OTTAWA -- The historically secretive board of MPs that oversees the workings of the House of Commons is holding its first open door meeting on Parliament Hill Thursday.
The meeting begins at 11:15 a.m. ET and you can watch it live here on CTVNews.ca
The Board of Internal Economy, or BOIE as it’s often referred to on the Hill, is the governing body of the House. It governs MPs’ spending, approves House budgets, manages employment and other House administration matters.
Agenda items for Thursday's meeting include: the long-term vision plan for the parliamentary precinct, the 2017-1018 Supplementary Estimates and the appointment of a spokesperson.
The board’s switch to holding public meetings was a campaign promise from the Liberals. It came into law as part of the 2017 federal budget bill, which passed in June.
“We will end the secrecy surrounding the Board of Internal Economy,” the Liberal platform said. “Except in rare cases requiring confidentiality, meetings of this group will be open to the public.”
The Board typically meets every month, when the House of Commons is sitting.
It has a long history of holding its meetings behind closed doors, with its members being limited in what they can discuss beyond its closed doors, and the minutes of past meetings consistently offer little detail as to what’s transpired.
Under its new rules, the committee still has the ability to hold closed-door meetings if the topic they are discussing relates to “security, employment, staff relations or tenders,” according to the legislation, but will be open by default.
The Board is chaired by Speaker of the House of Commons Geoff Regan. There are six other members: three Liberal MPs, two Conservative MPs, and one New Democrat.
The current membership of the Board is:
- Government House Leader Bardish Chagger
- Chief Government Whip Pablo Rodriguez
- Fisheries Minister Dominic LeBlanc
- Conservative House Leader Candice Bergen
- Conservative Whip Mark Strahl
- NDP House Leader Murray Rankin
