Board of Internal Economy

The Board of Internal Economy ( _fr. Bureau de régie interne) is the body that governs the administrative and financial policies of the House of Commons of Canada. Unlike most committees of the Parliament of Canada, the Board of Internal Economy continues through prorogation and dissolution. The Board is presided over by the Speaker of the House of Commons.

Membership of the Board

The Chair of the Board

The Speaker of the House of Commons becomes the Chair of the Board of Internal Economy; the current Chair is Peter Milliken, a Liberal Member of Parliament for Kingston and the Islands. The Chair is responsible for presiding over sittings of the Board, deciding on points of order, and for delivering a casting vote wherever a question before the Board cannot be decided. The Chair is counted when discerning the presence of a quorum.

The Chair is established by Section 50(1) of the "Parliament of Canada Act".

: 50. (1) There shall be a Board of Internal Economy of the House of Commons, in this section and sections 51 to 53 referred to as "the Board", over which the Speaker of the House of Commons shall preside.

In the event of the death, incapacity or unavoidable absence of the Speaker, then five members of the Board would constitute a quorum (one of whom would need to be a Minister of the Crown, in the absence of the Speaker), and the Board would then proceed to designate one of its members as the Chair for that sitting.

The Secretary to the Board

The Secretary to the Board is responsible for recording the results of questions put to the Board, and for responding to the requests of the Chair for clarification regarding parliamentary procedure and regulations; he or she also records the minutes of the sittings. In addition to this role, as the chief executive of House administration, the Secretary to the Board is the officer responsible for carrying out and enforcing the decisions of the Board in the name of the Speaker. As per Section 51 of the "Parliament of Canada Act", the Clerk of the House of Commons serves as the Secretary to the Board. The current Secretary is Audrey O'Brien.

Privy Councillors on the Board

The Board is also comprised of two members of Her Majesty's Privy Council for Canada, to be appointed to the Board by the Governor General, as per Section 50(2) of the "Parliament of Canada Act", to represent the Government of Canada on the Board. Generally speaking, members appointed to the Board from the Privy Council are simultaneously Ministers of the Crown.

The current members of the board so appointed are the Honourable Jay Hill, PC, Chief Government Whip, and the Honourable Peter Van Loan, PC, the Government House Leader and Minister for Democratic Reform — both of whom are members of the Conservative Party of Canada.

Leader of the Opposition on the Board

The Leader of the Opposition is given an opportunity to sit on the Board, as per Section 50(2) of the "Parliament of Canada Act"; however, in modern times, the workload of the Opposition Leader necessitates the appointment of another member of the Opposition to represent Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition on the Board.

The current representative of the Leader of the Opposition on the Board is Michael Ignatieff, Member for Etobicoke-Lakeshore and Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada).

Additional Members of the Board

Section 50(2)(a) and 50(2)(b) provide for the appointment of several additional members to the Board of Internal Economy, to represent the other recognized parties in the House of Commons (a recognized party is any with at least twelve seats in the House). If there is only one recognized party in opposition to the Government, then that party receives two representatives, and the Government receives one. If there are multiple recognized parties in opposition, then each party receives one representative, and the Government may appoint a number of members one less than the total number appointed by those parties.

The current members of the Board who were appointed according to this practice, in the current membership, are: for the Conservative Party of Canada, James Moore, MP for Port Moody-Westwood-Port Coquitlam, Joe Preston, MP for Elgin—Middlesex—London); for the Liberal Party of Canada, the Honourable Karen Redman, PC, MP for Kitchener Centre and the Chief Opposition Whip); for the Bloc Québécois, Michel Guimond, MP for Montmorency—Charlevoix—Haute-Côte-Nord and Whip] for the Bloc Québécois); and for the New Democratic Party, Libby Davies, MP for Vancouver East and House Leader for the New Democratic Party).