2011-2012 Report on annual expenditures for travel, hospitality and conferences

As required by the Treasury Board Directive on the Management of Expenditures on Travel, Hospitality and Conferences, this report provides information on the total annual expenditures for each of travel, hospitality and conferences for the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2012. 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.

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.

The jurisdiction of the TSB includes all aviation, marine, rail and pipeline transportation occurrences in or over Canada that fall under federal jurisdiction. The TSB may also represent Canadian interests in foreign investigations of transportation accidents involving Canadian registered, licensed or manufactured aircraft, ships or railway rolling stock. The department's travel expenditures are primarily dependent on the frequency and location of transportation occurrences. Travel expenditures are also incurred by the TSB for employees to attend training in their field of expertise. The credibility and success of the TSB depend on its ability to develop and maintain a competent and diverse professional workforce. Given the international nature of transportation, training and conferences on topics relevant to transportation safety are primarily held outside of Canada and travel costs are required in order to attend.

The TSB endeavors to minimize hospitality expenses to the extent possible. Expenses are primarily incurred by the TSB as a result of the requirement for employees to work through normal break or meal periods due to operations or business meetings.

The TSB rarely incurs expenses to host conferences. Conference expenses generally represent conference registration fees where a TSB employee has presented on a subject relevant to the department's mandate. As per the Treasury Board Secretariat reporting requirements, expenditures to attend conferences where the primary purpose is to enable participants to maintain or acquire skills or knowledge are not reported as conference expenses but rather as training.

Total annual expenditures for travel, hospitality and conferences of the TSB are summarized below:

Significant variances compared to the previous fiscal year

Travel:

A. Public Servants: Compared to fiscal year 2010-2011, departmental travel expenditures by public servants increased mainly due to job related employee travel which increased by $100,000 as a result of accident investigations.

B. Non-Public Servants: Travel by non-public servants relates to expenditures incurred to relocate individuals as part of their joining the TSB as a new employee. Spending on this category of travel is minimal.

Hospitality:

Spending on hospitality expenditures is minimal; as a result, a single event can present a significant percentage variance between years.

Conferences fees:

Spending on conference fees is minimal; as a result, a single instance of sponsoring a conference event can present a significant percentage variance between years.