The committee met at 1:35 p.m.

[Mr. Speaker in the chair.]

Mr. Speaker: Members, before we deal with the agenda that has been circulated, I want to talk about something that happened yesterday here in Victoria, a tragic incident. There was a robbery attempt at the Bank of Montreal, and six police officers were injured. I have found out today that those six people who were injured were all trained here in our building, at the armoury training rooms.

I want to express my sincere thanks for their service and also wish them well and a speedy recovery on behalf of all of you. It’s really sad to see that it happened yesterday in Victoria.

Approval of Agenda and Minutes

Mr. Speaker: The first item is the approval of the agenda.

Any changes to the agenda as circulated? No.

Then may I have a motion to approve the agenda as circulated.

Moved and seconded.

Motion approved.

Mr. Speaker: The second item on the agenda is the review and approval of the draft minutes of the March 30, 2022, meeting of the committee.

Any changes to the minutes of March 30? None.

Then may I have a motion to approve the minutes of March 30 as circulated.

It has been moved, seconded.

Motion approved.

Mr. Speaker: Item 3 on the agenda is an update from the Clerk.

Clerk’s Update

K. Ryan-Lloyd (Clerk of the Legislative Assembly): Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Chair, and good afternoon, committee members.

It’s been a number of months since I’ve had the opportunity to provide you with an update. My update this afternoon is a fulsome one, so I will let you know that I have a number of agenda items, or update items, to bring forward at this point in your agenda.

I’ll be introducing to you two new members of our leadership team who are joining the Legislative Assembly Management Committee proceedings for the very first time. I’ll be providing you with an update on our COVID-19 vaccination program. I’ll be providing you, as well, with a summary of some reconciliation-related initiatives which are taking place here at the Legislative Assembly. I have a brief update on our child care initiative to share with you, and then I will close touching on a new innovation from Hansard Services.

I’ll begin with an introduction of our new chief human resources officer. Daisy Jassar is joining us here and is present on your screens there. I’m delighted to welcome Daisy to the Legislative Assembly. She began her new role on May 4 and brings a significant depth of experience from across the provincial public sector.

Daisy’s most recent position was with the Ministry of Health, where she served as the executive director of the health benefits digital office by helping to lead a transformational procurement project, including changes to support improved health care services. I’m very pleased that Daisy has joined our organization as we prepare to launch our first strategic plan.

I know she will be supporting the work of the strategic plan, particularly with a focus on three major priority areas. The first is to help us with the development and implementation of a diversity equity inclusion and accessibility strategy, with an initial priority of focus on hiring and recruitment to ensure that we attract and develop a strong and diverse workforce.

Daisy is also going to be working to develop a people plan for the Legislative Assembly administration that will help focus our efforts on talent planning, acquisition, talent engagement and development, ensuring that we have the right people in the right jobs at the right time to support the execution of our strategic plan.

Daisy will also be bringing her expertise to help us incorporate the establishment of our first human resources information system, which will modernize our corporate services information systems, particularly in the area of payroll and benefits. Daisy’s background in information technology will be a strong asset in this important work.

Next I’m delighted to introduce Randy Smith, as well, joining the meeting for his first time. Randy began his new role as interim executive financial officer on June 23.

[1:40 p.m.]

Randy brings many years of experience as a leader in corporate management, finance, operational analysis, accounting, taxation and audit. Previously Randy had served as executive vice-president, chief financial officer at the B. C. Oil and Gas Commission and brings much experience leading teams and supporting them through organizational change.

In addition to the mandate letter deliverables for the EFO which will stem from our strategic plan, Randy will be focused on several high-priority deliverables, including financial stewardship. That is the first one.

As members will know, the assembly administration has had challenges with organizational underspending of our approved operating and capital budgets in recent years. Randy will be conducting a current state assessment of our forecasting practices, mid-cycle allocations, budget development process, and ongoing financial reporting to this committee and to the subcommittee on finance and audit. I look forward to his recommendations to strengthen our financial management practices, outcomes and processes in all of these areas.

