Annual Report on Travel, Hospitality and Conference Expenditures
Agriculture and Agri-Food 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 Agriculture and Agri-Food 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 supports the sector from the farmer to the consumer, from the farm to global markets, through all phases of producing, processing and marketing of farm, food and agri-based products. Agriculture is a shared jurisdiction in Canada, and the Department works closely with provincial and territorial governments in the development and delivery of policies, programs and services.
Agriculture and Agri-Food 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 |
$9,200.00 |
- | - |
Key stakeholders |
$466.00 |
- | - |
Internal governance |
$190.00 |
- | - |
Training |
$778.00 |
- | - |
Other |
$598.00 |
- | - |
| A. Total travel | $11,232.00 |
$10,539.00 |
$693.00 |
| B. Hospitality | $442.00 |
$367.00 |
$75.00 |
| C. Conference fees | $198.00 |
$202.00 |
-$4.00 |
| Total [A+B+C] | $11,872.00 |
$11,108.00 |
$764.00 |
| International travel by minister and minister's staff (included in travel) | $109.00 |
$185.00 |
-$76.00 |
Explanation of significant variances compared with previous fiscal year
Total travel:
The $693K increase in travel expenditures was attributed to operational activities as a result of meetings related to North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) negotiations, the new agricultural policy framework - Canadian Agriculture Partnership (CAP), ministerial missions, trade shows, outreach activities and attendance at bi-annual international meetings (not held in the previous year) such as the Food & Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Committee on Commodity Problems and Agriculture Committee meetings.
Hospitality:
Hospitality expenditures were $75K higher than the previous year due to various events such as Canada 150 celebration activities during the National Public Service Week, milestone celebrations at Research Centres, National Food Policy consultation, AgriRisk Initiatives 2017 Forum and Federal, Provincial, Territorial (FPT) Partnership events.
Conference fees:
Departmental conference fees expenditures in 2017-18 varied only marginally from 2016-17, with a decrease of $4K.Minister and minister’s exempt staff - International travel:
In the fiscal year 2017-2018, the Minister and his staff participated in several trade missions to further the Government’s commitment to growing the economy and strengthening agricultural relationships to enhance market export opportunities. Several ministerial missions were carried out to support or enhance the competitiveness in the sector by: promoting opportunities in the European Union (Germany, Belgium and Italy) created by Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement through participation at Anuga international trade show and industry roundtables while advocating on important market access and policy issues affecting the Canadian agriculture sector (October 2017); supporting the sector by maintaining and expanding trade and market access opportunities in developing markets in China while deepening existing relationships (November 2017); enhancing positive bilateral relationships with Mexico and participating in an international trade show Alimentaria (December 2017); improving mutually beneficial commercial relations with Japan and South Korea in trade, investment, science, technology and innovation (March 2018).