2017–2018 Annual Report on Travel, Hospitality and Conference Expenditures

As required by the Treasury Board Directive on Travel, Hospitality, Conference and Event Expenditures, this report provides information on travel, hospitality and conference expenditures for the Military Grievances External Review Committee (Committee) for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2018, except for information withheld under the Access to Information Act or the Privacy Act.

Travel, hospitality and conference expenditures incurred by a federal department or agency relate to activities that support the department or agency’s mandate and the government's priorities.

The Committee’s travel, hospitality and conference expenditures support the delivery of the following programs and services to Canadians:

• The raison d’être of the Committee is to provide an independent and external review of military grievances. Section 29 of the National Defence Act provides a statutory right for an officer or a non-commissioned member who has been aggrieved, to grieve a decision, an act or an omission in the administration of the affairs of the Canadian Armed Forces. The importance of this broad right cannot be overstated since it is, with certain narrow exceptions, the only formal complaint process available to the Canadian Armed Forces;
• The Committee is an independent administrative tribunal reporting to Parliament through the Minister of National Defence;
• The Committee reviews grievances referred to it pursuant to s. 29 of the National Defence Act and provides findings and recommendations to the Chief of the Defence Staff and the Canadian Armed Forces member who submitted the grievance;
• The Committee also has the obligation to deal with all matters before it as informally and expeditiously as the circumstances and the considerations of fairness permit;
• The Committee operates under two programs: Independent Review of Military Grievances, and Internal Services.

Travel, Hospitality and Conference Expenditures
Military Grievances External Review Committee

Year ended March 31, 2018

Significant variances compared to the previous fiscal year

Travel: compared with fiscal year 2016-17, the Committee’s travel expenditures increased by $13.2K mainly due to:

• Expenses claimed by, and reimbursed to, the Privy Council Office to cover travel costs of candidates during the Governor in Council appointment process of Committee members;
• Attendance by employees of a training session in Toronto, which was not offered in the National Capital Region; and
• Increase in the use of local transportation in the National Capital Region for operational activities and training.