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THE STANDING COMMITTEE ON INTERNAL ECONOMY, BUDGETS AND ADMINISTRATION

MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS

OTTAWA, Thursday, September 28, 2023

(26) [ English ]

The Standing Committee on Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration met this day at 9:01 a.m., in room C128, Senate of Canada Building, the chair, the Honourable Lucie Moncion, presiding.

Members of the committee present : The Honourable Senators Boehm, Boyer, Carignan, P.C., Dalphond, Forest, Loffreda, McDonald, Moncion, Moodie, Plett, Quinn, Ringuette, Seidman, and Smith (14).

Other senator present: The Honourable Senator Deacon ( Nova Scotia ) (1).

Participating in the meeting: Pascale Legault, Chief Corporate Services Officer and Clerk of the Standing Committee on Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration; Gérald Lafrenière, Interim Clerk of the Senate and Clerk of the Parliaments and Chief Legislative Services Officer; Philippe Hallée, Law Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel; senior Senate officials and other support staff.

WITNESSES :

The Honourable Senator Colin Deacon, Chair, Advisory Working Group on Environment and Sustainability;

Marie-Ève Belzile, Principal Clerk, Parliamentary Exchanges and Protocol, International and Interparliamentary Affairs;

Alison Korn, Coordinator, Advisory Working Group on Environment and Sustainability;

Pierre Lanctôt, Chief Financial Officer, Finance and Procurement Directorate;

Jeremy Leblanc, Clerk Assistant and Director General, International and Interparliamentary Affairs;

David Vatcher, Director, Information Services Directorate.

Lemay CO inc.:

Hugo Lafrance, Associate, Sustainability (by videoconference).

Pursuant to rule 12-7(1) of the Rules of the Senate , the committee continued its consideration of financial and administrative matters concerning the Senate’s internal administration.

It was agreed that two photographers from the Senate Communications, Broadcasting and Publications Directorate be allowed to take pictures during the meeting, with the least possible disruption.

The senators introduced themselves.

CIBA/2023-09-28/282(P) — Adoption of Minutes of Proceedings from June 15, 2023 (public)

The committee considered the Minutes of Proceedings from June 15, 2023 (public).

The Honourable Senator Boyer moved that the Minutes of Proceedings of Thursday, June 15, 2023 (public), be adopted.

The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.

CIBA/2023-09-28/283(P) — Report from the Advisory Working Group on Environment and Sustainability

The Honourable Senator Deacon, chair of the Advisory Working Group on Environment and Sustainability, tabled the Third Report of the working group as follows:

Thursday, September 28, 2023

The Advisory Working Group on Environment and Sustainability of the Standing Committee on Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration has the honour to present its

THIRD REPORT

Your advisory working group, which was authorized by the Standing Committee on Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration (CIBA) to examine the feasibility of implementing environment and sustainability programs and to oversee the request for proposals to secure external expertise, now tables its third report.

This report provides an update on the completion of Phase 1 work by the external expertise, Lemay and Groupe AGÉCO, for the Senate of Canada Net Zero 2030 Project.

The Phase 1 deliverable is: Benchmarking, Data Collection and Analysis of Scope 1, 2, and 3 Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions, resulting in a Greenhouse Gas Emissions Report. This report, attached as an appendix, was produced by Lemay and Groupe AGÉCO.

Background

In March 2022, the Senate unanimously adopted the new Senate of Canada Environmental and Sustainability Policy Statement . This statement, proposed by the previous Advisory Working Group on Environment and Sustainability (AWG-ES), declared the Senate’s commitment to becoming carbon neutral by 2030.

On October 6, 2022, the Chair of the current advisory working group presented its First Report to CIBA, outlining progress to date, including a proposed Request for Proposals (RFP) approach for the Senate of Canada Net Zero 2030 Project. This was guided by Recommendation 9 from the November 2021 Final Report from the previous AWG-ES:

That CIBA approve to immediately initiate the process for selecting an external expertise entity on environment and sustainability through a competitive Request for Proposals (RFP). The final RFP document will be presented to CIBA for cost approval prior to being released.

On March 30, 2023, it was adopted at CIBA that the contract for the Senate of Canada Net Zero 2030 Project be awarded to the successful bidder, Lemay and Groupe AGÉCO, upon the recommendation of the Advisory Working Group on Environment and Sustainability.