I’ve also asked Randy to prioritize his work with respect to capital planning and project execution and reporting. It’s a significant area of activity at the Legislative Assembly, and I’m looking to Randy to help us identify, plan and deliver needed physical capital infrastructure projects that are essential to supporting members, employees and visitors on the precinct grounds. As part of this work, we are looking forward to working with Randy to onboard a new director of precinct services who will help to oversee this portfolio area.

Then finally, client-centred service delivery is the third priority for Randy. Certainly, providing excellent services to all of our client groups is a key priority of the strategic plan that is before you today for consideration and approval. Providing client service excellence means meeting the needs of our clients in a timely and responsive manner, and a key priority for Randy will be supporting the financial services team, who interact with hundreds of clients on a week-to-week basis.

I know his leadership and support will contribute to the clarity and consistency of interpretation and application of financial policies, particularly related to members and constituency office expenditures. He will be working closely with the financial services team to identify opportunities to address resourcing and capacity needs, strengthening policy and procedures, enhancing client service experiences and supporting the front-line financial services team in meeting positive service outcomes for their clients.

Today Randy and I are working with Speaker Chouhan to finalize two interim policy directives to address concerns that have been raised by caucuses to clarify interpretation relating to meals expense and constituency office allowances as well as MLA attendance at community events that may be ticketed. Formal policy revisions in these areas are likely to be brought forward to the subcommittee on administration and operations later in the fall. But in the interim, we’re very pleased to work together to bring forward some resolution to concerns that have been flagged.

While taking on an interim role in a new organization is not easy, I’m confident that Randy, also working closely with Manjit Bains as a key adviser, will prioritize leadership and support for the teams that he directly oversees.

At that point, I just wanted to extend a warm welcome to both Daisy and Randy as they join our assembly administration. I very much appreciate their assistance with their many responsibilities.

Mr. Speaker: Welcome, both.

K. Ryan-Lloyd (Clerk of the Legislative Assembly): Thank you, both.

I’ll also note…. With respect to the proof of COVID-19 vaccination program, I wanted to formally bring to your attention that the Legislative Assembly’s proof of vaccination program is scheduled to end tomorrow, June 30, as per a decision of your committee made in January this year. This will have an impact on public access to the Parliament Buildings and may also have some staffing impli­cations for some employee groups within our precinct community. Should members have any questions on the conclusion of the program, please do take the opportunity to raise them at today’s meeting.

I’ve also been working closely with the Speaker on a number of reconciliation-related initiatives. I wanted to take this opportunity to provide you with a bit of an overview of some of those, including a new display item here within the Parliament Buildings. A beautiful Salish blanket which has been woven from hand-spun wool is now on display in the east corridor on the first floor.

[1:45 p.m.]

The blanket is named Shwoq Well and has been woven by a renowned artist, Rena Point Bolton of the Stó:lō Nation. The blanket was acquired by the Legislative Assembly approximately four years ago, and its presence now in the hallways is a reminder of the skills and resiliency of the Salish weaving tradition and the significance of woven blankets in the social and political realms of Coast Salish societies.

The assembly administration is also working with Lək̓ʷəŋin̓əŋ Elder Dr. Elmer George on a project to incorporate Lək̓ʷəŋin̓əŋ language into our physical setting. Elder George is drafting a series of Lək̓ʷəŋin̓əŋ phrases to be incorporated into the front landscaping features of our front lawn area. The Lək̓ʷəŋin̓əŋ language project will, of course, honour the ongoing relationship of the Songhees and Esquimalt Nations to this traditional territory which is now the site of our provincial parliament buildings.

This weekend assembly staff are also partnering with Lou-ann Neel, formerly of the Royal British Columbia Museum, to support an event on the grounds that benefits the Indian Residential School Survivors Society. Members will recall that last summer there were hundreds of memorial items left on the front steps of the Parliament Buildings which were all carefully removed by the fall and washed and repackaged. We will be working with Lou-ann and community members to redistribute those items to participants in organizations during the event this weekend. I’m very grateful to Lou-ann and to the reconciliation working group for their work in support of that event.

