Annual Report on Travel, Hospitality and Conference Expenditures
Environment and Climate Change Canada 2014 - 2015
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 Environment and Climate Change Canada for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2015.
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.
Mandate:
Environment Canada is the lead federal department for a wide range of environmental issues affecting Canadians. The Department also plays a stewardship role in achieving and maintaining a clean, safe and sustainable environment. Environment Canada addresses issues through monitoring, research, policy development, service delivery to Canadians, regulations, enforcement of environmental laws, advancement of clean technologies and strategic partnerships. The Department’s programs focus on a clean environment by minimizing threats to Canadians and their environment from pollution; a safe environment by equipping Canadians to make informed decisions on weather, water and climate conditions; and a sustainable environment by conserving and restoring Canada’s natural environment. The Department’s program focus reflects the increasingly evident interdependence between environmental sustainability and economic well-being. Environment Canada fulfills its mandate by promoting three Strategic Outcomes, each contributing to the Government of Canada outcome of a clean and healthy environment; Canada’s natural environment is conserved and restored for present and future generations; Canadians are equipped to make informed decisions on changing weather, water and climate conditions; and Threats to Canadians and their environment from pollution are minimized. EC has authority under numerous pieces of legislation which affect how the department operates. Further information on the mandate, legislation, roles, priorities, responsibilities and strategic outcomes of Environment Canada can be found in Section I of EC's Reports on Plans and Priorities.
Environment and Climate Change Canada Travel, Hospitality and Conference Expenditures for Year ending March 31, 2015
Expenditure category |
Expenditures for year ended March 31, 2015 ($ thousands) |
Expenditures for year ended March 31, 2014 ($ thousands) |
Variance ($ thousands) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Travel | |||
Public Servants |
$23,369.00 |
$25,834.00 |
-$2,465.00 |
Non-public Servants |
$1,853.00 |
$1,734.00 |
-$2,465.00 |
| A. Total travel | $25,222.00 |
$25,834.00 |
$119.00 |
| B. Hospitality | $305.00 |
$302.00 |
$3.00 |
| C. Conference fees | $390.00 |
$347.00 |
$43.00 |
| Total [A+B+C] | $25,917.00 |
$28,217.00 |
-$2,300.00 |
| International travel by minister and minister's staff (included in travel) | $28.00 |
$104.00 |
-$76.00 |
Explanation of significant variances compared with previous fiscal year
Total travel:
Public Servants: 23369 Compared with fiscal year 2013-2014, departmental travel expenditures by public servants have decreased by $2,465K or 9.54%.;
Non-Public Servants: 1853 Compared with fiscal year 2013-2014, departmental travel expenditures by non-public servants have increased by $119K or 6.86%.
Hospitality:
Compared with fiscal year 2013-2014, departmental hospitality expenditures have increased by $3K or 0.99%.
Conference fees:
Compared with fiscal year 2013-2014, departmental conference fees expenditures have increased by $43K or 12.39%. This increase is mainly explained by Environment Canada’s hosting of the World Weather Open Science Conference 2014. Estimated participation of 122 employees has been approved. Environment Canada purchased the conference memberships. Also, there were more participants at the congress of the Canadian meteorological and oceanographic society and the participation at the American Ornithologists Union held every 4 years.Minister and minister’s exempt staff - International travel:
Compared with fiscal year 2013-2014, departmental international travel expenditures by the Minister and her staff have decreased by $76K or 72.88%. This decrease is mainly explained by the participation of the Minister and his/her staff to more important conferences in expensive destinations in 2013-2014. In particular, there was the 19th session of the conference of parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Poland, the high-level assembly of the Climate and Clean Air Coalition in Norway and the International Polar Bear Forum on the issue of polar bear conservation and management and the representatives of the parties to the 1973 Agreement on the Conservation of Polar Bears in Russia.