Parliament of Canada Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. P-1)

Marginal note:Clerk is Secretary

51 The Clerk of the House of Commons is the Secretary to the Board.

Marginal note:Public meetings

51.1 Meetings of the Board shall be open to the public; however, a meeting or portion of a meeting shall be held in camera if

• (a) the matters being discussed relate to security, employment, staff relations or tenders;

• (b) the circumstances prescribed by a by-law made under paragraph 52.5(1)(a.1) exist; or

• (c) all of the members of the Board who are present at the meeting agree that it be held in camera.

Marginal note:Quorum

• 52 (1) Five members of the Board, of whom one shall be the Speaker, constitute a quorum.

• Marginal note:Death, disability or absence of Speaker

  (2) In the event of the death, disability or absence of the Speaker, five members of the Board, of whom one shall be a member of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada appointed under subsection 50(2), constitute a quorum. The members present shall designate a member from among themselves to chair the meeting.

Marginal note:Emergencies

• 52.1 (1) Where the Speaker deems that there is an emergency, the Speaker may exercise any power of the Board.

• Marginal note:Report of decision

  (2) The Speaker shall report to the Board any decision made under subsection (1) at the meeting of the Board immediately following the decision.

Functions of Board

Marginal note:Capacity

• 52.2 (1) In exercising the powers and carrying out the functions conferred upon it pursuant to this Act, the Board has the capacity of a natural person and may

  • (a) enter into contracts, memoranda of understanding or other arrangements in the name of the House of Commons or in the name of the Board; and

  • (b) do all such things as are necessary or incidental to the exercising of its powers or the carrying out of its functions.

• Marginal note:Proceedings

  (2) For greater certainty, the proceedings of the Board are proceedings in Parliament.

Marginal note:Function of Board

52.3 The Board shall act on all financial and administrative matters respecting

• (a) the House of Commons, its premises, its services and its staff; and

• (b) the members of the House of Commons.

Marginal note:Estimate to be prepared

• 52.4 (1) Prior to each fiscal year the Board shall cause to be prepared an estimate of the sums that will be required to be provided by Parliament for the payment of the charges and expenses of the House of Commons and of the members thereof during the fiscal year.

• Marginal note:Estimate to be included in government estimates and tabled

  (2) The estimate referred to in subsection (1) shall be transmitted by the Speaker to the President of the Treasury Board who shall lay it before the House of Commons with the estimates of the government for the fiscal year.

By-laws

Marginal note:By-laws

• 52.5 (1) The Board may make by-laws

  • (a) respecting the calling of meetings of the Board and the conduct of business at those meetings;

  • (a.1) prescribing the circumstances in which a meeting of the Board shall be held in camera;

  • (b) governing the use by members of the House of Commons of funds, goods, services and premises made available to them for the carrying out of their parliamentary functions;

  • (c) prescribing the terms and conditions of the management of, and accounting for, by members of the House of Commons, of funds referred to in paragraph (b) and section 54; and

  • (d) respecting all such things as are necessary or incidental to the exercise of its powers and the carrying out of its functions.

• Marginal note:Unanimity

  (1.1) The Board may make a by-law under paragraph (1)(a.1) only on the unanimous vote of the members of the Board who are present at the meeting at which the vote is held.

• Marginal note:Speaker to table by-laws

  (2) The Speaker shall table before the House of Commons the by-laws made under this section on any of the first thirty days after the making thereof.

• Marginal note:Speaker to make by-laws available

  (3) When the House of Commons is not sitting, the Speaker shall cause the by-laws made under this section to be deposited with the Clerk of that House and such by-laws shall thereupon be deemed to have been tabled before the House of Commons.

• Marginal note:By-laws not statutory instruments

  (4) By-laws made under this section shall be deemed not to be statutory instruments for the purposes of the Statutory Instruments Act.

Opinions

Marginal note:Exclusive authority

• 52.6 (1) The Board has the exclusive authority to determine whether any previous, current or proposed use by a member of the House of Commons of any funds, goods, services or premises made available to that member for the carrying out of parliamentary functions is or was proper, given the discharge of the parliamentary functions of members of the House of Commons, including whether any such use is or was proper having regard to the intent and purpose of the by-laws made under subsection 52.5(1).