The reconciliation working group is also working towards sharing a discussion paper in the weeks ahead. The paper is designed to provide internal guidance to the assembly administration as we begin our reconciliation work, guided by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s calls to action and the United Nations declaration on the rights of Indigenous peoples.

The discussion paper outlines some key areas of action for the administration, including providing ongoing professional development support and learning opportunities for our assembly community; developing land acknowledgment guidance with respect to any events that are taking place here on the precinct grounds; working to facilitate any capital projects centred on language and cultural revitalization; facilitating the design and construction of a memorial to the residential school survivors and those who have been lost; and also supporting the Speaker in establishing a reconciliation vision for the Legislative Assembly and building relationships with Indigenous people provincewide.

I’ll continue with the next topic of my update. It relates to our work on child care. For some members on the subcommittee on administration operations, you’ll recall that in May, I provided an update on an opportunity within the James Bay neighborhood to acquire a used portable adjacent to the James Bay Community Centre as a potential site for an employer-sponsored child care program for precinct families. Shortly thereafter we learned that another organization, a private child care provider, also approached the James Bay Community Centre, expressing interest in the same portable.

Therefore, at this time, I’m helping the working group develop two potential options to bring forward to the subcommittee on administration and operations and for consideration and approval by this committee.

The two options are, first, a potential partnership with the private operator to revitalize the portable for the purposes of securing some portion of the planned child care spaces for our precinct community; then the second option is the potential addition of a portable facility, to be placed on the south lawn of the precinct as the site of an onsite employer-sponsored facility. I’ll be working with my colleagues to circle back to the subcommittee at the first opportunity with more details on those two options.

Then finally, I’ll take the opportunity to close this portion of the meeting by recognizing that this meeting of the Legislative Assembly Management Committee is the first parliamentary committee meeting to be captured using our new automated speech recognition technology. This new technology was a priority highlighted within our capital plan for this year, and it aligned with our strategic goal of operational excellence.

Previously committee meetings were transcribed from the audio recording by Hansard’s teams of editors. But now, using this technology, staff will be able to focus on the editing and publishing of our quality transcripts faster. The test results to this stage have proved extremely promising, and Hansard will continue to evaluate results during this pilot stage.

[1:50 p.m.]

They wanted to acknowledge and thank Andrew Spence, our chief information officer, who is here at the meeting today, as well as D’Arcy McPherson, director of Hansard Services, and all members of the Hansard Services team for their work in achieving this important milestone.

That concludes my update, Mr. Chair. I would be pleased to answer any questions from members on any of those topics.

Mr. Speaker: Any discussion or questions for Kate?

J. Brar: Thanks for your report, Kate.

I just want to ask if there is any assessment of the time….? How much time will it take to put forth the two options, in front of this committee, for child care?

K. Ryan-Lloyd (Clerk of the Legislative Assembly): Thank you, Jagrup. I’d be pleased to provide an opportunity for further details as soon as members may have an interest in receiving them.

We are at different stages with the two options that I’ve outlined. With respect to the potential opportunity to partner with a private operator, those discussions are ongoing right now, and it’s likely to allow me to bring forward an update with respect to the specific model probably within a month or so.

On the second option, with respect to the possible establishment of an on-site portable facility, we’re currently working with a space consultant to look at the details of that site and to do a much more detailed assessment of all costs related to site preparation, including access to portables. I think that particular option may take a little bit longer.

I’d be happy to bring those forward together should members have an interest in receiving them together, but I do anticipate it will take a number of months before I’m in a position to provide much detail on both options at the same time.

J. Brar: Thank you.

Mr. Speaker: Anybody else?

All right. Thanks, Kate.

K. Ryan-Lloyd (Clerk of the Legislative Assembly): Thank you.

Mr. Speaker: Let’s move to item 4 on the agenda, which is medical-related travel provisions for members. That is the consideration of the recommendations from the subcommittee on administration and operations.

