Board of Internal Economy
Encyclopedia
The Board of Internal Economy is the body that governs the administrative and financial policies of the House of Commons of Canada
Canadian House of Commons
The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...

. Unlike most committees of the Parliament of Canada
Parliament of Canada
The Parliament of Canada is the federal legislative branch of Canada, seated at Parliament Hill in the national capital, Ottawa. Formally, the body consists of the Canadian monarch—represented by her governor general—the Senate, and the House of Commons, each element having its own officers and...

, the Board of Internal Economy continues through prorogation
Prorogation in Canada
Prorogation is the end of a parliamentary session in the Parliament of Canada and the parliaments of its provinces and territories. It differs from a recess or adjournment, which do not end a session, and from a complete dissolution of parliament, which ends both the session and the entire...

 and dissolution
Dissolution of parliament
In parliamentary systems, a dissolution of parliament is the dispersal of a legislature at the call of an election.Usually there is a maximum length of a legislature, and a dissolution must happen before the maximum time...

. The Board is presided over by the Speaker of the House of Commons
Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons
The Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada is the presiding officer of the lower house of the Parliament of Canada and is elected at the beginning of each new parliament by fellow Members of Parliament...

.

History

The Board of Internal Economy was established in 1868, with the passage of An Act respecting the internal Economy of the House of Commons, and for other purposes.

The Chair of the Board

The Speaker of the House of Commons
Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons
The Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada is the presiding officer of the lower house of the Parliament of Canada and is elected at the beginning of each new parliament by fellow Members of Parliament...

 is the Chair of the Board of Internal Economy; the current Chair is Andrew Scheer
Andrew Scheer
Andrew Scheer is a Canadian Member of Parliament and the Speaker of the House of Commons. At the age of 32, he is the youngest person to serve in this capacity in Canadian parliamentarian history.-Early life and career:...

. The Chair is responsible for presiding over sittings of the Board, deciding on points of order, and for delivering a casting vote
Casting vote
A casting vote is a vote given to the presiding officer of a council or legislative body to resolve a deadlock and which can be exercised only when such a deadlock exists...

 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
Minister of the Crown
Minister of the Crown is the formal constitutional term used in the Commonwealth realms to describe a minister to the reigning sovereign. The term indicates that the minister serves at His/Her Majesty's pleasure, and advises the monarch, or viceroy, on how to exercise the Crown prerogatives...

, in the absence of the Speaker), and the Board would then proceed to designate one of its members as the Chair for that sitting.

Other members

The Board also has two members of Her Majesty's Privy Council for Canada
Queen's Privy Council for Canada
The Queen's Privy Council for Canada ), sometimes called Her Majesty's Privy Council for Canada or simply the Privy Council, is the full group of personal consultants to the monarch of Canada on state and constitutional affairs, though responsible government requires the sovereign or her viceroy,...

, appointed by the Governor General
Governor General of Canada
The Governor General of Canada is the federal viceregal representative of the Canadian monarch, Queen Elizabeth II...

, under Section 50(2) of the Parliament of Canada Act, to represent the Government
Government of Canada
The Government of Canada, formally Her Majesty's Government, is the system whereby the federation of Canada is administered by a common authority; in Canadian English, the term can mean either the collective set of institutions or specifically the Queen-in-Council...

. Generally speaking, members appointed to the Board from the Privy Council are simultaneously Ministers of the Crown
Minister of the Crown
Minister of the Crown is the formal constitutional term used in the Commonwealth realms to describe a minister to the reigning sovereign. The term indicates that the minister serves at His/Her Majesty's pleasure, and advises the monarch, or viceroy, on how to exercise the Crown prerogatives...

. Currently, these are the House Leader and the Whip.

The Leader of the Opposition
Leader of the Opposition (Canada)
The Leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition , or simply the Leader of the Opposition is the leader of Canada's Official Opposition, the party with the most seats in the House of Commons that is not a member of the government...

 is given an opportunity to sit on the Board under 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
Her Majesty's loyal opposition
The term Her Majesty's loyal opposition can mean:* Official Opposition * Official Opposition * Official Opposition * Official Opposition...

 on the Board.

Sections 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
Government of Canada
The Government of Canada, formally Her Majesty's Government, is the system whereby the federation of Canada is administered by a common authority; in Canadian English, the term can mean either the collective set of institutions or specifically the Queen-in-Council...

, 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.

List of members

  • Peter Van Loan
    Peter Van Loan
    Peter Van Loan, PC MP is a Canadian politician who is the Member of Parliament for the electoral district of York—Simcoe. He has been the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons since May 18, 2011, a role he previously held from 2007 to 2008.-Biography:Born in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Van...

     (Conservative), Government House Leader
    Leader of the Government in the House of Commons (Canada)
    The Leader of the government in the House of Commons , more commonly known as the Government House Leader, is the Cabinet minister responsible for planning and managing the government's legislative program in the Canadian House of Commons...

  • Gordon O'Connor
    Gordon O'Connor
    Gordon James O'Connor, is a retired Brigadier-General, businessman, lobbyist, and current Canadian Member of Parliament and the Minister of State and Chief Government Whip....

     (Conservative), Government Whip
  • Rob Merrifield
    Rob Merrifield
    Robert "Rob" Merrifield, PC, MP is a Canadian politician. He is the Member of Parliament for Yellowhead, and was the Minister of State for Transport from October 2008 to May 2011....

     (Conservative), Caucus representative
  • Thomas Mulcair
    Thomas Mulcair
    Thomas J. "Tom" Mulcair is a Canadian lawyer, university professor, and politician. He is the federal Member of Parliament for Outremont, Quebec, Canada, and currently holds a seat in the New Democratic Party of Canada...

     (NDP), Opposition House Leader
    Leader of the Opposition in the House of Commons (Canada)
    The Leader of the Official Opposition in the House of Commons, more commonly known as the Opposition House Leader, is a member of the Official Opposition, not to be confused with the Leader of the Official Opposition, but is generally a senior member of the frontbench...

  • Chris Charlton
    Chris Charlton
    Chris Charlton, MP, MA is a German-born, Canadian politician from the City of Hamilton, Ontario. As a New Democrat, she has served as the Member of Parliament for Hamilton Mountain since 2006...

     (NDP), Opposition Whip
  • Judy Foote
    Judy Foote
    Judy Foote is a Canadian politician from Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. She represented the electoral district of Grand Bank in the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly from 1996 to 2007 as a member of the Liberal Party. Foote has been the Liberal Member of Parliament for the riding of...

     (Liberal), Liberal Whip

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
Audrey O'Brien
Audrey O'Brien is the first female Clerk of the Canadian House of Commons. Appointed in 2005, the Clerk of the House is a Governor-in-Council nomination and is the most senior public servant of the administration of the House of Commons.- External links :*...

.
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