Federal public servants are in for a tighter squeeze as already frozen hospitality budgets face new rules and Ottawa urges more video conferencing to rein in travel budgets.
Spending on conferences and booze is also under tighter guidelines for internal approval and public disclosure as part of the latest restraint measures, announced Wednesday by Treasury Board President Stockwell Day.
Mr. Day said he could not immediately say how much money the new measures will save, in part because spending on hospitality, conferences and travel are not clearly tracked now.
The government is promising to balance the books by 2016 and spending restraint is becoming a dominant theme for the government as it heads into the 2011 budget.
"It's commonly said that [if]you handle the small items, handle the nickels and dimes, the dollars will hopefully fall better into place," he said. "It puts in mind a mindset for looking at how we do expenditures overall."
Mr. Day said the existing freeze on hospitality spending is already saving Ottawa $56-million a year. But that's just a tiny fraction of what needs to be found to balance the books, given that Ottawa posted a $56-billion deficit last year.
Mr. Day's announcement comes on the same day that the NDP revealed government data showing Treasury Board spending on hospitality more than doubled under the Conservatives, from $254,813 in 2006-2007 to $556,880 in 2009-2010 and totaled $125-million government-wide during that four year period.
The NDP found hospitality bills were incurred at several golf resorts and spas, including Le Nordik spa in Chelsea, Que., and Temple Gardens Mineral Spa in Moose Jaw, Sask.
Individual spending by cabinet ministers, their staff and senior public servants must already be disclosed. The new rules will require annual reporting by departments on travel, hospitality and conference spending, and how the totals compare to previous years. However, it has yet to be determined just how detailed these reports will be.
Mr. Day did not provide examples of incidents where alcohol was abused, but said some spending on farewell parties for bureaucrats or dinners, lunches and conferences seemed high.
"Largely, we think there has been good management," he said.