Kate, again, please take us through that.

Medical-related Travel
Provisions for Members

K. Ryan-Lloyd (Clerk of the Legislative Assembly): Yes. Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

Members will see, within the briefing note that has been prepared, that we are bringing forward to you a recommendation from the subcommittee on administration and operations with respect to any travel expenses incurred by members who may be travelling here to Victoria to fulfil their responsibilities with respect to sessional attendance during the spring and fall sittings, for example.

We’ve had a number of instances where members have sought to be reimbursed for travel when they need to return to their constituencies in order to benefit from specialist appointments or other forms of medical care, trying to facilitate their attendance both here in Victoria to undertake their parliamentary duties but also, of course, attend to important medical treatments at the same time.

The subcommittee on administration and operations has put forward a recommendation that, subject to your approval today, the proposed provisions be amended on the “Members’ guide to policy and resources” website and then communicated to all members.

I’d be happy to take any questions or comments from members with respect to that recommendation.

Hon. M. Farnworth: Would this include people who are…? Let’s say you’re on committee work, like the Finance Committee. You’re out on committee business in different parts of the province, or you could be over here in Victoria. Would it cover that?

The other question is if you are over here on legislative business but the House is not in session. Would it cover that as well?

K. Ryan-Lloyd (Clerk of the Legislative Assembly): Let’s see. I’m just going to have a scan….

My understanding, Minister, is that it relates primarily to travel to and from Victoria — from the Victoria area to the constituency. The intent is, though, as you’ve identified, to support members with respect to their parliamentary duties. But the policy amendment, in its current form, does not contemplate reimbursement from, let’s say, a location where a committee might be travelling elsewhere in the province to the constituency.

[1:55 p.m.]

Hon. M. Farnworth: Let’s say we’re on the road. A member is on a committee, and they have a medical issue. How would that be dealt with?

Mr. Speaker: Do you have any existing policy on that, Kate?

K. Ryan-Lloyd (Clerk of the Legislative Assembly): As per the briefing note, we do put forward a provision that members would incur up to six trips per fiscal year for personal medical reasons. Thinking it through, subject to any observations from other colleagues, I don’t see any other consideration that would limit the application of those six trips.

Hon. M. Farnworth: Okay, thanks.

S. Furstenau: I was recently looking at our health coverage that we have as members, and it does actually include travel in the case of health emergencies. So that might be something to consider in this.

K. Ryan-Lloyd (Clerk of the Legislative Assembly): Yes, and I know that the intent, if I might, is that the policy amendment facilitate parliamentary business. I think that would be consistent.

With respect to committee travel, the Clerk to the committee, of course, would liaise with members and, I’m sure, be able to facilitate support if there were any unforeseen circumstances related to a medical emergency, for example, while on the road.

G. Begg: The other thing Mike mentioned, as well, that I think is important is “when the House is in session,” that phrase. Obviously, some of these may occur, particularly with committee work, when the House is not in session. Perhaps it’s just a wording thing that we could clarify.

T. Stone: I agree with Garry. I was going to raise the same point. Perhaps we just need to replace, on that second page, where it references “when the House is in session.” Maybe it just needs to be something along the lines of “when the member is engaged in parliamentary business” or something that’s a bit more broad that speaks to the broader role that the MLA has.

S. Seo (Law Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel): We can certainly improve wording further to the feedback, but I did want to note that the House is in session even if it is not sitting, because the House is in a session of the parliament. So it isn’t incorrect the way the policy amendment currently reads. But of course, to provide further clarity, we can make adjustments.

Hon. M. Farnworth: Okay. That sounds good.

Mr. Speaker: All right, then. So what do we do with the motion?

We have to wait, I guess, Artour.

A. Sogomonian (Clerk Assistant, Parliamentary Services): Here it is.

Mr. Speaker: Okay. It reads that the travel guidelines in the “Members’ guide to policy and resources” be amended to add provisions on medical-related travel, as amended.

