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
or BOIE as it鈥檚 often referred to on the Hill, is the governing body of the House. It governs MPs鈥� 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鈥檚 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.
鈥淲e will end the secrecy surrounding the Board of Internal Economy,鈥� the Liberal platform said. 鈥淓xcept in rare cases requiring confidentiality, meetings of this group will be open to the public.鈥�
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鈥檚 transpired.
Under its new rules, the committee still has the ability to hold closed-door meetings if the topic they are discussing relates to 鈥渟ecurity, employment, staff relations or tenders,鈥� 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
