Annual Report on Travel, Hospitality and Conference Expenditures
Department of Justice 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 Department of Justice 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:
The Department of Justice has the mandate to support the dual roles of the Minister of Justice and the Attorney General of Canada. Under Canada’s federal system, the administration of justice is an area of shared jurisdiction between the federal government and the provinces and territories. The Department supports the Minister of Justice’s responsibilities for 53 statutes and areas of federal law by ensuring a bilingual and bijural national legal framework, principally within the following domains: criminal justice, family justice, access to justice, Indigenous justice, public law, and international private law. The Department also supports the Attorney General as the chief law officer of the Crown. The Department provides legal advice to the Government and federal government departments and agencies, represents the Crown in civil litigation and before administrative tribunals, and drafts legislation and regulations.
Department of Justice 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 |
$4,129.00 |
- | - |
Key stakeholders |
$83.00 |
- | - |
Internal governance |
$532.00 |
- | - |
Training |
$633.00 |
- | - |
Other |
$272.00 |
- | - |
| A. Total travel | $5,649.00 |
$5,766.00 |
-$117.00 |
| B. Hospitality | $183.00 |
$133.00 |
$50.00 |
| C. Conference fees | $136.00 |
$147.00 |
-$11.00 |
| Total [A+B+C] | $5,968.00 |
$6,046.00 |
-$78.00 |
| International travel by minister and minister's staff (included in travel) | $70.00 |
$70.00 |
$0.00 |
Explanation of significant variances compared with previous fiscal year
Total travel:
Compared with fiscal year 2016-17, departmental travel expenditures decreased by $117K (2%). The Department of Justice provides an integrated suite of high-quality legal advisory, litigation and legislative services to the Minister of Justice and to all federal departments and agencies across Canada. Litigation services related expenditures, such as travel, can vary from year to year depending on the inventory of active cases.
Hospitality:
Compared with fiscal year 2016-17, departmental hospitality expenditures increased by $50K (38%) mainly due to various events which took place to support departmental and government priorities and to increase dialogue and collaboration with provinces and territories, such as:
• Special events to mark the Charter’s 35th anniversary and 150th anniversary of Canadian Confederation;
• The Federal, Provincial and Territorial Conference of Ministers Responsible for Human Rights in Ottawa, the first to take place since 1988;
• The Federal, Provincial and Territorial Table of Ministers Responsible for Justice and Public Safety in Vancouver.
Conference fees:
Compared with fiscal year 2016-17, departmental conference fee expenditures have decreased by $11K (7%), which is not considered significant.Minister and minister’s exempt staff - International travel:
Compared with fiscal year 2016-17, departmental expenditures for international travel by the Minister and the Minister’s exempt staff remained stable. Expenditures in 2017-18 were incurred by the Minister and her staff to support governmental priorities. Detailed information is available on the Open Government portal, in accordance with the requirement for proactive disclosure.