Motion approved.

Mr. Speaker: Next motion…. Is that it? All right. Thank you.

Let’s move on to item 5 on the agenda, new policy 6040 respecting filming.

Artour, please walk us through this.

Filming at Legislative Precinct
and New Policy 6040

A. Sogomonian (Clerk Assistant, Parliamentary Services): This is another recommendation that’s coming forward from the subcommittee on administration and operations with respect to a new policy called policy 6040, filming. This is just part of our ongoing policy work and renewal that we are undertaking at the Legislative Assembly.

As the pandemic challenges ease off, there are a number of filming projects that are coming back to our precinct, and what we’re hoping to do here is to establish clarity of expectations and operations.

[2:00 p.m.]

In this area, there have been a number of procedures and practices that have been in place at the Legislative Assembly for a number of years, and this policy is a strict reflection of the rules and practices that are currently applied to filming requests.

I will note that the subcommittee on administration and operations requested that one change be made to the policy to add a requirement that any filming requests enter into an agreement with the Legislative Assembly that protects the Legislative Assembly’s interests, as articulated in the policy. That amendment and update have been made to the draft policy that’s before you, in section 9.

One other thing that will be happening, if the policy is approved by the committee today, is that we will be making a small consequential amendment to policy 6015, which is our public use of grounds policy, to add the sale of services as being a prohibited activity on the legislative precinct.

That’s just a summary of the recommendation. I’m happy to answer any questions.

Mr. Speaker: Any questions for Artour? Anybody? No.

The motion reads that policy 6040, filming, be approved as presented and, further, that a consequential amendment be made to policy 6015, public use of grounds, as presented.

C. Oakes: So moved.

Motion approved.

Mr. Speaker: Okay. We are dealing with only one motion, Artour, I guess.

A. Sogomonian (Clerk Assistant, Parliamentary Services): Correct, yes. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker: Item 7 is observance of National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

K. Ryan-Lloyd (Clerk of the Legislative Assembly): Mr. Speaker, I think we have the strategic plan on the agenda as item 6, if I’m not mistaken.

Mr. Speaker: Oh, yes. Sorry, I didn’t catch that, item 6. That’s the Legislative Assembly administration strategic plan 2022-23 to 2024-25.

Now, Kate, you can deal with that one first.

Legislative Assembly
Administration Strategic Plan

K. Ryan-Lloyd (Clerk of the Legislative Assembly): I will. I’d be excited to do so. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I’m very proud to bring forward, for the committee’s consideration and approval, the first strategic plan for the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. It is intended to be a three-year rolling plan.

Members have some familiarity with the interim plan that was brought forward for approval last July. This plan sets out, for the three years ahead, key priorities for the Legislative Assembly administration and will serve, in many ways, as the north star to guide the organization, to help us with our decision-making and to focus our resources so we are best able to serve and respond to the needs of the Legislative Assembly and its members.

The full version of the strategic plan has been placed before you. You’ll note, on page 2, it includes a purpose statement affirming that we work to support the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia and its members by providing services and infrastructure vital to an accessible, democratic institution. In that work, we are guided by our values, the principles that are outlined there — impartiality, integrity, openness and a commitment to stewardship — always keeping an eye on institutional continuity and renewal.

In the year ahead, we have outlined a number of key strategic goal areas focusing on service and operational excellence, reflecting, also, our commitment to a healthy workplace culture and a commitment to open access, always ensuring that this environment has modern, secure and sustainable infrastructure for all British Columbians but, of course, very much focused on the needs of our institution.

The first strategic goal, which we’re very proud to present, is our commitment to service excellence. A number of key initiatives for the service excellence goal are outlined on page 4. We’ll be looking to bring forward the development of a members safety and security program, to complete a constituency office network refresh and to work towards improving members service experiences through the design of a performance management framework to monitor service performance and outcomes for members.

