Report on Annual Expenditures for Travel, Hospitality and Conferences 2014-15
As required by the Treasury Board Directive on Travel, Hospitality, Conference and Events Expenditures, this report provides information on the annual expenditures for each of travel, hospitality and conference fees for the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2015. 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 conference fees incurred by federal departments and agencies are related to activities that support a departmental or agency mandate and the government’s priorities.
To fulfill its mandate, the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages (OCOL) oversees the full implementation of the Official Languages Act, protects the language rights of Canadians and promotes linguistic duality and bilingualism in Canada.
To achieve its mandate, OCOL is required to travel across Canada, hold hospitality events and participate in conferences in order to promote linguistic duality in official language communities and investigate complaints filed by citizens who believe their language rights have not been respected.
Annual Expenditures for Travel, Hospitality and Conferences of the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages:
| Expenditure Category | Expenditures for the year ending March 31, 2015 | Expenditures for the Previous Year Ending March 31, 2014 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Travel: Public Servants | 292 | 336 | (44) |
| Travel: Non-Public Servants | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Total Travel | 293 | 336 | (43) |
| Hospitality | 17 | 22 | (5) |
| Conference Fees | 7 | 10 | (3) |
| Total | 317 | 368 | (51) |
| International Travel by Minister and Minister's Staff | n/a | n/a | n/a |
Significant variances compared with the previous fiscal year
This section is used to provide a brief explanation of significant variances from the previous year’s annual expenditures for each category.
Travel:
Public Servants: Compared with fiscal year 2013–14, OCOL’s travel expenditures by public servants decreased mainly due to continuous efforts aimed at reducing costs by streamlining operational processes and promoting the use of technologies, such as teleconferencing and videoconferencing.
Non-Public Servants: Compared with fiscal year 2013–14, OCOL’s travel expenditures for non-public servants did not significantly change.
Hospitality:
Compared with fiscal year 2013–14, OCOL’s hospitality expenditures decreased mainly due to efforts aimed at reducing the cost and the number of hospitality activities throughout OCOL.
Conference Fees:
Compared with fiscal year 2013–14, OCOL’s conference fees expenditures did not significantly change.