Report on Annual Expenditures for Travel, Hospitality and Conferences 2013-14

As required by the Treasury Board  Directive on Travel, Hospitality, Conference and Event Expenditures, this report provides information on the total annual expenditures for each of travel, hospitality and conferences for the Courts Administration Service (CAS) for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2014. It also provides the variance explanations from the previous fiscal year in each of these areas.

This information is updated annually and does not contain information withheld under the  Access to Information Act or the  Privacy Act or information related to Prothonotaries and Deputy Judges, given their status as judicial officers.

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.

In particular, for CAS, this includes the delivery of the following core programs and services to Canadians:

• The provision of effective and efficient registry, judicial and corporate services to the Federal Court of Appeal, the Federal Court, the Court Martial Appeal Court of Canada and the Tax Court of Canada. Further details on CAS’ programs can be found in CAS’ 2013-14 Departmental Performance Report (DPR).

TRAVEL:

Public Servants: Compared to the prior fiscal year, CAS’ 2013-14 travel expenditures by public servants decreased by $16 thousand (-6%). This decrease is mainly due to the implementation of expenditure restraint measures across the organization, including whenever possible, the use of alternatives to travel, such as video conferencing and other remote meeting solutions.

Non-Public Servants: Compared to the prior fiscal year, CAS’ 2013-14 travel expenditures by non-public servants decreased by $19 thousand (-58%). This decrease is mainly due to a decrease in travel for judicial services, specifically related to the law clerk program.

HOSPITALITY:

Compared to the prior fiscal year, CAS’ 2013-14 hospitality expenditures decreased by $8 thousand (-20%). This decrease is mainly due to a decrease in hospitality.

CONFERENCE FEES:

Compared to the prior fiscal year, CAS’ 2013-14 conference fee expenditures decreased by $1 thousand (-50%). This decrease is due to a decrease in conference attendance.