Other strategic goals also have key priority initiatives for each of them. The operational excellence category is more internally focused, ensuring that we take every effort that we can to strengthen and improve the organization, ensuring our internal operations and support services are as effective and as efficient as possible.

[2:05 p.m.]

In the year ahead, we’ll be focused on revitalizing our enterprise risk management practices and modernizing corporate services information systems, such as the project I noted earlier that Daisy is helping us contribute to. Also, I’ll be working with the Speaker on the preparation of a reconciliation action plan to advance our commitment to reconciliation and engage with Indigenous partners provincewide.

The third strategic goal reflects our commitment to a healthy workplace culture. As members know, we are very much dedicated to ensuring that we enable our employees to contribute, innovate and collaborate using their diverse skills and perspectives.

Again with Daisy’s help, we’ll be leading the development of a diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility strategy for our workforce. It will be focused on full implementation of a learning and development strategy and also developing our HR people plan to take that holistic approach to recruiting by developing and maintaining our critical workforce.

Then the last strategic goal put forward is that of open access, working to ensure that we create a welcoming, safe and inclusive physical and digital environment. There are some exciting projects that are identified as key priorities for the year ahead.

We’ll be working to develop a long-term capital vision for the precinct. We’ll be working to modernize our external website, which is such an important part of our public presence within the province. And we’ll be completing a precinct accessibility review, ensuring an inclusive, welcoming and barrier-free environment for all on the grounds.

I’m very proud to share with you that we’ve had excellent engagement with Legislative Assembly staff. We had a couple of open houses just in the last week or so, inviting comments from all staff.

As the strategic plan is a living document, we’ll also be seeking to work with members and caucuses to ensure that as we refresh the strategic plan on a year-to-year basis, we take into account any new challenges or opportunities as articulated by our clients, our members and caucuses. Based on that input, we will be looking forward to making refinements to the contents of the plan in the year ahead.

The plan is presented to you for your consideration and approval today, Members, pursuant to the governance framework for the Legislative Assembly. We certainly welcome any comments or questions you might have on its contents.

Mr. Speaker: Any questions?

C. Oakes: Thank you, Kate and team, for all the work. My question builds on page 4 of the development of the members safety and security program. My question to you is around….

I know we have a security committee that meets. I’m curious, because I recognize that there are some significant investments that need to be made as we look at the security of the precinct. I’m trying to understand how that fits into the strategic plan over the next three years.

K. Ryan-Lloyd (Clerk of the Legislative Assembly): Yes, thank you so much. The work is within the office of the Sergeant-at-Arms. We’ve been undertaking a significant amount of planning with an eye to focusing on the modernization of the capabilities within the office of the Sergeant-at-Arms, particularly our Legislative Assembly Protective Services team.

The key initiative, Coralee, that you note on page 4 is one component of the renewal of the Legislative Assembly Protective Services. Recognizing our changing security environment, we’ve already embarked on some initial work to establish a members safety and security program. But we also recognize that much more can be done to strengthen the security environment for members, considering the types of challenges that have arisen over the course of the last year, including the need for additional advice and support to constituency offices.

At the current time, I’m working closely with our Sergeant-at-Arms to undertake some planning to identify specific resource investments that may be required to both modernize the Legislative Assembly Protective Services team and to optimize how we ensure that we’re able to build strong capacity within that department on a go-forward basis.

Some of the changes that are contemplated are not likely to occur within the next few months but do represent longer-term initiatives and change within the department. We’re working with some additional resources right now to bring forward, to the subcommittee on security, a more detailed roadmap of the key investments that will be required.

Mr. Speaker: Anyone else?

[2:10 p.m.]

G. Begg: I think you may have answered part of this, Kate, in the last part of your answer to the previous question. It surrounds the metrics attached to the performance measures. How will you know, how will we know that you’re collectively achieving?

In the absence of metrics or a dashboard performance analysis…. It’s a three-year plan, and although you say it’s a live or living plan, we will not know till year 3 how successful we’ve been. I would be much happier if you used the dashboard approach, where there were at-a-glance progress reports, or if, on a regular basis, this committee was updated on where you’re at. I think we need a dashboard.