Senate of Canada Net Zero 2030 Project

The Senate of Canada Net Zero 2030 project comprises three distinct phases, as per the Statement of Work in the RFP. Phase 1 is now complete.

Phase 1: Benchmarking, data collection and analysis of Scope 1, 2, and 3 Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions (complete)

Phase 2: Developing net zero targets and implementation plan (initiated)

Phase 3: Tracking and sustaining progress towards net zero

Detailed information on each of these phases was outlined in the AWG-ES First Report .

Summary: Phase 1

The Senate’s overall GHG emissions are estimated to be 3,577 tonnes CO₂e for 2022-2023. They mainly come from natural gas combustion and steam consumption from heating the buildings the Senate occupies, as well as from travels between the senators’ provinces/territories and the National Capital Region. GHG calculations are based on the GHG Protocol using activity and financial data from the Senate and from Public Services and Procurement Canada.

The GHG emissions covered by this study include emissions from Senate-occupied buildings, both leased and Crown-owned. Sources include the use of natural gas or purchased steam for heating, chilled water for cooling, and electricity. Fuel for the Senate’s fleet of vehicles is also included, as are emissions from the production of purchased goods and services (including accommodation and meals), waste generated in operations, Senate-related travel, employee commuting and fuel- and energy-related activities.

The Phase 1 report also includes contains business-as-usual projections of the Senate's GHG emissions to 2030, as well as a preliminary net zero plan.

Next Steps

Phase 2 of the project is now under way. The second phase will establish a carbon neutrality target and propose different strategies and scenarios to achieve it, along with a proposed implementation plan. Phase 3 will provide recommendations for a formalized approach for a regular reporting regime to track progress against the established targets identified in Phase 2.

Respectfully submitted,

SENATOR COLIN DEACON

Chair of the Advisory Working Group

The Honourable Senator Deacon made a statement and, together with Alison Korn, answered questions regarding the Third Report of the Advisory Working Group on Environment and Sustainability.

After debate, the Honourable Senator Carignan, P.C., moved that CIBA authorize the public release of the September 2023 report by the Advisory Working Group on Environment and Sustainability for the Senate of Canada Net Zero 2030 Project entitled: Greenhouse Gas Emissions Report; and that the report to be posted on the Senate of Canada website.

The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.

CIBA/2023-09-28/284(P) — Annual Report from the Joint Interparliamentary Council (JIC)

Jeremy LeBlanc made a statement and, together with Gérald Lafrenière and Marie-Ève Belzile, answered questions in relation to the activities and expenditures of parliamentary associations for the fiscal year 2022-23.

After debate, the Honourable Senator Moodie moved that the report from the Joint Interparliamentary Council, Parliamentary Associations’ Activities and Expenditures for the fiscal year 2022-23 , be tabled in the Senate.

The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.

CIBA/2023-09-28/285(P) — Surplus Funds from the 65th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference

The chair made a statement and, together with Jeremy LeBlanc, answered questions regarding the surplus funds from the 65 th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference.

CIBA/2023-09-28/286(P) — Participating to Association Activities as a non-member of the Official Delegation

The chair made a statement and answered questions regarding the draft communiqué and letter pertaining to the use travel points by senators for association activities that occur in Canada.

The chair informed members that the documents would be distributed by the Secretariat today.

CIBA/2023-09-28/287(P) — Roadmap for Information Management and Technology

David Vatcher made a statement and, together with Pascale Legault, answered questions regarding the IM/IT Roadmap for 2020-2024.

CIBA/2023-09-28/288(P) — Public Accounts 2022-2023

Pierre Lanctôt made a statement and answered questions regarding the public accounts for the fiscal year 2022-2023.

CIBA/2023-09-28/289(P) — Quarterly Report on Intellectual Property Requests

The chair made a statement regarding the quarterly report on Senate intellectual property requests for commercial use.

CIBA/2023-09-28/290(P) — Other Matters

The Honourable Senator Quinn raised the issue of distribution of committee documents.

The chair and Pascale Legault answered questions.

The chair undertook to look into the matter.

The chair informed members that the committee would discuss two supply contacts during the in camera session.

At 9:57 a.m., the committee suspended.

At 9:58 a.m., pursuant to 12-16(1), the committee proceeded in camera.

At 11:00 a.m., the committee adjourned to the call of the chair.

ATTEST:

Pascale Legault

Chief Corporate Services Officer and Clerk of the Standing Committee on

Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration

Keli Hogan

Recording Secretary

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