• Marginal note:Members may apply

  (2) Any member of the House of Commons may apply to the Board for an opinion with respect to any use by that member of funds, goods, services or premises referred to in subsection (1).

Marginal note:Opinion during investigation

• 52.7 (1) During any investigation by a peace officer in relation to the use by a member of the House of Commons of funds, goods, services or premises referred to in subsection 52.6(1), the peace officer may apply to the Board for, or the Board may, on its own initiative, provide the peace officer with, an opinion concerning the propriety of such use.

• Marginal note:Opinion to be considered

  (2) Where an opinion is provided to a peace officer pursuant to subsection (1) and where an application for a process is made to a judge, the judge shall be provided with the opinion and shall consider it in determining whether to issue the process.

• Definition of process

  (3) For the purposes of this section, process means

  • (a) an authorization to intercept a private communication under section 185,

  • (b) an order for a special warrant under section 462.32 or 462.321,

  • (c) an order for a search warrant under section 487,

  • (d) a restraint order under section 462.33,

  • (e) the laying of an information under section 504 or 505,

  • (f) a summons or an arrest warrant under section 507, or

  • (g) the confirmation of an appearance notice or undertaking under section 508.

  of the Criminal Code.

• Marginal note:Issuance of process by judge

  (4) The issuance of a process referred to in paragraphs (3)(c), (e), (f) and (g) that is based on the use by a member of the House of Commons of any funds, goods, services or premises made available to that member for the carrying out of parliamentary functions shall be authorized by a judge of a provincial court within the meaning of section 2 of the Criminal Code.

Marginal note:General opinions

52.8 In addition to issuing opinions under section 52.6, the Board may issue general opinions regarding the proper use of funds, goods, services and premises within the intent and purpose of the by-laws made under subsection 52.5(1).

Marginal note:Comments may be included

• 52.9 (1) The Board may include in its opinions any comments that the Board considers relevant.

• Marginal note:Publication of opinions

  (2) Subject to subsection (3), the Board may publish, in whole or in part, its opinions for the guidance of members of the House of Commons.

• Marginal note:Privacy and notification

  (3) Subject to subsection (4), the Board shall take the necessary measures to assure the privacy of any member of the House of Commons who applies for an opinion and shall notify the member of its opinion.

• Marginal note:Making opinions available

  (4) For the purposes of subsection 52.7(1), the Board may, if it considers it appropriate to do so, make any of its opinions, including opinions issued under section 52.6, available to the peace officer.

Marginal note:In case of dissolution

53 On a dissolution of Parliament, every member of the Board and the Speaker and Deputy Speaker shall be deemed to remain in office as such, as if there had been no dissolution, until their replacement.

53.1 [Repealed, 1991, c. 20, s. 2]

Marginal note:Expenditure

54 All funds, other than those applied toward payment of the salaries and expenses of Parliamentary Secretaries, expended under Part IV in respect of the House of Commons shall be expended and accounted for in the same manner as funds for defraying the charges and expenses of the House and of the members thereof are to be expended and accounted for pursuant to this Division.

PART IVRemuneration of Members of Parliament

Remuneration Reference Amount

Marginal note:Reference amount

• 54.1 (1) Commencing on January 1, 2001, the remuneration reference amount is equal to the amount of the annual salary of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada.

• Marginal note:Retroactive adjustments to reference amount

  (2) Adjustments to the remuneration reference amount shall be made retroactively to take into account any retroactive changes in the annual salary of the Chief Justice.

Sessional Allowances Before April 1, 2004

Marginal note:Amount

• 55 (1) There shall be paid a sessional allowance at the rate of forty thousand two hundred dollars per annum, subject to adjustment made from time to time in accordance with subsections (3) to (6), to each of the members of the Senate and the House of Commons.

• Marginal note:Commencement of membership

  (2) For the purposes of this section, a person shall be deemed to have become a member of the Senate on the day on which the person is summoned to the Senate, and a person shall be deemed to have become a member of the House of Commons on the day last fixed for the election of a member of the House of Commons for the electoral district represented by the person.

