Annual Report on Travel, Hospitality and Conference Expenditures
National Defence 2020 - 2021
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, 2021.
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:
As required by the Treasury Board Directive on the Management of Expenditures on Travel, Hospitality and Conferences, (http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/pol/doc-eng.aspx?id=27228) this report provides information on the total annual expenditures for each of travel, hospitality and conferences for the Department of National Defence (DND) for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2021. It also provides the main variance explanations from the previous year.
This information is updated annually and does not contain information withheld under the Access to Information Act (https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/A-1/index.html) or the Privacy Act (http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/P-21/index.html).
Expenditures on travel, hospitality and conferences incurred by federal departments and agencies are for the most part directly related to supporting departmental mandate(s) and the government’s priorities.
On behalf of the people of Canada, the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) and the Department of National Defence (DND) stand ready to perform three key roles:
• Protecting Canada and defending our sovereignty;
• Defending North America in cooperation with the United States, Canada's closest ally; and
• Contributing to international peace and security through operations around the world, most often in partnership with allies from other countries.
The National Defence Act establishes DND and the CAF as separate entities, operating within an integrated National Defence Headquarters, as they pursue their primary responsibility of providing defence for Canada and Canadians.
The Defence mandate is carried out with the support of a group of related organizations and agencies with the portfolio of the Minister of National Defence. For further details on Defence portfolio organizations, please refer to National Defence and Canadian Armed Forces website (https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/corporate/defence-portfolio.html). For further information on the legislative framework within which Defence operates, please see the DND Departmental Plan
(https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/corporate/reports-publications/departmental-plans.html).
National Defence Travel, Hospitality and Conference Expenditures for Year ending March 31, 2021
Expenditure category |
Expenditures for year ended March 31, 2021 ($ thousands) |
Expenditures for year ended March 31, 2020 ($ thousands) |
Variance ($ thousands) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Travel | |||
Operational activities |
$25,942.00 |
$89,385.00 |
-$63,443.00 |
Key stakeholders |
$1,766.00 |
$23,554.00 |
-$21,788.00 |
Internal governance |
$11,522.00 |
$72,878.00 |
-$61,356.00 |
Training |
$37,880.00 |
$133,456.00 |
-$95,576.00 |
Other |
$7,541.00 |
$32,148.00 |
-$24,607.00 |
| A. Total travel | $84,651.00 |
$351,421.00 |
-$266,770.00 |
| B. Hospitality | $126.00 |
$1,546.00 |
-$1,420.00 |
| C. Conference fees | $339.00 |
$1,284.00 |
-$945.00 |
| Total [A+B+C] | $85,116.00 |
$354,251.00 |
-$269,135.00 |
| International travel by minister and minister's staff (included in travel) | $0.00 |
$240.00 |
-$240.00 |
Explanation of significant variances compared with previous fiscal year
Total travel:
Compared to fiscal year 2019-20, there was a significant decrease in departmental travel expenditures of $267 million (76%), due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Hospitality:
Compared to fiscal year 2019-20, there was a significant decrease in departmental hospitality expenditures of $1.4 million (92%) due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Conference fees:
Compared to fiscal year 2019-20, there was a significant decrease of $945 thousand (74%) in conference fees due to the COVID-19 pandemic.Minister and minister’s exempt staff - International travel:
Compared to fiscal year 2019-20, there was no departmental expenditures for international travel in 2020-21 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.