Reporting on the Total Annual Expenditures on Travel, Hospitality and Conferences for the Fiscal Year 2013-2014
Department/Agency: Patented Medicine Prices Review Board
Report on Annual Expenditures for Travel, Hospitality and Conferences
As required by the Treasury Board Directive on Travel, Hospitality, Conference and Event Expenditures, this report provides information on the annual expenditures for each of travel, hospitality and conference fees for the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board (PMPRB) 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.
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 PMPRB is an independent, quasi-judicial body created by Parliament in 1987 under the Patent Act (Act). Its mandate is two-fold:
- Regulatory – to ensure that prices charged by patentees for patented medicines sold in Canada are not excessive; and
- Reporting – to report on pharmaceutical trends of all medicines and on research and development spending by pharmaceutical patentees.
In carrying out its mandate, the PMPRB endeavours to ensure that Canadians are protected from excessive prices for patented medicines sold in Canada, and stakeholders are informed on pharmaceutical trends.
Annual Expenditures for Travel, Hospitality and Conferences of the PMPRB
(in thousands of dollars)
| Expenditure Category |
Expenditures for the for the Year Ending March 31, 2014 ($000) |
Expenditures for the Year Ending March 31, 2013 ($000) |
Change ($000) |
| Travel – Public Servants |
$62.7 |
$86.3 |
-$23.6 |
| Travel – Non-Public Servants |
$16.1 |
$13.3 |
$2.8 |
| Total Travel |
$78.8 |
$99.6 |
-$20.8 |
| Hospitality |
$3.6 |
$3.8 |
-$0.2 |
| Conference Fees |
$0.0 |
$7.4 |
-$7.4 |
| Total |
$82.4 |
$110.8 |
-$28.4 |
| International Travel by Minister and Minister's Staff |
N/A |
N/A |
|
Significant Variances Compared With the Previous Fiscal Year
Public servants: Compared with fiscal year 2012-13, travel expenditures by public servants decreased mainly due to achieving efficiencies by targeting training and conference attendance that did not require travel and by considering cost efficient alternatives such as holding training on-site.
Conference fees: The reduction to conference fees in 2013-14 triggered a review at year end that identified $2,800 that was charged to training instead of the conference fees account. Internal processes have been updated.
Approval by Senior Officials
Approved by:
________________________ __________________
Douglas Clark Date
Chief Financial Officer
________________________ ___________________
Mary Catherine Lindberg Date
Chairperson