Reporting on Treasury Board Secretariat of Canada Total Annual Expenditures on Travel, Hospitality and Conferences for the Fiscal Year 2015-2016
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, 2016 (a) |
Expenditures for the year ending March 31, 2015 (b) |
Variance (a-b) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Totals may not add up due to rounding. | |||
| Travel – Public Servants | 1,037 | 1,000 | 37 |
| Travel – Non-Public Servants | 150 | 138 | 12 |
| International Travel by Minister and Minister's Staff | 8 | 33 | -25 |
| Total Travel | 1,195 | 1,171 | 24 |
| Hospitality | 98 | 83 | 15 |
| Conference Fees | 31 | 41 | -10 |
| Total | 1,325 | 1,295 | 30 |
The overall increase in Travel, Hospitality and Conference expenditures in fiscal year 2015-2016 compared to fiscal year 2014-2015 was minimal (2%). This is largely due to the result of active and ongoing management of the Secretariat's travel, hospitality and conference expenditures.
Travel:
- Public Servants: Compared to fiscal year 2014-2015, there was no significant variance in the departmental travel expenditures for public servants.
- Non-Public Servants: Compared to fiscal year 2014-2015, departmental travel expenditures for non-public servants increased by $12K mainly due to travel by an international expert to present new models of budgeting to senior TBS officials for their consideration and travel by candidates from outside the public service for a critical TBS senior management position.
- Minister and Minister's Staff: International travel expenditures by the Minister and Minister’s Staff decreased by $25K compared to 2014-15 due to a reduced number of overseas trips.
Hospitality:
Departmental hospitality expenditures increased by $15K compared to fiscal year 2014-2015. This was mainly due to the hosting of the 27th Annual International Colloquium on Financial Management for National Governments. This event takes place in Canada or the United States, alternating between the two countries each year and provides an opportunity to gather intelligence on the perspectives and experiences of senior officials from other countries who have national responsibilities for financial management, with a view to enhancing policy direction.
Conference Fees:
Departmental expenditures on conference fees decreased by $10K compared to fiscal year 2014-2015. This was mainly as a result of a reduction in the number of employees that attended conferences.