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5. Administering the Senate
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"From time to time, the Senate
makes amendments that show how
thoroughly its members understand
and are competent to consider
certain subjects; and the sometimes
hasty legislation of the commons -
hasty because that body is often
overweighed with business - is
corrected greatly to the advantage
of the country."
John G. Bourinot, Federal
Government in Canada, 1895
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Senate Administration
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The Senate's workforce of 429 people
served close to 105 senators, over
162 of their staff members and 20
standing, joint or special committees
or subcommittees. Further, in spite
of the dissolution, the
Administration served and supported
408 committee meetings held over
730.2 hours, helped produce 113
reports, summoned 1,249 witnesses and
assisted in the 49 special studies
undertaken, a rate close to the
average level of the last five fiscal
years.
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In 2004-2005, the Senate Administration set
an ambitious agenda for itself. The year
was marked by the end of the 3rd session of
the 37th Parliament, a summer general
election, and the beginning of the 38th
Parliament with the Speech from the Throne.
With a 4.5-month period of dissolution, all
committee business ceased with the
exception of the Committee of Internal
Economy, Budgets and Administration.
Measures were taken to prepare for the
Opening of the 38th Parliament and
understanding the implications for the
Senate Administration of serving the Senate
which, for the first time in 25 years,
would be working in a parliament run by
minority government.
Key Commitments
The achievements noted in the following
pages reflect the priority areas set for
the Senate Administration for fiscal year
2004-2005, which were approved by Senate
Standing Committee on Internal Economy,
Budgets and Administration. They are:
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Building a robust accountability and
reporting framework;
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Investing in principled people
management;
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Effective communications - within the
Senate and with Canadians;
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Leveraging technology;
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Improving legislative support.
Administrative Structure of the Senate of
Canada
Accountable, Responsible
Each year, Senate expenditures are recorded
in the Public Accounts of Canada, which are
released in the fall following the end of a
fiscal year. The Public Accounts can be
consulted on the Public Works and
Government Services Canada website at
here
Among our achievements:
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A Modern Comptrollership Capacity
Assessment was conducted with the
participation of key directors and
managers who performed a thorough review
of all areas of management, including
performance measures and indicators that
were developed in various sectors.
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The Administration's governance structure
was streamlined into three major business
lines - legislative, precinct, and
corporate services - ensuring optimal use
of resources, improved coordination and
better service delivery.
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On May 6, 2004, the Senate adopted the
Senate Administrative Rules, which
complement and are equal to the authority
of the Rules of the Senate
governing Senate procedure.
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In 2004-2005, two Senate committee rooms
were equipped with full broadcast
facilities and resulted in giving the
Senate the ability to double the number
of Senate committees broadcast. The
public is able to view Senate committees
live or rebroadcast on CPAC or through
webcasts. Visit www.parl.gc.ca for more
information.
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A classification review exercise was
completed, updating all administration
job descriptions, and a common
classification standard and salary
structure were established.
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Concurrently, collective bargaining took
place, and by the end of fiscal year
2005, two collective agreements were
signed. The round of negotiations was
particularly successful as one bargaining
agent reached, for the first time, an
agreement at the bargaining table.
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A number of electronic projects promise
to improve efficiency and productivity
regarding procedural matters. Among these
are the deconstruction of the Handbook
for Senate Committee Clerks, which
was incorporated into a Knowledge
Management Project and the
Collaborative Work Environment
(CWE) project which allows the Sector
to create an electronic tool for locating
research documents and information we
share with one another on a regular
basis.
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In spite of a period of dissolution, the
activity level in committees remained
very high. The number of witnesses,
committee meetings, reports, hours in
committee, and bills was consistent with
the five-year average, while the number
of special studies and pre-studies
undertaken surpassed the five-year
average activity level.
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The Senate This Week, an
electronic weekly publication, was
created to be distributed on Fridays
throughout the Senate and to all media
and Parliamentary Press Gallery members
when the Senate is sitting to notify them
of Senate committee activities taking
place the following week.
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In addition to English and French
versions, fact sheets describing various
aspects of the Senate were produced in
the five most frequently used languages
in Canada (Italian, German, Cantonese,
Spanish, Inuktitut), and are available
upon request. All Senate public
publications are available on the
internet through www.parl.gc.ca.
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The Publications Centre produced
documentation for 62 sitting days,
including 124 Debates (62 English,
62 French), 62 Journals of the
Senate and 62 Senate Order Papers
and Notice Papers.
The Clerk of the Senate and Clerk of the
Parliaments is appointed by the
Governor in Council and functions as head
of the Senate Administration. The Clerk's
office provides advice on corporate
governance, including strategic,
administrative and financial planning and
administration; organizes internal
administrative and financial structures;
directs the Senate Administration; and
reports to the Senate through the Internal
Economy Committee. The Clerk also
participates in a range of diplomatic and
official activities both within and outside
Parliament.
The Deputy Clerk, Legislative
Services, assists the Clerk in
supporting the business of the Senate;
exercises functional supervision of all
legislative services; is the Clerk of the
Committee of the Whole; and is responsible
for the Principal Clerk, Committees and
Private Legislation, the Principal Clerk,
Procedure and the Principal Clerk,
Legislative Support Office.
The Committees Directorate
provides administrative support to all
committees, including budget management
and witness preparation; offers
procedural research and advice to
committee chairs and members; and
disseminates committee information to
interested stakeholders, including
special interest groups, research
organizations, all of Parliament, the
media and the general public.
