Annual Report on Travel, Hospitality and Conference Expenditures

Treasury Board Secretariat of Canada

As required by the Treasury Board Directive on Travel, Hospitality, Conference and Event Expenditures, this report provides information on travel, hospitality and conference expenditures for the Treasury Board Secretariat of Canada (TBS) for the fiscal year ended , except for information withheld under the Access to Information Act or the Privacy Act.

Travel, hospitality and conference expenditures incurred by a federal department or agency relate to activities that support the department or agency's mandate and the government's priorities.

TBS' travel, hospitality and conference expenditures support the delivery of the following core programs and services to Canadians:

In addition, as the employer for the public service, TBS incurs expenditures for travel and related items for labour management meetings with bargaining agents and other stakeholders, as well as human resources litigation and hearings.

Total annual TBS expenditures for travel, hospitality and conferences for the 2017-18 fiscal year and the 2016-17 fiscal year are summarized in the table below.

Travel, Hospitality and Conference Expenditures

Treasury Board Secretariat of Canada

Year ended
Expenditure category Expenditures for year ended ($ thousands) Expenditures for year ended
($ thousands)
Variance 
($ thousands)
Total [A+B+C] 2,119 1,748 371
International travel by minister and minister's staff (included in travel) 63 53 10
Travel
Operational activities 920 676 Not applicable
Key stakeholders 318 218 Not applicable
Internal governance 29 10 Not applicable
Training 316 193 Not applicable
Other 331 513 Not applicable
A. Total travel 1,914 1,610 304
B. Hospitality 173 102 71
C. Conference fees 32 36 -4

Significant variances compared to previous fiscal year

In comparison to the 2016-17 fiscal year, there was an overall increase of 21% in expenditures for travel, hospitality and conferences in the 2017-18 fiscal year. This was largely due to an increase in travel expenditures and to a lesser extent, an increase in hospitality expenditures.

Travel: Compared to fiscal year 2016–17, departmental travel expenditures increased by $304,000. The increase was mainly due to:

  • Activities in support of the government's digital agenda and commitment to adopt new ways of serving Canadians, including the setting up of the Canadian Digital Service which is partnering with departments to provide hands-on capacity to improve services to Canadians and to help build government-wide digital capacity;
  • Commitment by TBS, as the employer of the Public Service, to help stabilize the federal government pay administration and ensure that public servants are paid properly and on time for their work, including travel to the Pay Centre in Miramichi, New Brunswick to provide training on Phoenix and to engage other key stakeholders on pay stabilization efforts;
  • Travel costs associated with the agreement by Canada, represented by the TBS, to take on the role of lead government co-chair of the international multilateral Open Government Partnership (OGP) for 2018-19, and to support the co-chair for 2017-18; and
  • Travel expenditures incurred by the department on the Joint Career Development Program which was launched in 2017 and is jointly administered by the Association of Canadian Financial Officers (ACFO) and the Office of the Comptroller General to provide learning and development opportunities to federal financial officers across the country.

Hospitality: Compared to fiscal year 2016–17, hospitality expenditures increased by $71,000. This increase was mainly due to:

  • The hosting of the 29th Annual International Colloquium on Financial Management for National Governments. This event takes place alternating between Canada and the United States on an annual basis, and provides 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; and 
  • The establishment of the Indigenous Youth Summer Employment Opportunity initiative in 2017 to offer a meaningful work experience in the National Capital Region for Indigenous post-secondary students, including on-the-job learning, professional development and networking, as well as cultural events and mentorship opportunities.

Conference fees: Compared to fiscal year 2016–17, there is no significant variance in conference fee expenditures.

Minister and minister's exempt staff: Compared to fiscal year 2016–17, there is no significant variance in international travel by the Minister and the Minister's exempt staff.

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