Annual Report on Travel, Hospitality and Conference Expenditures
Employment and Social Development Canada 2017 - 2018
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 Employment and Social Development Canada for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2018.
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:
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 Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2018, 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.
ESDC’s mission is to build a stronger and more competitive Canada, to support Canadians in making choices that help them live productive and rewarding lives and to improve Canadians' quality of life. The Department delivers a range of programs and services that affect Canadians throughout their lives through three business lines:
• Employment and Social Development;
• Labour Program;
• Service Canada.
ESDC’s travel, hospitality and conference expenditures support the delivery of core programs and services to Canadians, such as: Old Age Security; Canada Pension Plan; Employment Insurance; Canada Student Loans and Grants; the Canada Education Savings Program; Temporary Foreign Workers Program; Wage Earner Protection Program; and Passport Services.
The Labour Program is responsible for overseeing federal labour regulatory responsibilities, including facilitating compliance with occupational health and safety, labour standards and employment equity legislation, as well as assisting trade unions and employers in the negotiation of collective agreements and their renewal in federally regulated workplaces. The Labour Program also represents Canada in international labour organizations and negotiates and implements labour provisions in the context of trade liberalization initiatives.
Through Service Canada, the Department helps Canadians access departmental programs as well as other Government of Canada programs and services.
Finally, through grants and contributions, the Department provides funding to other levels of government and organizations within the voluntary and private sectors, educators and community organizations to support projects that meet the labour market and social development needs of Canadians.
For more information, please refer to the 2017-2018 ESDC Department Plan.
Employment and Social Development Canada Travel, Hospitality and Conference Expenditures for Year ending March 31, 2018
Expenditure category |
Expenditures for year ended March 31, 2018 ($ thousands) |
Expenditures for year ended March 31, 2017 Note 1 ($ thousands) |
Variance ($ thousands) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Travel | |||
Operational activities |
$13,427.00 |
- | - |
Key stakeholders |
$2,113.00 |
- | - |
Internal governance |
$843.00 |
- | - |
Training |
$6,871.00 |
- | - |
Other |
$3,909.00 |
- | - |
| A. Total travel | $27,163.00 |
$24,825.00 |
$2,338.00 |
| B. Hospitality | $361.00 |
$336.00 |
$25.00 |
| C. Conference fees | $117.00 |
$126.00 |
-$9.00 |
| Total [A+B+C] | $27,641.00 |
$25,287.00 |
$2,354.00 |
| International travel by minister and minister's staff (included in travel) | $129.00 |
$135.00 |
-$6.00 |
Explanation of significant variances compared with previous fiscal year
Total travel:
Compared to fiscal year 2016-2017, departmental travel expenditures have increased by 8% due to a variety of factors including, but not limited to, activities related to the creation of a new Transformation branch, increased program integrity activities for statutory programs and responding to the British Columbia wildfires.
Hospitality:
Compared to fiscal year 2016-2017, departmental hospitality expenditures have increased by 7% mainly due to an increase in high profile departmental cultural events to support department priorities.
Conference fees:
Compared to fiscal year 2016-2017, departmental conference fees have decreased by 7% mainly due to reduction of attendance to various conferences.Minister and minister’s exempt staff - International travel:
Compared to fiscal year 2016-2017, there was no significant variance in the departmental international travel by minister and minister’s staff fees (4%).