The Procedure Office is
responsible for Procedural Research,
provides advice on procedure to senators
and staff, manages the work of Journals
and Debates, and supports the Speaker,
Clerk and senators in outreach
initiatives.
The Legislative Support Office
manages broadcasts for all Senate events
and committee proceedings; manages
information management for the
Legislative Sector and publishes the
official parliamentary publications of
the Senate: Journals of the
Senate, Debates of the Senate and the
Order Paper and Notice Paper.
The Law Clerk and Parliamentary
Counsel is appointed by resolution of
the Senate and acts as parliamentary
counsel, providing legal advice and
opinions to the Senate and to individual
senators on constitutional questions, on
matters of Parliamentary law and
privilege, and other aspects of law. This
office also provides legislative drafting
services, advising senators on the form
and substance of government bills and
proposed amendments; prepares private
members' public and private bills,
amendments to bills and amendments to the
Rules of the Senate; and acts as
corporate counsel.
The Usher of the Black Rod,
appointed by the Governor in Council, is
historically the personal attendant to
the representative of the Sovereign;
supervises administrative duties for
opening of Parliament; escorts the
Speaker into the Chamber; is responsible
for recording attendance in the Chamber;
is responsible for the Senate Page
Program and, during each sitting,
oversees the Senate pages who help the
Speaker, senators and Table Officers by
delivering messages, distributing
documents and performing other
administrative duties, as required.
The Communications Directorate
manages the Senate's overall
communications program, including
institutional media relations, public
information and outreach activities, and
provides strategic advice to the Senate
and Senate Administration on the
communications impact of important
operational and procedural
decisions.
The Parliamentary Precinct Services
Sector is responsible for all
physical and logistical services offered
to senators and to the Senate
Administration, including materiel
management, printing, warehouse services
and asset management, installation
services, transportation, post office,
messenger services, committee room
logistics, accommodation planning and
projects, and oversees the Protective
Service, which is responsible for
security within the precinct.
Protective Service is responsible
for fire prevention and information
security technology, parking within the
Senate precinct, key control and issuing
identification cards and passport/visa
photos.
The Finance Directorate manages
financial planning, accounting, analysis
and reporting, provides financial services
to senators and the Senate Administration,
administers all aspects of senators'
entitlements, develops and implements
financial policies and practices, develops
the Senate's budget and exercises budgetary
control.
The Human Resources Directorate
develops and implements an effective
management framework relating to Human
Resources policies and practices. It
provides human resources services to
senators and the Senate Administration in
the compensation, personnel services,
staffing, staff relations, collective
bargaining, classification, official
languages and training fields.
The Information Systems Directorate
provides senators, their staff and other
employees with technical advice, support
and training services. Its employees
provide advice on the use and operation of
computer systems and software required for
Senate business. The unit provides support
for new and existing applications, installs
hardware, software and peripherals,
installs and repairs components, provides
user support by telephone and in person,
and manages all Senate telecommunications
devices.
In 2004-2005, the Strategic Planning
Directorate was created to oversee all
aspects of management modernization
including the continuous improvement of
management practices and processes,
strategic planning, implementation of the
Management Accountability Framework (MAF),
governance and policy integration.
Employment Equity and Diversity
The Senate's Employment Equity Report was
adopted by the Standing Committee on
Internal Economy, Budgets and
Administration in September 2004 and
distributed to all senators. This report
provided demographic highlights of the
Senate's workforce, a snapshot of its
diverse representation and gave an outline
of some of the activities and initiatives
undertaken from 2000 to 2004 to make the
Senate an employer of choice.
For the past several years, the Clerk of
the Senate has made it a priority to have
an Administration that reflects the diverse
cultural mosaic and linguistic duality of
Canadian society. Consequently, he ensured,
in his annual Call Letter, that the
executive team fully endorses these
objectives as priorities in their
recruitment and staffing processes.
The Administration's senior management
cadre is fully bilingual (CCC or exempt
level), with women and francophones
representing 41 percent of senior ranks.
Administration employees and senators took
part in a variety of awareness and
promotional activities, including:
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Black History Month (February 2005)
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Asian Heritage Month (May 2004)
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Aboriginal Awareness Week (May 2004) - in
partnership with the House of Commons and
the Library of Parliament
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Women's History Month (October 2004)
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Canadian Multiculturalism Day (June 2004)
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National Day of Remembrance and Action on
Violence Against Women (Canada) - in
partnership with the National Capital
Commission (December 2004)
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International Women's Day (March 8, 2004)
- in partnership with the House of
Commons and the Library of Parliament
Together to
celebrate women: MP for Trois-Rivières
Paule Brunelle and Senators Lucie Pépin,
Raynell Andreychuk and Mobina
Jaffer
A Green Senate
The
Partners from left to right:
Brian Cameron, Benson Gorber,
Christian Bourgeois, Lynn
Brunet, Diane Peladeau,
Benoit Giroux
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In 2004, the Senate, the House of Commons,
the Library of Parliament, and Public Works
and Government Services Canada's
Parliamentary Precinct Directorate merged
their environmental programs under the name
Partners for a Green Hill.
The group's efforts were rewarded when the
Senate and its parliamentary partners
became the proud recipient of a 2005
Canadian Council of Ministers of the
Environment Pollution Prevention Award.
Senate Workplace Charitable Campaign
As a result of Senate employees' ongoing
support and generosity, the Senate raised
$54,127.85 for the 2004 Senate of Canada
Workplace Charitable Campaign.
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