Annual Report on Travel, Hospitality and Conference Expenditures

Pacific Economic Development Canada 2021 - 2022

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 Pacific Economic Development Canada for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2022.

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:

PacifiCan’s travel, hospitality and conference expenditures support the delivery of the following core programs and services to Canadians:
• The Pacific Economic Development Canada mandate is to support the economic growth and diversification of British Columbia’s economy and advance its interests of the region in national economic policy, programs, and projects. The department will achieve this mandate by working with clients and partners in our four roles as investor, advisor, pathfinder, and convener.
• Delivery of strategic programs to Canadians that advance innovation, business development and community economic development in rural and urban areas throughout the province of British Columbia.
• Additional information on departmental programs and program activities may be found in PacifiCan’s Programs and the Departmental Plans.

Pacific Economic Development Canada Travel, Hospitality and Conference Expenditures for Year ending March 31, 2022

Travel, Hospitality and Conference Expenditures
Expenditure category	Expenditures for year ended March 31, 2022 ($ thousands)
Travel
Operational activities	$24.00
Key stakeholders	$8.00
Internal governance	$2.00
Training	$0.00
Other	$0.00
A. Total travel	$34.00
B. Hospitality	$1.00
C. Conference fees	$3.00
Total [A+B+C]	$38.00
International travel by minister and minister's staff (included in travel)	$0.00

Explanation of significant variances compared with previous fiscal year

Total travel:

Travel expenditures were $34,000 for the fiscal year 2021-2022. The baseline is mainly comprised of operational activities including project management, stakeholder site visits, Agency announcements, and developing PacifiCan’s agency structure.

However, due to the global COVID-19 Pandemic, the total travel spending is at lower than normal levels, and is expected to increase as the government restrictions on travel have now been removed and operational travel is starting to increase.

Hospitality:

PacifiCan’s hospitality baseline for fiscal year 2021-2022 was $1,000. This figure is lower than normal, as there were very few in-person meetings due to the government restrictions in place because of the pandemic; the baseline is expected to increase in future years as restrictions have now been removed.

Conference fees:

PacifiCan is the new federal regional development agency which was set up on August 6th 2021 mid-way through the year. The information presented in the table below reflects the period between August 6th 2021 and March 31st 2022. Pacifican did not have any expenditures for the previous fiscal year as 2021-2022 was the first year of operations, thus no variance information is available. PacifiCan’s total conference fees were $3,000 for fiscal year 2021-2022. The expenditures are mainly due to attending events to facilitate partnership development opportunities, strengthen meaningful business relationships, and gain a better understanding of issues facing rural communities throughout the province of British Columbia.