The committee met at 11:06 a.m.

[B. D’Eith in the chair.]

B. D’Eith (Chair): I’d like to call the Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services to order on Thursday, December 21, 2017. The agenda today is the Elections B.C. 2017-2018 supplementary funding request.

Dr. Archer, did you want to, please, give us a summary of the request?

Supplementary Funding Requests

ELECTIONS B.C.

K. Archer: Sure. Thanks very much, Mr. Chair.

The request follows the passage of Bill 3 in the Legislature this past session. That bill provides for a public subsidy for parties that have received a certain amount of votes in an election. The criteria are that the party must have received at least 2 percent of valid votes in all electoral districts or 5 percent of valid votes in the electoral districts in which the party endorsed candidates.

Based upon those criteria, we conducted an assessment of the votes received by all parties in the last provincial general election and then multiplied those votes by the public subsidy of $2.50 per vote for 2018. The legislation establishes that the subsidy will be provided in two payments. So 50 percent is due on January 1, and 50 percent is due on July 1.

Based upon the votes received by the parties, three parties qualify for a subsidy for 2018. Those parties are the B.C. Green Party, the B.C. Liberal Party and the B.C. New Democratic Party. I can give you the total funding that the parties are eligible to receive as a public subsidy for 2018. Plus, I will provide the funding that the parties are due to receive on January 1, although the transfer will actually take place on January 2.

For the B.C. Green Party, the subsidy is $830,967.50 for 2018, and the amount due on January 1 is $415,483.75. For the B.C. Liberal Party, the total subsidy for 2018 is $1,991,930, and the amount due on January 1 is $995,965. For the B.C. New Democratic Party, the total due for 2018 is $1,987,765, and the amount due on January 1 is $993,882.50.

[11:10 a.m.]

The total amount that is to be provided to those parties in the public subsidy in 2018 is $4,810,662.50, and the amount due on January 1 is $2,405,331.25. That’s the total amount of the supplementary request that we are requesting at this time.

B. D’Eith (Chair): Great. Well, thank you very much, Dr. Archer.

Are there any questions for the Chief Electoral Officer?

Hearing none, I want to thank you very much, Dr. Archer, for your presentation.

Kate, if you concur with this, we would ask Dr. Archer to leave the phone call now, and then we would go in camera.

K. Ryan-Lloyd (Deputy Clerk and Clerk of Committees): Yes. May I ask a question on behalf of the committee, just for clarification? Dr. Archer outlined two global amounts, one payable for January 2018 and another that would be available to the parties later in the year. The intent of this meeting this morning is only to consider the first of those payments, if I understand correctly. It’s only intended to have the committee consider the approval of the funds required in January. I guess I’m just wondering if the other subsequent amounts required would be presented by way of another request later in 2018.

K. Archer: Yes. My office is now working on another supplementary request for all of the Bill 3 changes that require significant change in our administrative practices. Our intention is to get that letter to the committee before the end of January.

I would just note, parenthetically — and I did mention this when I met with the committee in December — that we’ll also be putting forward a supplementary funding request for the by-election for Kelowna West once that election is called.

B. D’Eith (Chair): One thing we were trying to do, if there are any supplementary funding requests, is that they come in, ideally, at the same time so that we’re not having to do ad hoc supplementary funding request meetings like this. Is there a chance that we can have one meeting with all those requests?

K. Archer: We can certainly bundle the latter two and provide the by-election requests at the same time that we are going to be providing the Bill 3 change request. I would just, I guess, note for the committee’s interest that, of course, for a by-election, we would proceed with spending for the delivery of that by-election prior to providing a letter, then, to the committee.

B. D’Eith (Chair): Presumably, there would be some other issues — for example, the salary increase for, I think, probably yourself and then also, potentially, the referendum costs in the fall. Would those, then, be the subject of other meetings or other requests? Or can they not all be dealt with at the same time?

K. Archer: Thanks for that question. We’re not sure what the specific requirements are for the referendum until the regulation is issued. So our practice has been to provide that supplementary funding request once the regulation is in hand. There could be requirements for us within the regulation that we’re not aware of, that we’re not anticipating at this point, so we want to make sure that the request that we come forward with is an accurate reflection of the government’s intentions for the conduct of the referendum.

With respect to salary adjustments, I understand that there may be an opportunity in early January for all of the independent officers to address that with the committee. I’m not sure. I think I may have to follow up with the Clerk of Committees on what the committee is seeking from us for that meeting and the timing of that.

B. D’Eith (Chair): Kate, did you have any comments on that?

[11:15 a.m.]

K. Ryan-Lloyd (Clerk of Committees): Yes. Subsequent to the release of the report by the committee on the budgets for the statutory offices, we have been trying to facilitate with the eight offices, as well as with Treasury Board and the Public Service Agency, calculations for the implementation of changes resulting from the Judicial Compensation Commission report and the subsequent motions that were adopted by the Legislative Assembly. There appears to be an opportunity to have those funded in a centralized manner, from central government. So it may not be required for the committee to grapple with those additional funds.

I’ll certainly keep everyone updated. At this point in time, we’re still working through the administrative processes, including some fairly complicated calculations. Then we will confirm with government how they’d like to have those facilitated, whether it’s by separate work considered by your committee or funded externally through Treasury Board.

B. D’Eith (Chair): Okay. That’s great.

Does anyone else have any questions for Dr. Archer?

A. Weaver: I’m just wondering why we can’t approve the July funding now, as well as the January funding, given that that cannot change based on Bill 3, which prescribes the amount — in case it, at some point down the road, ends up with another unnecessary meeting.

