When you are elected to the House of Commons, you are handed a document called The Members' Manual of Allowance and Services. This document is published by The Speakers Office of the House of Commons and the content and policies that are contained in it are approved by what's known as the Board of Internal Economy, a committee of MPs from all parties who meet in secret every couple of weeks to discuss the financial matters of the House of Common and its general administration. This is the manual that sets out the ground rules for setting up and running an MPs office.
So far as I can tell, the Members Manual of Allowance and Services is not available on the Internet that most Canadians can use but is available on the Parliamentary intranet to which computers in almost every office on the Parliamentary Precinct are connected. As our bureau is not within the Parliamentary Precinct (but is two blocks away) and therefore is not on the Parliamentary intranet, my colleague, Global National producer Pam McKenzie, asked the Speakers Office last week for a copy of that manual, and was provided with one, after revelations emerged that then Minister of State for Status of Women Helena Guergis had provided her spouse, former Edmonton MP Rahim Jaffer, with one of the four BlackBerry wireless devices that all MPs are authorized to procure and use for the administration of their MPs office. Each BlackBerry comes with a Parliamentary e-mail account tied to the MPs office.
Here are the relevant excerpts from the Members' Manual has to say about the use and care of wireless devices that will be paid for by the House of Commons and, by extension, all taxpayers (I have provided the emphasis):
1. Introduction
Members are provided with operating funds, office premises in the Parliamentary Precinct and goods and services to be used to carry out their parliamentary functions (see definition below)…
2. Furniture, Computer, Equipment, and Supplies
Members are provided with standard furniture, equipment and supplies based on a scale of entitlement approved by the Board of Internal Economy, to support the operation of their Ottawa office . . ,
Wireless Devices: Members are provided with up to four (4) wireless devices, including three (3) voice plans, one (1) data plan, applicable monthly fees, air time, long-distance charges, and features such as voice mail, access fees and 911 services. Eligible devices include cell phones, pagers and Personal Digital Assistants (PDA) and must be procured by Telecommunications Services. .
Definitions
Parliamentary Functions
Duties and activities related to the position of Member of the House of Commons wherever performed and include public and official business, and partisan matters, but do not include the private business interests of a Member or a Member's immediate family. (reference: By-law 101)
Why is all this important?
It seems probable — indeed, highly likely — that the use by Jaffer of the e-mail account and wireless device by a sitting MP — and a minister, no less — is connected to the series of events the led to Prime Minister Stephen Harper calling in the cops on Guergis. E-mail and PIN traffic to and from each BlackBerry is almost certainly archived and stored by the administrators of the House of Commons information technology and telecommunications services. The admission Thursday by Guergis' spokesman that Jaffer had the use of one of her BlackBerrys — and her office's defence of the practice by noting that everybody does it — may have have initially worried the PMO that this practice was something Parliament's ethics commissioner ought to look into. But then, presumably, someone connected with the PMO asked to review some of the correspondence that came through the account associated with Jaffer and that may have triggered the heightened concerns that led to the belief that, in addition to ethics commissioner, the police ought to be investigating.
UPDATE: Anonymous commenter below claims PINs are not archived and that an MP would turn over e-mail only in response to a search warrant or an order from the Speaker. I am almost certain that the folks who run parl.gc.ca, just like any big corporation in Canada, archive all communications, including e-mail and PINs, involving any device they own and for which they are, ultimately, legally responsible. My tech sources on that are pretty solid though, as always, an on-the-record source will always change my mind. On the second point, that MPs must divulge e-mail only in extraordinary situations, I'm keen to see if someone would step up to substantiate that important point. Please e-mail me if you can.
The trials of Helena Guergus; B.C.'s political scandal; and stormy Saskatchewan: Listen to my two -minute audio roundup of what's on the front pages of the country's newspapers plus highlights from Saturday's Parliamentary daybook by clicking on the link below. 
