Travel Requirements for Contractors
All new and amendments to existing contracts/agreements, which include contractor travel, require formal travel approval prior to awarding the contract.
Travel Approvals are required in accordance with the Delegation of Financial Signing Authorities, which changed May 30, 2017 for Health Canada and June 30, 2017 for the Public Health Agency of Canada. Please see the quick reference chart below for travel approval levels.
| Minister | Full authority |
|---|---|
| Deputy Minister / President | For operational activities: Full authority |
| Associate and ADMs | For travel within Canada and the continental US for operational activities: Full authority
For International travel for operational activities: up to $10,000 (to a maximum of $25,000 for multiple travellers to the same destination) |
| Director Generals (DGs) / Vice Presidents | For travel within Canada for operational activities: Full authority |
| Directors | For travel within Canada for operational activities: up to $2K |
| Cost Centre Managers (CCMs) | For travel within Canada for operational activities: up to $1K |
Purchase Requisitions for contracts must contain a minimum of two lines, one for professional services and a minimum of one for the travel costs.
When travel is an integral part of a contract, and the costs of travel will be reimbursed to the contractor, the travel must be coded as travel and not "professional services" in order to ensure transparency and to allow for future reporting on contractor travel.
Normal practice when issuing contracts with travel is to include a total estimated cost for the duration of the contract. Thus, the approval level for the total travel authority obtained should be based on the threshold outlined in the above table.
What is the process for getting travel approvals?
Approvals for all travel should be submitted by the CCM/CCA to the appropriate authority using the Contractor Travel Request Form (found on the Tools and Templates page). This approval document is mandatory for all contracts where travel forms part of the contract, regardless of the dollar value and should be accompanied by a Travel Table as shown below.
| Travel and Allowable Accommodation and Miscellaneous Costs: | Receipt /Voucher Attached | Amount | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Air | $ | ||
| Rail | $ | ||
| Motor Vehicle Rental | $ | ||
| Personal Motor Vehicle | $ | ||
| Taxi | $ | ||
| Accomodation | $ | ||
| Meals | $ | ||
| TOTAL | $ |
When using the Contractor Travel Request Form for the approval of travel for multiple contracts, please ensure that the contract, contract amount, and estimated travel amount are clearly listed for each contract.
Once the appropriate approval signature has been obtained this document must then be uploaded in P2P/SAP to accompany all contract requests for PG review/approval or PG processing.
For further information, there are general mailboxes for MAMD clients located in Ontario and to the East, and for clients located in Manitoba and to the West.
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