Annual Report on Travel, Hospitality and Conference Expenditures
Transportation Safety Board of Canada 2015 - 2016
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 Transportation Safety Board of Canada for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2016.
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:
Expenditures on travel, hospitality and conferences incurred by federal departments and agencies are for the most part directly related to supporting departmental mandates and the government's priorities. The mandate of the TSB is to advance transportation safety. This mandate is fulfilled by conducting independent investigations into selected transportation occurrences to identify the causes and contributing factors of the occurrences and the underlying safety deficiencies, reporting on its findings, making recommendations and advocating to influence safety actions and changes.
Transportation Safety Board of Canada Travel, Hospitality and Conference Expenditures for Year ending March 31, 2016
Expenditure category |
Expenditures for year ended March 31, 2016 ($ thousands) |
Expenditures for year ended March 31, 2015 ($ thousands) |
Variance ($ thousands) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Travel | |||
Public Servants |
$822.00 |
$817.00 |
$5.00 |
Non-public Servants |
$11.00 |
$4.00 |
$5.00 |
| A. Total travel | $833.00 |
$817.00 |
$7.00 |
| B. Hospitality | $19.00 |
$2.00 |
$17.00 |
| C. Conference fees | $12.00 |
$4.00 |
$8.00 |
| Total [A+B+C] | $864.00 |
$827.00 |
$37.00 |
| International travel by minister and minister's staff (included in travel) | $0.00 |
$0.00 |
$0.00 |
Explanation of significant variances compared with previous fiscal year
Total travel:
A. Public Servants: Travel expenditures by TSB employees remained consistent between years, with only a $5K or 0.6% increase.
B. Non-Public Servants: Travel by non-public servants relates to expenditures incurred by consultants performing services for TSB. Generally, spending in this category of travel is minimal; as a result, a single event can present a significant percentage variance between years. Fiscal year 2015-16 showed an increase of $7K when compared to 2014-15. Travel in 2015-16 was for consultants performing a review of Occupational Health and Safety, as well as training provided to employees in response to TSB's Public Service Employee Survey results.
Hospitality:
Typically, spending on hospitality expenditures is minimal; as a result, a single event can present a significant percentage variance between years. The increase in spending for 2015-16 of $16K is explained by hospitality incurred for the America's Marine Accident Investigators' Forum hosted by the TSB in Ottawa, Ontario.
Conference fees:
Spending in this category relates to conference fees incurred by TSB employees and Board Members who served as official TSB representatives to speak at various conferences. When possible, the TSB tries to arrange for its representatives to participate in the full conferences on a complimentary basis given their role as speakers on the conference program. However, host organizations are not always agreeable to such arrangements and may charge registration fees for participation to the full program. The increase of $8K in 2015-16 is explained by the greater number of events where the TSB had to pay conference fees compared to the previous year.Minister and minister’s exempt staff - International travel:
Not Applicable. To instill confidence in the public regarding the transportation accident investigation process, it is essential that an investigating agency be independent and free from any conflicts of interest when investigating accidents, identifying safety deficiencies, and making safety recommendations. The TSB is an independent agency, separate from other government agencies and departments, that reports to Parliament through the President of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Intergovernmental and Northern Affairs and Internal Trade.