Annual Report on Travel, Hospitality and Conference Expenditures
Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada 2020 - 2021
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 Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2021.
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:
IRB’s travel, hospitality and conference expenditures support the delivery of the following core programs and services:
• The IRB renders quality decisions and resolves cases in a timely manner regarding immigration and refugee protection cases. This includes determining refugee protection claims and appeals and applications to vacate or cease refugee protection. It also includes making decisions on admissibility hearings and detention reviews, and on appeals on certain immigration cases. The IRB delivers these services through the following four divisions:
Refugee Protection Division
Refugee Appeal Division
Immigration Division
Immigration Appeal Division
• The IRB carries out its work in Ottawa and three regional offices: Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, one satellite office in Calgary, points of service in Winnipeg and Edmonton and itinerant locations in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba as required. All these sites hold hearings, supported by adjudicative and corporate support.
More information on the IRB’s mandate and activities can be found in the 2020-2021 Departmental Result Report and 2021-2022 Departmental Plan.
Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada Travel, Hospitality and Conference Expenditures for Year ending March 31, 2021
Expenditure category |
Expenditures for year ended March 31, 2021 ($ thousands) |
Expenditures for year ended March 31, 2020 ($ thousands) |
Variance ($ thousands) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Travel | |||
Operational activities |
$88.00 |
$897.00 |
-$809.00 |
Key stakeholders |
$1.00 |
$120.00 |
-$119.00 |
Internal governance |
$13.00 |
$475.00 |
-$462.00 |
Training |
$3.00 |
$738.00 |
-$735.00 |
Other |
$0.00 |
$64.00 |
-$64.00 |
| A. Total travel | $105.00 |
$2,294.00 |
-$2,189.00 |
| B. Hospitality | $0.00 |
$46.00 |
-$46.00 |
| C. Conference fees | $1.00 |
$46.00 |
-$45.00 |
| Total [A+B+C] | $106.00 |
$2,386.00 |
-$2,280.00 |
| International travel by minister and minister's staff (included in travel) | $0.00 |
$0.00 |
$0.00 |
Explanation of significant variances compared with previous fiscal year
Total travel:
Compared with fiscal year 2019-2020, travel expenditures decreased by $2.2 million (95%), from $2.3 million in 2019-2020 to $105 thousand in 2020-2021. This decrease was primarily due to travel restrictions implemented by the IRB to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.
Hospitality:
In 2020-2021, there were no hospitality expenditures since there were no in-person training, conferences or events.
Conference fees:
In 2020-2021, conference fees reduced by 98% due to the overall reduction in participation in conferences and events as a result of restrictions to prevent the spread of the COVID-19.Minister and minister’s exempt staff - International travel:
Not applicable