Annual Report on Travel, Hospitality and Conference Expenditures
Department of Justice Canada 2018 - 2019
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, 2019.
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 in his responsibilities for 49 statutes and areas of federal law by ensuring a bilingual and bijural national legal framework principally within the following domains: criminal justice (including youth criminal justice), family justice, access to justice, Aboriginal justice, public law and private international law.
The Department also supports the Attorney General as the chief law officer of the Crown, both in terms of the ongoing operations of government and of the development of new policies, programs and services for Canadians. The Department provides legal advice to the Government and federal government departments and agencies, represents the Crown in civil litigation and before administrative tribunals, drafts legislation and responds to the legal needs of federal departments and agencies.
Department of Justice Canada Travel, Hospitality and Conference Expenditures for Year ending March 31, 2019
Expenditure category |
Expenditures for year ended March 31, 2019 ($ thousands) |
Expenditures for year ended March 31, 2018 ($ thousands) |
Variance ($ thousands) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Travel | |||
Operational activities |
$5,016.00 |
$4,129.00 |
$887.00 |
Key stakeholders |
$155.00 |
$83.00 |
$72.00 |
Internal governance |
$498.00 |
$532.00 |
-$34.00 |
Training |
$1,006.00 |
$633.00 |
$373.00 |
Other |
$418.00 |
$272.00 |
$146.00 |
| A. Total travel | $7,093.00 |
$5,649.00 |
$1,444.00 |
| B. Hospitality | $193.00 |
$183.00 |
$10.00 |
| C. Conference fees | $76.00 |
$136.00 |
-$60.00 |
| Total [A+B+C] | $7,362.00 |
$5,968.00 |
$1,394.00 |
| International travel by minister and minister's staff (included in travel) | $84.00 |
$70.00 |
$14.00 |
Explanation of significant variances compared with previous fiscal year
Total travel:
Compared with fiscal year 2017-2018, departmental travel expenditures increased by $1,444K (26%), mainly due to increased domestic travel under Operational activities and Training in support of program delivery.
Litigation services related expenditures, such as travel, can vary from year to year depending on the inventory of active cases. The increase in Operational activities is the result of more inter-regional litigation work.
Hospitality:
Compared with fiscal year 2017-2018, departmental hospitality expenditures have remained relatively stable with an increase of $10K (6%).
Conference fees:
Compared with fiscal year 2017-2018, departmental conference fees decreased by $60K (44%). This decrease occurred as a result of a change in criteria in determining whether large information-sharing or learning sessions for the legal services community are categorized as conference or training activities.Minister and minister’s exempt staff - International travel:
Expenditures were incurred by the Minister and her/his staff to support governmental priorities. Detailed information is available on the Open Government portal, in accordance with the requirement for proactive disclosure.