Annual Report on Travel, Hospitality and Conference Expenditures
Health Canada 2023 - 2024
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 Health Canada for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2024.
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:
Health Canada is the federal department responsible for helping the people of Canada maintain and improve their health. Health Canada is committed to improving the lives of all of Canada 's people and to making this country's population among the healthiest in the world as measured by longevity, lifestyle and effective use of the public health care system.
Health Canada Travel, Hospitality and Conference Expenditures for Year ending March 31, 2024
Expenditure category |
Expenditures for year ended March 31, 2024 ($ thousands) |
Expenditures for year ended March 31, 2023 ($ thousands) |
Variance ($ thousands) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Travel | |||
Operational activities |
$6,069.70 |
$4,605.40 |
$1,464.30 |
Key stakeholders |
$1,244.80 |
$690.70 |
$554.10 |
Internal governance |
$205.50 |
$217.60 |
-$12.10 |
Training |
$644.20 |
$685.10 |
-$40.90 |
Other |
$337.30 |
$214.20 |
$123.10 |
| A. Total travel | $8,501.50 |
$6,413.00 |
$2,088.50 |
| B. Hospitality | $139.60 |
$36.40 |
$103.20 |
| C. Conference fees | $483.70 |
$404.20 |
$79.50 |
| Total [A+B+C] | $9,124.80 |
$6,853.60 |
$2,271.20 |
| International travel by minister and minister's staff (included in travel) | $125.00 |
$68.50 |
$56.50 |
Explanation of significant variances compared with previous fiscal year
Total travel:
Compared with fiscal year 2022-2023, travel expenditures increased, mainly due to the easing of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, particularly for health inspector duty travel. Despite the increase, these expenditures of $8.5M are only 72% of the pre-pandemic levels of $11.8M reported in 2019-2020.
Hospitality:
Compared with fiscal year 2022-2023, hospitality expenditures increased, mainly due to the normalization of in-person events after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Conference fees:
Compared with fiscal year 2022-2023, conference expenditures increased, mainly due to organizations pivoting away from virtual events after the COVID-19 pandemic.Minister and minister’s exempt staff - International travel:
Compared with fiscal year 2022-23, departmental expenditures for international travel by the Minister and the Minister’s exempt staff increased mainly due to the G7 Health Ministers’ Meeting in Japan and the Seventy-sixth World Health Assembly in Switzerland.