K. Ryan-Lloyd (Clerk of the Legislative Assembly): Yes, I agree. Thank you very much for identifying that opportunity.

I should have noted that our…. In bringing forward the strategic plan and moving to full implementation, we will be providing quarterly updates to the subcommittee on administration and operations with — as you have suggested, Garry — a dashboard-type reporting focused on the specific key initiatives in each of the strategic areas, in particular.

At the time of the last budget submission to your committee, we did have a conversation — I believe it may have been with Sonia’s encouragement — that we think about how we report back on our success to date. It was our intention to do so with the subcommittee on administration and operations. Just as quarterly financial reports are brought to the subcommittee on finance, we would bring, on a quarterly basis, our progress reporting to the subcommittee on administration and operations.

G. Begg: I would just say, as well, that for the benefit of those people who are participants in the program and effecting change…. It would be important for them and for you, who’s overseeing it all, to frequently be able to refer to a dashboard so that you can measure their progress, and they can know where they are along the continuum of change.

I have had some significant experience with this type of revision. Unless it is closely monitored and the impact is available to all of the participants, it gets pretty cumbersome.

Even a quarterly update may be insufficient for the process. It may not be insufficient for us, for this committee. That may be enough. I think it’s helpful for all those who are involved to always know where they are and if their efforts are being rewarded by success in whatever the changes that they’re trying to effect.

K. Ryan-Lloyd (Clerk of the Legislative Assembly): Thank you very much for that feedback. It’s very well received. I look forward to meeting with the subcommittee on administration and operations and inviting their feedback on the proposed reporting that we’ll be bringing forward to that venue.

Certainly, thank you very much for those other comments, Garry. Much appreciated.

Mr. Speaker: Thanks, Garry.

Anybody else? If not, then we have a motion on the screen that the Legislative Assembly administration strategic plan 2022-23 to 2024-25 be approved, as presented.

May I have a mover.

Moved and seconded.

Motion approved.

Mr. Speaker: Okay, thank you.

Now we move to item 7, observance of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

Kate, please take us through that.

Observance of National Day for
Truth and Reconciliation

K. Ryan-Lloyd (Clerk of the Legislative Assembly): Yes. Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

Members may recall that approximately one year ago a similar topic for consideration was brought forward to the Legislative Assembly Management Committee with respect to our observation of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, September 30. This new holiday continues to apply to federal employees and employees in federally regulated workforces.

At the present time, it has not yet been formally designated as a statutory holiday in British Columbia. However, last year, to align with the broader provincial public service, this committee decided that on a one-time basis, September 30, 2021, would be treated as a statutory holiday for administrative purposes.

[2:15 p.m.]

As those circumstances have continued to this point in time and there has not yet been a formal change to the status of September 30, we are bringing the matter forward to the attention of the committee this afternoon, seeking your determination with respect to how the decision should be best applied for the 2022 year.

Of the two options on the briefing note, the first, which is recommended, is to recognize the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation — this year falling on Friday, September 30 — as a workplace day of commemoration, treating it uniquely as a day off with pay. It is noted that it would align with the approach that was taken last year but would only apply to this particular calendar year, pending any other change.

Mr. Speaker: Any questions? All right, then.

Do we have a motion?

The motion reads that the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation be recognized as a workplace day of commemoration on September 30, 2022, for all employee groups within the Legislative Assembly and be treated as a statutory holiday for administrative purposes.

Moved and seconded.

Motion approved.

Mr. Speaker: Now we move to item 8, which is the quarter 4 financial update.

Mike.

Consideration of
Quarterly Financial Statements

M. Burke: This is the Q4 financial update. These are the actual unaudited financial results for the year ended March 31, 2022. Total operating expenses came in at $82.4 million, which represents an underspend of $3.7 million on a budget of $86 million. Total capital expenses came in at $2.4 million, which represents an underspend of $3.9 million on a budget of $6.3 million.

