Legislative Assembly of Alberta the 28Th Legislature First Session
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Legislative Assembly of Alberta The 28th Legislature First Session Special Standing Committee on Members’ Services Thursday, September 27, 2012 9:31 a.m. Transcript No. 28-1-3 Legislative Assembly of Alberta The 28th Legislature First Session Special Standing Committee on Members’ Services Zwozdesky, Hon. Gene, Edmonton-Mill Creek (PC), Chair Young, Steve, Edmonton-Riverview (PC), Deputy Chair Anderson, Rob, Airdrie (W)* Calahasen, Pearl, Lesser Slave Lake (PC) Dorward, David C., Edmonton-Gold Bar (PC) Forsyth, Heather, Calgary-Fish Creek (W) Goudreau, Hector G., Dunvegan-Central Peace-Notley (PC) Jablonski, Mary Anne, Red Deer-North (PC) Mason, Brian, Edmonton-Highlands-Norwood (ND) Quest, Dave, Strathcona-Sherwood Park (PC) Sherman, Dr. Raj, Edmonton-Meadowlark (AL) Smith, Danielle, Highwood (W) Towle, Kerry, Innisfail-Sylvan Lake (W)** * substitution for Danielle Smith ** substitution for Heather Forsyth Support Staff W.J. David McNeil Clerk Allison Quast Executive Assistant to the Clerk Bev Alenius Executive Assistant to the Chair Robert H. Reynolds, QC Law Clerk/Director of Interparliamentary Relations Shannon Dean Senior Parliamentary Counsel/ Director of House Services Brian G. Hodgson Sergeant-at-Arms Cheryl Scarlett Director of Human Resources, Information Technology and Broadcast Services Scott Ellis Director and Senior Financial Officer, Financial Management and Administrative Services Liz Sim Managing Editor of Alberta Hansard Transcript produced by Alberta Hansard Special Standing Committee on Members’ Services Participant Aon Hewitt Don Ireland, Partner September 27, 2012 Members’ Services MS-35 9:31 a.m. Thursday, September 27, 2012 Mr. Ireland: Don Ireland, partner with Aon Hewitt. Title: Thursday, September 27, 2012 ms [Mr. Zwozdesky in the chair] Mr. Ellis: Scott Ellis, director of financial management and administrative services. The Chair: All right. Welcome, everybody, and thank you for joining us. It is 9:31 a.m., and I’m pleased to call this meeting of The Chair: Mr. Ireland will be introduced more formally later. the Members’ Services Committee to order. I know that it has been a very busy summer for everyone because I’ve heard from so Ms Quast: Allison Quast, committee clerk. many of you, and I’m delighted to see how busy we all are serving The Chair: Good. Thank you. our constituents. We have a full quorum here minus one member, who I We have a lot on our agenda today. I want to begin by ensuring anticipate is just on his way and will be along shortly. that we have a proper quorum. Let me begin by having members I want to make a couple of observations, and as I do that, I see introduce themselves, please. I think we’ll start with the deputy Mr. Mason has arrived. We’ll give him a chance to catch his chair, Mr. Young. Your name and your constituency, please. breath, and then he can introduce himself to us. Mr. Young: Steve Young, Edmonton-Riverview. Just as a reminder, this meeting is scheduled from 9:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m., noon hour. I know that members have indicated Mrs. Jablonski: Good morning, everyone. Mary Anne Jablonski, that they have airplanes to catch and others have meetings to get MLA, Red Deer-North. to and other commitments, so we’ll do our best to try and adjourn right around 12:30. Somewhere between now and then, probably Mr. Dorward: David Dorward, Edmonton-Gold Bar. toward 11 o’clock, we’ll provide a five- or six-minute comfort break, so you can anticipate that. Ms Calahasen: Pearl Calahasen, Lesser Slave Lake. Let me revert to the introduction of members. Mr. Mason. The Chair: Let’s scoot over here to Mr. Goudreau. Mr. Mason: Thank you very much. Brian Mason, MLA for Mr. Goudreau: Hector Goudreau, Dunvegan-Central Peace-Notley. Edmonton-Highlands-Norwood. Mr. Quest: Dave Quest, Strathcona-Sherwood Park. The Chair: Thank you. I was just commenting that everyone is here. We have no one joining us by audioconferencing, which is Dr. Sherman: Raj Sherman, Edmonton-Meadowlark. wonderful, so we can see who it is we’re speaking with directly. I want to make a couple of comments with respect to what I will Mr. Anderson: Rob Anderson, Airdrie. call housekeeping items before we get into the major thrust of the meeting. The only reason I’m doing that is because they do impact Mrs. Towle: Kerry Towle, Innisfail-Sylvan Lake. this meeting and its conduct, and they are items that some of you The Chair: Can I just stop there? Would you please identify if asked me about last time. So here we go. you’re subbing for someone on the committee. I want to start, first of all, with the issue of dress codes, in Let’s go back to Rob Anderson. particular the dress code for committee meetings, followed by a discussion briefly on communication devices, followed by the Mr. Anderson: Yeah. Rob Anderson, substituting for