Annual Report on Travel, Hospitality and Conference Expenditures
National Defence 2014 - 2015
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 National Defence for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2015.
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 National Defence Act establishes DND and the Canadian Armed Forces as separate entities, operating with an integrated National Defence Headquarters, as they pursue their primary responsibility of providing defence for Canada and Canadians. On behalf of the people of Canada, Defence stands ready to perform three key roles: defend Canada - by delivering excellence at home; defend North America - by being a strong and reliable partner with the United States in the defence of the continent; and contribute to International Peace and Security - by projecting leadership abroad.
The Defence mandate is carried out with the support of a group of related organizations and agencies within the portfolio of the Minister of National Defence. For further details on selected Defence Portfolio organizations, please refer to National Defence and Canadian Armed Forces website. For further information on the legislative framework within which Defence operates, please see the DND Report on Plans and Priorities.
National Defence Travel, Hospitality and Conference Expenditures for Year ending March 31, 2015
Expenditure category |
Expenditures for year ended March 31, 2015 ($ thousands) |
Expenditures for year ended March 31, 2014 ($ thousands) |
Variance ($ thousands) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Travel | |||
Public Servants |
$250,792.00 |
$274,222.00 |
-$23,430.00 |
Non-public Servants |
$15,930.00 |
$8,064.00 |
-$23,430.00 |
| A. Total travel | $266,722.00 |
$274,222.00 |
$7,866.00 |
| B. Hospitality | $1,488.00 |
$1,414.00 |
$74.00 |
| C. Conference fees | $1,157.00 |
$1,140.00 |
$17.00 |
| Total [A+B+C] | $269,367.00 |
$284,840.00 |
-$15,473.00 |
| International travel by minister and minister's staff (included in travel) | $129.00 |
$74.00 |
$55.00 |
Explanation of significant variances compared with previous fiscal year
Total travel:
Compared to fiscal year 2013-14, departmental travel expenditures by non-public servants increased by $7.866M. This increase was mainly due to a change in the accounting methodology, whereby travel by contractors is now tracked in this category whereas in the past it was included as part of overall contract costs, and also partially attributable to an increase in Cadet activity.
Compared to fiscal year 2013-14, departmental travel expenditures by public servants decreased by $23.43M, mainly due to ongoing efforts within the department to find economies wherever possible; such as utilizing alternate methods to face to face meetings (e.g. virtual presence), sending minimal delegations and reducing the number of meetings requiring travel.
Hospitality:
Compared to fiscal year 2013-14, departmental hospitality expenditures increased by $73K. This nominal increase of 5.2% was mainly due to increased Operations-related hospitality (e.g. Canada Day and Remembrance Day activities for deployed units).
Conference fees:
Compared to fiscal year 2013-14, departmental conference expenditures increased by $17K. This nominal increase of 1.5% was mainly due to professional development training (e.g. Financial Management Institute training) being categorized as a conferences.Minister and minister’s exempt staff - International travel:
Compared to fiscal year 2013-14, departmental international travel expenditures by the Minister and Minister’s staff increased by $55K. The variance in international travel expenditures by the Minister and Minister’s staff between FY 2013/14 and 2014/15 stemmed from organizational changes related to the appointment and introduction of an Associate MND (and staff) to the department (a position which had been vacant during the previous year); the introduction of a new Minister of National Defence (and staff) in 2014/15 and an increase in requirements for international travel by MND to represent the Government of Canada in international military and diplomatic during the final quarter of 2014/15.