Proactive Disclosure - Annual Report on Travel, Hospitality and Conference Expenditures

Why must we disclose travel, hospitality and conference expenditures?

The Government of Canada has implemented a series of measures to strengthen public sector management by enhancing transparency and oversight of public resources in the federal government.

One of these measures includes the proactive disclosure of financial-related information by departments and agencies. By making this information readily available on departmental web sites, Canadians and Parliament are better able to hold the Government and public sector officials to account.

As per section 4.1.3 of the Directive on Travel, Hospitality, Conference and Event Expenditures, departments are to disclose the total annual expenditures for each of travel, hospitality, and conference (THC) fees. This report does not include event expenditures. The objective of the annual report on THC expenditures is to provide the following:

• the department's total annual expenditures for each of travel, hospitality and conferences
• information on how the expenditures were incurred in respect of the department's mandate and business objectives
• a brief explanation of significant variances in expenditures from the previous year, except in the case of the first annual report for new departments

The Report on Annual Expenditures for Travel, Hospitality and Conferences is released annually, at the same time as the tabling of the Departmental Performance Report.

Who is responsible for reporting?

The Chief Financial Officer Branch is responsible to report on these expenditures around October/November of each fiscal year, which coincide with the tabling of the Departmental Results Report.

What information should be disclosed?

All travel expenses incurred during the previous fiscal year must be included for disclosure.

All hospitality expenditures incurred during the previous fiscal year must be included for disclosure.

All conference expenditures incurred during the previous fiscal year must be included for disclosure.

The report also includes information on how the expenditures were incurred in respect of the department's mandate and business objectives and a brief explanation of significant variances in expenditures from the previous year, except in the case of the first annual report for new departments.

When is the reporting period?

The Chief Financial Officer Branch is responsible to report on these expenditures around October/November of each fiscal year, which coincide with the tabling of the Departmental Results Report.

For questions related to this process, do not hesitate to contact NC-PROACTIVE-FINANCIAL-REPORTING-GD.

Link: https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/corporate/transparency.html#h2.3