• Marginal note:Adjustment

  (3) Subject to subsections (5) and (6) and section 67, for each twelve month period commencing January 1, there shall be paid to each of the members of the Senate and the House of Commons a sessional allowance at the rate per annum that is obtained by multiplying

  • (a) the sessional allowance payable to each such member for the twelve month period immediately preceding the twelve month period in respect of which the sessional allowance is to be determined

    by

  • (b) one per cent less than the lesser of

    • (i) the percentage that the Industrial Aggregate for the first adjustment year is of the Industrial Aggregate for the second adjustment year, and

    • (ii) the percentage that the Consumer Price Index for the first adjustment year is of the Consumer Price Index for the second adjustment year.

• Marginal note:Construction of certain expressions

  (4) For the purposes of subsection (3),

  • (a) in relation to any twelve month period in respect of which the sessional allowance is to be determined,

    • (i) the first adjustment year is the last twelve month period, preceding the commencement of the period in respect of which the sessional allowance is to be determined, for which the Industrial Aggregate or the Consumer Price Index, as the case may be, is available on the first day of the period in respect of which the sessional allowance is to be determined, and

    • (ii) the second adjustment year is the twelve month period immediately preceding the first adjustment year; and

  • (b) the Industrial Aggregate for an adjustment year is the average weekly wages and salaries of the Industrial Aggregate in Canada for that year as published by Statistics Canada under the authority of the Statistics Act.

  • (c) [Repealed, 2001, c. 20, s. 2]

• Marginal note:Sessional allowance for 1984

  (5) Subject to section 67, there shall be paid to each of the members of the Senate and the House of Commons for the twelve month period commencing January 1, 1984 a sessional allowance at the rate per annum that is the lesser of

  • (a) the rate per annum that would, but for this subsection, be determined under subsection (3), and

  • (b) the rate per annum that is obtained by multiplying

    • (i) the sessional allowance that was paid for the twelve month period commencing January 1, 1983 to each member under this section as in force at that date

      by

    • (ii) one hundred and five per cent.

• Marginal note:Calculation of allowance after January 1, 1985

  (6) For the purposes of calculating a sessional allowance under subsection (3) for the twelve month period commencing January 1, 1985, the sessional allowance payable for the twelve month period immediately preceding that twelve month period shall be deemed to be the sessional allowance payable under subsection (5).

• Marginal note:Override as of January 1, 1986

  (7) Notwithstanding subsection (3), there shall be paid to each of the members of the Senate and the House of Commons for the twelve month period commencing January 1, 1986 a sessional allowance that is one thousand dollars less than the amount that would, but for this subsection, be determined under subsection (3).

• Marginal note:Deeming provision

  (8) For the purposes of calculating

  • (a) a sessional allowance under subsection (3) for any period commencing after December 31, 1986, and

  • (b) contributions and allowances under the Members of Parliament Retiring Allowances Act,

  the sessional allowance payable for the twelve month period commencing January 1, 1986 shall be deemed to have been the sessional allowance that would, but for subsection (7), have been determined under subsection (3).

• Marginal note:Override as of January 1, 1992

  (9) Notwithstanding subsection (3), there shall be paid to every member of the Senate and House of Commons

  • (a) for the twelve month period commencing January 1, 1992, a sessional allowance at the same rate per annum as the sessional allowance payable to each such member for the twelve month period immediately preceding January 1, 1992; and

  • (b) for the twelve month periods commencing January 1, 1993, January 1, 1994, January 1, 1995, January 1, 1996 and January 1, 1997, a sessional allowance at the same rate per annum as the sessional allowance payable to each such member for the twelve month period commencing January 1, 1992 under paragraph (a).

• Marginal note:Sessional allowance after January 1, 1998

  (10) Despite subsection (3), the sessional allowance for the twelve month period beginning on January 1, 1998 and for every twelve month period beginning on every successive January 1 during the 36th Parliament is the sessional allowance payable for the twelve month period immediately before that period increased by two per cent.

• Marginal note:Deeming

  (11) For the purpose of calculating the sessional allowance for the twelve month period beginning on January 1, 1998, the sessional allowance payable for the twelve month period immediately before that period is deemed to be the sessional allowance payable under paragraph (9)(b).

• Marginal note:Sessional allowance after January 1, 2001

  (12) Notwithstanding anything in this section, the annual sessional allowance that shall be paid, commencing on January 1, 2001,

  • (a) to members of the Senate is equal to 50 per cent of the remuneration reference amount referred to in section 54.1 minus $25,000; and

  • (b) to members of the House of Commons is equal to 50 per cent of the remuneration reference amount referred to in section 54.1.