Report on Annual Expenditures for Travel, Hospitality and Conferences 2012-13

As required by the Treasury Board Directive for the Management of Expenditures on Travel, Hospitality and Conferences, this report provides information on the total annual expenditures for each of travel, hospitality and conferences for the Department of Public Safety Canada for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2013. It also provides the variance explanation 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 conferences 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:

• 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
• coordinate the efforts of Public Safety 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.

For more detailed information on Public Safety Canada’s mandate, including roles and responsibilities, please refer to the Department’s 2012-13 Report on Plans and Priorities (RPP) and the 2012-13 Departmental Performance Report (DPR).

Significant variances compared to the previous fiscal year.

Travel:

1. Public Servants: Compared to fiscal year 2011-12, departmental travel expenditures by public servants changed as a result of:
   
   The following increases:
   
   
   • Operational requirements within the Emergency Management Program resulted in reduced funding available for spending on travel in fiscal year 2011-12. In fiscal year 2012-13 these pressures did not exist, allowing the Program to travel as planned; and
   • An increase in travel spending as a direct result of the Cyber Defence and the Canada-U.S. Beyond the Border Action Plan initiatives, as well as for the negotiations of preclearance agreements.
     
     
   Offset by the following decrease:
   
   
   • A reduction in travel expenditures due to efficiencies in the management of travel for meetings and retreats, such as using video-conference or planning various retreats the same week so that regional employees only travel once.
2. Non-Public Servants: Compared to fiscal year 2011-12, departmental travel expenditures by non-public servants changed as a result of:
   
   The following decrease:
   
   
   • The closure of the Canadian Emergency Management College has ended various courses and training therefore, the travel expenditures incurred by bringing experts to teach these courses has decreased.
     
     
   Offset by the following increase:
   
   
   • An increase in travel expenditures for the participation of experts to launch and advance the Kanishka Project Research initiative on Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism.
     
     
3. Minister and Minister’s Staff: Compared to fiscal year 2011-12, departmental international travel expenditures incurred by the Minister and his staff increased mainly because the Minister’s obligations in fiscal year 2012-13 required more travel than in the previous fiscal year.

Hospitality:

Compared to fiscal year 2011-12, departmental hospitality expenditures increased mainly due to the hosting of events in 2012-13 that increased hospitality expenditures, such as:

• The Cross Border Management Exercise which is a commitment under the Canada-U.S. Beyond the Border Action Plan;
• The Summit on the Economics of Policing held in Ottawa; and
• A conference to launch and advance the Kanishka Project Research initiative on Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism.

Conference Fees:

Compared to fiscal year 2011-12, expenditures decreased by 1%, signifying that Public Safety Canada’s spending on conference fees has remained constant.

In the 2011-12 Report on Annual Expenditures for Travel, Hospitality and Conferences the Department’s stated objective was to increase planned travel, hospitality and conference spending by 29% to meet anticipated operational requirements in 2012-13.  However, actual expenditures for 2012-13 were significantly lower than the objective; representing an increase of only 4% over 2011-12 travel, hospitality and conference spending.

Date modified:

2016-01-19