Reporting on Treasury Board Secretariat of Canada Total Annual Expenditures on Travel, Hospitality and Conferences for the Fiscal Year 2014-2015
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, 2014 (a) |
Expenditures for the year ending March 31, 2015 (b) |
Variance (a-b) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Travel – Public Servants | 1,311 | 1,000 | -311 |
| Travel – Non-Public Servants | 145 | 138 | -7 |
| International Travel by Minister and Minister's Staff | 4 | 33 | 29 |
| Total Travel | 1,460 | 1,171 | -289 |
| Hospitality | 100 | 83 | -17 |
| Conference Fees | 23 | 41 | 18 |
| Total | 1,583 | 1,295 | -288 |
There is an overall reduction in expenditures in fiscal year 2014-2015 compared to fiscal year 2013-2014.
Travel and hospitality continue to decline. Reductions are 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 2013-2014, departmental travel expenditures by public servants decreased by $311K. This was mainly due to continued efforts by the Treasury Board Secretariat to reduce travel expenditures by promoting the use of available technologies such as teleconferencing for connecting with partners and stakeholders.
- Non-Public Servants:
- Compared to fiscal year 2013-2014, there was no significant variance in the departmental travel expenditures for non-public servants.
- Minister and Minister's Staff:
- Compared to fiscal year 2013-2014, departmental international travel expenditures by Minister Clement and his staff increased by $29K. This was mainly due to two trips by the Minister and his Staff in fiscal year 2014-2015 to meet with senior officials in New Zealand and India.
Hospitality:
Compared to fiscal year 2013-2014, departmental hospitality expenditures reduced by $17K mainly due to efficiencies achieved as a result of commitments made under the Deficit Reduction Action Plan. The decision to increase the use of available technologies such as teleconferencing for connecting with partners and stakeholders have contributed to the reduction in hospitality expenditures, such as refreshments, since less in-person events are being held.
Conference fees:
Compared to fiscal year 2013-2014, departmental conference fees expenditures increased by $18K mainly due to attendance at conferences on public sector leadership, Information Technology and citizen-centered service 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.