Report on Annual Expenditures for Travel, Hospitality and Conferences 2012-13

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 conference fees for the Security Intelligence Review Committee for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2013.

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.

In particular, the Security Intelligence Review Committee (SIRC, or the Committee), is an independent review body that reports to the Parliament of Canada on the operations of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS, or the Service).  It conducts reviews of CSIS activities, certifies the Director of CSIS’s annual report to the Minister of Public Safety, and investigates complaints from the public about the Service.  In doing so, SIRC provides assurance to Parliament and to all citizens of Canada that the Service investigates and reports on threats to national security in a manner that respects the rule of law and the rights of Canadians.

Further details on the Committee’s mandate, program activities and legislation may be found in the Report on Plans and Priorities and the Departmental Performance Report.

Total annual expenditures for Travel, Hospitality and Conferences of the Committee are summarized below:

Significant Variances Compared with the Previous Fiscal Year

Travel

Public servants: Compared with fiscal year 2011-2012, departmental travel expenditures by public servants increased.  This is due to an increase in national and international travel relating to SIRC’s mandate.  Also, there were increases due to the costs associated with the travel for Members to attend the International Intelligence Review Agencies Conference (IIRAC) hosted by SIRC in Ottawa.

Non-public servants: Compared with fiscal year 2011-2012, departmental travel expenditures for non-public servants increased due to the costs associated with bringing guest speakers to Ottawa in order to participate in the IIRAC.

International Travel by the Chair:  Not applicable.

Hospitality:  Compared with fiscal year 2011-2012, departmental hospitality expenditures increased mainly due to SIRC’s hosting the IIRAC.

Conference Fees:  Compared with fiscal year 2011-2012, departmental conference fees expenditures decreased because no costs were associated to this category.