Danielle issue of refreshments and foodstuffs during committee meetings, Smith. and conclude with a brief comment about visits to constituency offices. Mrs. Towle: Kerry Towle, substituting for Heather Forsyth. I was asked to clarify the issue of dress codes. Committees of the Assembly, as you know, are considered to be an extension of The Chair: Thank you. the House, of the Assembly, as it were. Therefore, MLAs, known Are there any others joining us by audioconferencing? Any to us as members, their staff, the media, and others who are members? attending committee meetings are expected to follow the same Hearing none, I would just note, then, that we are still protocols as they would if they were attending session. Of course, anticipating the arrival of Mr. Brian Mason. He did not indicate we have to break this down differently because we’re not in the that he would be absent, did he? Assembly today. I’ll get to that in a moment. Ms Quast: No. Staff and media who are in the galleries and who are basically attending the session in an official capacity are expected, there- The Chair: So he’ll probably be along shortly. Otherwise, let’s fore, to meet the same standard of dress as members. Speakers’ introduce other members at the table, starting with our Clerk, Dr. rulings and directions on matters relating to members’ dress have McNeil. established that business attire is appropriate. For men business attire has traditionally been interpreted as a sports coat or jacket Dr. McNeil: David McNeil, Clerk of the Assembly. with slacks or dress pants or a full suit, shirt with a collar, tie, and The Chair: Mr. Reynolds. dress shoes. For women the equivalent business attire has been set as their standard. Mr. Reynolds: Thank you. Rob Reynolds, Law Clerk and director Now, regarding committee meetings, I’d like to draw a distinc- of interparliamentary relations. tion between committee meetings held in the Assembly versus those that are held elsewhere, such as this committee room, for Mrs. Alenius: Bev Alenius, executive assistant to the Speaker. example. What I have just outlined above certainly applies, first and foremost, to the Assembly itself, to the House. For committee Mrs. Scarlett: Cheryl Scarlett, director of human resources, meetings held in the Legislature Annex committee rooms such as information technology, and broadcast services. this one today, staff and media and others are expected to maintain MS-36 Members’ Services September 27, 2012 a certain level of professional appearance, as I’m sure you all of food is generally not permitted unless it’s specifically know, and to exercise the very best of good judgment in selecting authorized such as during a breakfast meeting, which we could appropriate attire. Traditional business or business casual attire is consider today being that type of a meeting, for example, or a highly encouraged. luncheon meeting or a supper meeting. Again, it will depend on However, I would like to propose that the protocols regarding other factors that may arise, but generally speaking, foods are staff, media, and others who are attending committee meetings in discouraged from meetings such as this. However, beverages are an Annex committee room be relaxed somewhat. Jeans, T-shirts, not. That would apply to everyone attending: members, staff, and athletic footwear for members of the media and staff media, and others who are present. Just please be reminded that members, those who only intermittently appear at the meetings, food and beverages are never allowed in the Chamber or the should be discouraged, obviously, but we recognize that people, Assembly galleries. particularly some of our younger folks who are just making their Are we agreed with that policy? Anybody opposed? Thank you. way around town, might occasionally arrive on an intermittent Item 4, visits to constituency offices. Once again, in follow-up basis in such attire. We’ll watch and see how it goes. I don’t see to numerous comments made by MLAs and in preparation for any personal objection to it. These people are coming in and out of upcoming budget meetings and reviews of the matrix system and the meeting with the best of intentions to serve their members or other such matters that affect our constituency budgets – leasing provide us with materials or whatever it is that they do. costs, socioeconomics, demographics, and so on – I sent out a As your chair I am proposing that we relax the rules for memo a few days ago to all of you and to your constituency staff committee meetings outside the Assembly and allow people to indicating that I’m going to make my best effort to visit between appear as they were, provided that the clothing is still in good taste 10 and 20 different constituencies over the next couple of months and carries no ill slogans, no slogans of any kind preferably, so as we prepare for that meeting so that I can have a hands-on feel that we’re not accused of anything along that line.