Reporting on Treasury Board Secretariat of Canada Total Annual Expenditures on Travel, Hospitality and Conferences for the Fiscal Year 2013-2014
The Secretariat supports Treasury Board Ministers in strengthening the way government is managed to better serve Canadians and ensure value for money in government spending. In order to fulfill this mandate the Secretariat incurs travel, hospitality and conference expenditures to: implement key government initiatives; attend and present at national and international forums related to the Secretariat's mandate; recruit and provide professional development to functional communities (such as internal auditors, financial officers, etc); and implement new policies and horizontal initiatives. In addition, as the employer for the government, the Secretariat incurs travel and related expenditures for labour management meetings with bargaining agents and other stakeholders, as well as with regard to human resources litigation and hearings.
| Expenditure Category | Expenditures for the year ending March 31, 2013 (a) |
Expenditures for the year ending March 31, 2014 (b) |
Variance (a-b) |
|---|---|---|---|
Table Notes
|
|||
| Travel – Public Servants | 1,922 | 1,311 | -611 |
| Travel – Non-Public Servants | 100 | 145 | 45 |
| International Travel by Minister and Minister's Stafftable note 1 * | 14 | 4 | -10 |
| Total Travel | 2,036 | 1,460 | -576 |
| Hospitality | 105 | 100 | -5 |
| Conference Fees | 6 | 23 | 17 |
| Total | 2,147 | 1,583 | -564 |
There is an overall reduction of expenditures in fiscal year 2013-2014 from the 2012-2013 fiscal year. Travel and hospitality expenditures have continued to decline. The Treasury Board Secretariat has increased its conference attendance and consultation with non-public servants to gather more intelligence on industry trends and developments in both the public and private sectors, with a view of enhancing policy direction.
Travel:
-
Public Servants: Compared to fiscal year 2012-2013, departmental travel expenditures by public servants decreased mainly due to:
- Continued effort at the Treasury Board Secretariat to reduce travel, hospitality and conference expenditures by promoting the use of available technologies such as teleconferencing for connecting with partners and stakeholders.
- Introduction of additional approval requirements outlined in the Directive on Travel, Hospitality, Conference and Event Expenditures.
-
Non-Public Servants: Compared to fiscal year 2012-2013, departmental travel expenditures by non-public servants increased mainly due to:
- Increased travel requirements as a result of the creation of the Regulatory Advisory Committee to the President of the Treasury Board, a commitment under the Red Tape Reduction Action Plan.
- Establishment of contracts with external experts, located outside the nations' capital, related to the Cyber Initiative.
-
Minister and Minister's Staff: Compared to fiscal year 2012-2013, departmental international travel expenditures by the ministers and their staff decreased mainly due to:
- A single trip outside the country was undertaken by the Minister's Office in fiscal year 2013-2014.
Hospitality:
Compared to fiscal year 2012-2013, there was no significant variance in the departmental hospitality expenditures.
Conference fees:
Compared to fiscal year 2012-2013, departmental conference fees expenditures increased mainly due to:
- Attendance at open data, and pensions and benefits conferences with the objective of gathering more intelligence on industry trends and developments in both the public and private sectors, with a view of enhancing policy direction.