Report on Annual Expenditures for Travel, Hospitality and Conferences 2015-16

As required by the Treasury Board Directive on Travel, Hospitality, Conference and Event Expenditures, this report provides information on the total annual expenditures for each of travel, hospitality and conference fees for the Department of Public Safety Canada for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2016. It also provides the variance explanations from the previous fiscal year in each of these areas.

This information is updated annually and does not contain information withheld under the Access to Information Act or the Privacy Act.

Expenditures on travel, hospitality and conference fees incurred by Public Safety Canada are in support of its mandate and Government priorities.

Public Safety Canada plays a key role in discharging the Government’s fundamental responsibility for the safety and security of its citizens. Legislation governing the Department sets out two essential roles:

1. support the Minister’s responsibility for all matters, except those assigned to another federal minister, related to public safety and emergency management including national leadership; and
2. coordinate the efforts of Public Safety Canada’s Portfolio agencies as well as provide guidance on their strategic priorities.

The Department provides strategic policy advice on: national security, border strategies, countering crime, and emergency management. The Department also delivers a number of grant and contribution programs related to emergency management and community safety and national security.

For more detailed information on Public Safety Canada’s mandate, including roles and responsibilities, please refer to the Department’s 2015-16 Report on Plans and Priorities (RPP) and the 2015-16 Departmental Performance Report (DPR).

1. International travel incurred by the Minister and/or Minister’s staff is reported separately below for information purposes. It is also included in the amount reported in Travel: Non-Public Servants.
2. Includes international travel that is part of the Department’s program.

Significant Variances Compared With the Previous Fiscal Year

Overall, the travel, hospitality and conferences expenditures increased by $78K or 2% compared to 2014-15.

TRAVEL:

Compared to fiscal year 2014-15, departmental travel expenditures by public and non-public servants increased by $20K or 1%. This increase is in line with continued efforts to ensure that travel expenditures are managed in the most effective and economical manner by promoting the use of available technologies such as teleconferencing and videoconferencing.

Public Servants:
Compared to fiscal year 2014-15, departmental travel expenditures by public servants increased by $88K or 3%. This increase is mainly due to travel to support core mandate activities of the Department.

Non-Public Servants:
Compared to fiscal year 2014-15, departmental travel expenditures by non-public servants decreased by $68K or 14%. This decrease is mainly due to travel related to stakeholder engagement of the Department.

HOSPITALITY:

Compared to fiscal year 2014-15, departmental hospitality expenditures increased by $47K or 25%. This increase is mainly due to the transfer of hospitality costs related to the National Search and Rescue Secretariat (NSS) from the Department of National Defence (DND) to Public Safety Canada as part of the transfer of responsibility which took effect July 24, 2015.

CONFERENCE FEES:

Compared to fiscal year 2014-15, departmental conference expenditures increased by $11K or 16%. This increase is mainly due to attendance of conferences on issues of Community Safety and Countering Crime as well as Cyber Security with the objective of gathering more intelligence on industry trends to enhance policy direction.

MINISTER AND MINISTER’S STAFF:

Compared to fiscal year 2014-15, departmental international travel expenditures by the Minister and his staff decreased by $23K or 39%. This decrease is mainly due to the fact that a federal election was held and a new Minister, the Honourable Ralph Goodale, was appointed in November 2015, which lessened the requirement for international travel and participation in international events for the Minister and Minister’s staff in fiscal year 2015-16.

Approved by the Chief Financial Officer

Original signed by:                          September 1, 2016

_______________________         ________________________
Mark Perlman, CPA, CMA,            DATE SIGNED
Chief Financial Officer and
Assistant Deputy Minister,
Corporate Management Branch
Public Safety Canada
Ottawa, Canada

Date modified:

2016-11-21