirement that one of
these – is that annually each of our caucuses, the Speaker's Office, and any
independent members must file a report on the expenditures that arise out of the
Caucus Operational Funding. That
report is contained in your materials.
Is there
any comment or question?
Seeing
none, we will go to Tab 9. If you
recall, February 24, 2015, there were recommendations of the Audit Committee
with respect to the Caucus Operational Funding Policy.
They were brought up to the Management Commission for consideration.
The details of the recommendations are in your briefing package.
At that
meeting, the Commission directed House officials to draft amendments to the
policy that would accurately reflect the recommendations that were contained in
the revised policy, and that these be brought back for a future meeting for the
Commission to consider and approve.
Details of the revisions and the revised draft policy are included in your
package and we would need a motion to approve the proposed revisions.
The
motion would read: Pursuant to subparagraph 20(6)(b)(ii) of the House of
Assembly Accountability, Integrity and Administration Act, the Commission
approves the revised Caucus Operational Funding Grants Policy.
Moved by
Mr. Parsons; seconded by Ms Michael.
All
those in favour, 'aye.'
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Aye.
MR. SPEAKER:
Contra-minded.
Carried.
That
concludes our business. Could I have
a motion for adjournment?
Moved by
Mr. Parsons; seconded by Ms Michael.
All
those in favour, 'aye.'
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Aye.
MR. SPEAKER:
Contra-minded.
Carried.
Thank
you, ladies and gentlemen.
On
motion, meeting adjourned.