About the Committee System
Parliamentary Committee Service Standards
July 2001
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Parliamentary Committee Services
Parliamentary committees undertake much of the detailed investigative
work of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. Committees
scrutinize the operation of government ministries and agencies,
examine policy proposals and issues of public interest, and may
also review legislation and government spending estimates.
Committees also allow members of the public to have direct input
into the parliamentary process by making written submissions and
participating in public hearings.
The Office of the Clerk of Committees is committed to providing
the highest quality support to committees of the Legislative Assembly
and to serving members of the public interested in information or
advice about committee processes and activities.
Our office's service standards are a starting point for us as we
strive continuously to improve our service.
Craig James
Clerk Assistant and Clerk of Committees
Legislative Assembly of British Columbia
What We
Do
The staff of the Office of the Clerk of Committees provides procedural,
administrative, research and analytical support to parliamentary committees.
This includes providing information or advice about committee processes
and activities to members of the public and assisting with public
consultations.
The Clerk to each committee provides impartial procedural and organizational
advice to committees and oversees the work of staff. Our research
staff assist with the collection of evidence, undertake research
and analysis, prepare briefing notes and draft committee reports.
Our administrative staff maintain committee files and organize committee
meetings and public consultation processes.
Our Commitment
We are committed to providing the best level of service possible
in a manner consistent with the values inherent in our organization.
In particular, we are committed to:
- integrity we will act fairly, honestly and ethically;
- responsiveness we will act effectively and in a timely fashion
in response to concerns or requests for information and advice;
- accountability we will accept responsibility for our actions
- quality we will strive to give our best to every task; and
- professionalism - we will maintain a professional and non-partisan
approach.
Our Service Standards
-
We provide advice that is timely, accurate, clear and as complete
as possible.
- If we are unable to respond immediately to requests for advice
or information, we will let you know what steps we are taking
to provide a response.
- We provide liaison services that are timely, courteous and effective.
- We aim to develop and implement strategies to promote public
awareness of and participation in committee inquiries.
- We support the information-gathering activities of committees
by providing well informed and balanced research and analytical
services and by providing effective administrative support.
- We provide research documents and briefing papers for committee
meetings in a time frame that is acceptable to each committee.
- We provide report drafting services that result in clearly expressed
and well structured draft reports that express the views of the
Committee.
- We provide publication services that result in the timely printing,
presentation and distribution of committee reports
- We develop and implement strategies to ensure the effective
promotion of committee reports.
If you would like to contribute to a particular committee inquiry,
we will help you by providing information and advice about:
- the issues under consideration.
- the committee's meeting and public hearing schedule.
- how to prepare a written submission. and
- appearing before the committee as a witness.
Our Web Site
We will ensure that up-to-date information about parliamentary committees
is maintained on the Assembly web site at:
http://www.leg.bc.ca/cmt/.
The site contains:
- the terms of reference for all committees;
- committee membership lists;
- information about committee hearings and activities and how
to contribute to committee inquiries;
- transcripts of committee hearings; and
- current and previous committee reports.
Comments and Inquiries
We welcome feedback on our performance so that we can improve our
standards of service. If you have any comments, inquiries or are
dissatisfied with any aspect of the committee support services we
provide, please let us know. You may care to make your comments
or concerns known to the Clerk or the Chair of the Committee who
will try to resolve your concerns immediately.
We can be contacted during regular office hours, or after hours
by arrangement with the Clerk to the Committee.
How to Contact Us
Office of the Clerk of Committees
Room 224
Parliament Buildings
Victoria
British Columbia
Canada V8V 1X4
Telephone: (250) 356-2933
Facsimile: (250) 356-8172
Toll-free in BC: 1-877-428-8337
E-mail: ClerkComm@leg.bc.ca
Website: www.leg.bc.ca/cmt
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