Focusing on the operational costs, at the bottom of page 1, the variances are broken down into three main areas. Member services accounts for $2.2 million of the underspend. The main variance here relates to savings on benefits, reduced travel as a result of COVID and lower transitional assistance payments following the October 2020 election.

The second area is caucus support services. These exceeded their budget by a combined $50,000. This was as a result of salary and benefit costs and operating expenses, and this will impact the following years’ budgets.

The third area is administrative support services, which accounts for $1.5 million of the underspend mainly as a result of staff vacancies, unused contingencies and savings in operational expenses.

Turning to page 2, the departments projected to be over budget, as at Q4 for the full year, are highlighted. We use amber if they’re over budget by less than 5 percent and red if it’s more than 5 percent over budget.

The detailed explanations of the variances, by department, are covered on page 3 of the report. I would just highlight the three departments of note, which are highlighted in red.

The first one is human resource operations. This is over budget by $119,000 as a result of resignations at the leadership level during the year.

There is the IT department, which is over budget by $555,000. This was as a result of unbudgeted costs related to professional services. However, contingencies in the central budget have been set aside to offset this overage.

The third department is Hansard Services, which is over budget by $424,000 as a result of higher salaries and benefits due to increased committee activity.

Turning to page 5 of the report, looking at the capital expenditures, you will see there there’s an underspend of $3.9 million on a budget of $6.3 million. The main contributor to this underspend is within the capital planning department and related to project delays resulting from staffing vacancies, contract availability and supply chain challenges.

I want to note that in performing an analysis of the underspend at the organizational level, two main themes were highlighted to be addressed in the current fiscal year. The first one is staff vacancies. As a result of the 22.5 new positions and the highly competitive labour market, with the trend expected to continue, the vacancy discount for hire lag has been increased from 2 to 5 percent in the budget for the current fiscal year to help address some of that underspend.

[2:20 p.m.]

The second topic was the unused contingencies. Be­cause there were several contingencies that were unused, these have been reduced for the current fiscal year. We are also introducing a midcycle approval process to identify savings across the organization and utilize those dollars to mitigate pressures identified elsewhere.

Mr. Speaker: Thank you, Mike.

Any questions, clarifications, comments?

None, all right. Good.

Let’s then move on to item 9, which is the 2022-23 quarter 4 policy non-compliance and exception report.

Policy Non-compliance
and Exception Report

K. Ryan-Lloyd (Clerk of the Legislative Assembly): Members will know that pursuant to our Legislative Assem­bly policy framework, the executive financial officer and I are required to present to your committee a report of any instances of policy non-compliance with respect to this practice. Randy and I are bringing forward this report today.

The report covers quarter 4 of the last fiscal year. For this reporting period, there are noted two instances of an exception to our capital project review and approval policy and one instance of non-compliance with our procurement and contract management policy. To the best of our knowledge, these reports are prepared with the support of our department heads team, and these are the only instances of policy non-compliance or exception relating to organizational work that we’re aware of during this reporting period.

Should members have a desire to delve more into the specific details, a more detailed in-camera report is also appended to the public report, which I have just addressed.

Mr. Speaker: Any questions or comments? If members have any questions about any specific instance of non-compliance as outlined in the in-camera report, we can discuss that when we are in…. Okay? Thank you.

Personnel Matters

Mr. Speaker: May I have a motion to proceed now in camera to consider personnel matters, please?

Moved, seconded.

Motion approved.

The committee continued in camera from 2:22 p.m. to 2:45 p.m.

[Mr. Speaker in the chair.]

Mr. Speaker: We are now in public session.

Any other business, anybody? No.

If not, a motion to adjourn is in order.

Moved, seconded.

Motion approved.

Mr. Speaker: This meeting is now adjourned.

Members, have a very wonderful, safe summer. Stay in touch. We will continue to work together and do a wonderful job for British Columbia.

The committee adjourned at 2:45 p.m.