K. Archer: I’m assuming that the question is for the committee rather than for me. If it’s for me, my sense is that…. I agree that the amount is known, and it’s not going to change. So I guess it’s up to the committee to determine whether that additional allocation for the 2018-19 budget would be approved at this time as well.

R. Leonard: I guess the question that comes to mind with this coming July…. What is the impact of the vote in the by-election, which may happen between January and July, on this program?

K. Archer: For the by-election, there is a different element of Bill 3 which may come into play, and that’s the reimbursement of eligible campaign spending. But I think that’s separate from the party subsidy.

J. Brar: I think Dr. Archer is right. This is a committee decision. Whether we want to talk about the next what you call “payment due”…. In my view, until the 2018-19 budget is passed by the Legislature, there may be a question about that, and the committee making a determination.

A. Weaver: To respond to Jagrup, the law is the law. The law specifically states that this is what will happen based on Bill 3, which is in force now. So this cannot have an effect on the budget. It is to be included in the budget in light of the fact that the legislation has already passed. So I’m not sure why we wouldn’t want to approve it now. All that’s going to happen is we’ll have another meeting, and we’ll end up approving it because it is the law.

I’d prefer to minimize the number of meetings, in light of the fact that this number cannot and will not change. All that’s going to happen is we’ll meet again. Everyone will travel, all the expenses there, to do something that we would could do today.

B. D’Eith (Chair): Perhaps we could save that for our deliberations and for discussion. I think we have the facts now.

Are there any specific questions with regards to the presentation that Dr. Archer has made before we go in camera?

D. Ashton (Deputy Chair): I’d like to thank Mr. Archer and wish him and his family a very merry Christmas.

B. D’Eith (Chair): That’s great.

Is there anything else from the Clerk’s office before we move on?

K. Ryan-Lloyd (Clerk of Committees): No. Thank you very much.

B. D’Eith (Chair): Okay.

Yeah, I also want to echo that. Dr. Archer, have a wonderful Christmas and a happy new year. I appreciate the presentation.

K. Archer: Thanks very much. The same to you and yours. All the best.

Deliberations

B. D’Eith (Chair): I’d like to have a motion to go in camera, please.

D. Ashton (Deputy Chair): So moved.

B. D’Eith (Chair): Dan Ashton moved. Second, Ronna-Rae.

Motion approved.

The committee continued in camera from 11:20 a.m. to 11:36 a.m.

[B. D’Eith in the chair.]

Votes on Supplementary Funding

ELECTIONS B.C.

B. D’Eith (Chair): We’re now on public record.

We do have the motions. If someone could please make that first motion, I’d appreciate it.

R. Leonard: I’ll move the first motion.

B. D’Eith (Chair): The first motion is, and I’ll just read it: The committee recommends that Elections B.C. be granted access to supplementary funding up to $2,405,331 for operating expenditures in the 2017-2018 fiscal year.

If I could have a vote. Kate, what’s the best way to do the vote on the phone?

K. Ryan-Lloyd (Clerk of Committees): I would suggest that each member, having heard the motion, simply state their name and then indicate whether they’re voting in favour or against the motion.

B. D’Eith (Chair): If we could do that. Do you mind quarterbacking that, Kate? I would appreciate it.

If people can indicate, one at a time, how they vote on this motion.

Motion approved on the following division:

YEAS — 4
Brar	Dean	Leonard
	Weaver
NAYS — 3
Ashton	Milobar	Redies

K. Ryan-Lloyd (Clerk of Committees): Mr. Chair, we have four yeas and three nays. The results are four voting in favour and three against.

D. Ashton (Deputy Chair): Kate, seeing that, I would like division noted on that so that it’s on the record, please, as come forward.

K. Ryan-Lloyd (Clerk of Committees): Thank you. I will ensure the minutes reflect that.

B. D’Eith (Chair): The second motion. Could we have someone move that, please?

M. Dean: I’ll move that.

B. D’Eith (Chair): Mitzi. Second, Ronna-Rae. Okay.

The second motion is: “The Chair advise the Minister of Finance, as Chair of Treasury Board, of the recommendation adopted earlier today and that the committee’s recommendation be formally recorded and included in its next report on the annual review of statutory office budgets in 2018.”

We have a mover and a seconder. If we could, perhaps, do the same roll call, I would appreciate that, Kate.

D. Ashton (Deputy Chair): Chair, just to interject, this is going forward to the Minister of Finance, the recommendation. Is that correct?

B. D’Eith (Chair): Yes. Do you want me to read it again?

D. Ashton (Deputy Chair): Yes. You just broke up.

B. D’Eith (Chair): I’ll read it again. “The Chair advise the Minister of Finance, as Chair of Treasury Board, of the recommendation adopted earlier today and that the committee’s recommendation be formally recorded and included in its next report on the annual review of statutory office budgets in 2018.” That was the motion that was moved.

[11:40 a.m.]

Kate, do you mind doing roll call again?

Motion approved.

B. D’Eith (Chair): Is there any other business?

Kate, is there anything that you wish to add?

K. Ryan-Lloyd (Clerk of Committees): Not at this time. Thank you so much to members for your assistance and for your time today.

Mr. Chair, we have prepared, on your behalf, a letter to the Minister of Finance. We’ll share a copy of that letter with all members of the committee and expedite the sending of that today.

B. D’Eith (Chair): Hearing no more business, just before I let everyone go, please have a wonderful and safe holiday, and we will see you all in the new year.

If I could have a motion to adjourn.

M. Dean: Motion to adjourn.

D. Ashton (Deputy Chair): Mr. Chair, I would just like to follow through on your comment, wishing everybody from my family to each and every one of yours, have a wonderful, safe holiday, and I look forward to seeing everybody in early February.

B. D’Eith (Chair): Happy holidays, everyone.

The committee adjourned at 11:41 a.m.