CBA-New Brunswick Branch Expense Policy

Revised November 2014

1. DEFINITIONS

“Association” means the New Brunswick Branch of the Canadian Bar Association.

“Council” means the Council of the Association.

“Executive Director” means the Executive Director of the Association.

“member” means a member of the Association.

“National Association” means the Canadian Bar Association / l’Association du Barreau Canadien.

“National Council” means the council of the National Association.

“national meeting”, unless the context otherwise requires, means the annual meeting or mid-winter meeting of the National Association.

"spouse" means a marital or common-law partner.

“Table Officer” means a Table Officer of the Association, namely the President, Vice-President, Treasurer and Immediate Past-President.

2. General

An expense incurred for business of the Association shall be reimbursed in accordance with this policy, and the most practical choice at the lowest cost shall govern the application of this policy to the reimbursement of expenses.  In the case of a dispute over the reimbursement of expenses, the dispute shall be resolved by the Table Officers, whose decision shall be final.

The Executive Director may, as he or she considers appropriate, approve an exception or diversion from this policy; however, such exemption or diversion must be pre-approved by the Executive Director in order to be reimbursed.

The following govern the reimbursement of all expenses in accordance with this policy:

1. receipts and bills must be submitted to the Association in electronic or hard copy before reimbursement is issued;
2. a claim for reimbursement of travel expenses must be submitted to the Association within 60 days after the date the expense is incurred, with the exception of expenses incurred in the month of August, which must be submitted within 30 days after the date they are incurred;
3. all other claims for reimbursement of expenses must be submitted to the Association no later than the end of fiscal year end of the Association (August 31st) in which the expense is incurred; no claim for expenses actually incurred in the previous year shall be reimbursed unless approved by the Executive Director.

3. Travel Expenses

a. Travel by Motor Vehicle

Carpooling or other methods of cost sharing by members is strongly encouraged when attending any business of the Association.  If carpooling is not possible and travel is necessary, the rental of a vehicle may be preferable to the use of a personal vehicle (based on the Association’s travel grid for mileage claims).  The costs should be examined to determine whether the cost of a rental vehicle and gas is more or less expensive than a mileage claim for the same trip.  If a rental vehicle is lower in cost, it is the preferred option.

If a claim for mileage is submitted to the Association:

1. the mileage claimed between communities shall be based on the travel grid appearing at www.cba.org/;
2. reimbursement for the use of a claimant’s personal vehicle shall be at the rate of $0.40/km, or any other rate approved by Council, to a maximum of the lowest fare on a commercial airline or other form of commercial travel for the same trip;
3. an expense claim for the rental of a vehicle for the same event shall not be accepted (and vice versa).

b. Travel by Air

Travel by air will only be reimbursed at the lowest airfare rate.

If a claimant uses personal travel points or any other travel reward package plan to obtain air travel for the purpose of approved Association activities, he or she shall not be reimbursed.

When air travel is used, any vehicle rental for the same event will be reimbursed only to the amount of reasonable taxi or shuttle expenses.

Reimbursement for travel between a claimant’s place of residence and the airport, and between the destination airport and the event location shall not exceed the cost of a taxi between these two points.

c. Other Methods of Travel

Reimbursement for reasonable travel expenses by other means of transportation will be made at cost, provided receipts are supplied and subject to a maximum of the lowest airfare rate or the cost of travel by motor vehicle, whichever is lesser.

d. Accommodations

Room charges and applicable taxes shall be reimbursed to a maximum of the standard room rate of the hotel selected by the organizers of the event, or, if no hotels are selected or multiple hotels are selected, the lowest standard rate of the hotel closest to the event.

Overnight lodging expenses shall be reimbursed only in the following circumstances:

1. between April 1 and September 30, the claimant cannot arrive home by 10:00 p.m.;
2. between October 1 and March 31, the claimant cannot arrive home by 8:00 p.m.; or
3. the claimant cannot leave his or her residence on or after 8:00 a.m. and arrive at the destination in time for the commencement of the event. 
   When claiming reimbursement for overnight lodging expenses, a claimant may claim an amount for incidental expenses, such as telephone calls, to a maximum of $5/day.

e. Meals

Meals shall be reimbursed at the following rates:

1. Breakfast: $15 with receipts (inclusive of tax and tip)
2. Lunch: $20 with receipts (inclusive of tax and tip)
3. Dinner: $50 with receipts (inclusive of tax and tip)

4. Committees, Sections and Conferences

a. Attendance at National Meetings

The chair of a committee, section or conference of the Association, or his or her designate, shall be eligible to have reimbursed all of his or her reasonable travel expenses incurred to attend a national meeting of that committee, section or conference provided that the expense is not otherwise reimbursed to the claimant by the National Association.

Reimbursement for travel to a national meeting of a committee, section or conference shall be issued only after the chair has attended the national meeting and submitted a written report to the Executive Director. 

b. Local Meetings and Other Expenses

If Council has approved expenses for a committee, section or conference, its local meetings shall be held at the most convenient and least expensive location.  In many cases, teleconferencing is the more efficient and cost-effective option and shall be used as the preferred meeting method of all committees, sections and conferences.

Whenever possible, in-person meetings shall be held at the location of and during the mid-winter meeting of the Association.

Expenses incurred by a committee, section or conference, other than travel expenses to attend a national meeting, are limited to $300 annually, unless otherwise pre-approved by the Table Officers.

5. Attendance at National Meetings

No expenses claimed by a Table Officer, the Executive Director, or other member for attending a national meeting shall be reimbursed unless the claimant attends the business meetings associated with that national meeting.

The annual budget of the Association shall include sufficient funds to send at least three people to the national meetings.

a. Executive Committee

If the budget cannot support the attendance at a national meeting of all of the Table Officers and the Executive Director, the priority of reimbursement for expenses shall be the following:

1. President;
2. Executive Director;
3. Vice President;
4. Treasurer; and
5. Immediate Past President.

The chair of the Communications Committee shall be eligible to have his or her expenses reimbursed for attendance at one national meeting each year.

If a Table officer is unable to attend a national meeting, the Table Officers may approve another member to attend the national meeting in lieu of that Table Officer, and that member shall be eligible to have his or her expenses reimbursed in accordance with this policy.

A Table Officer shall be eligible to be reimbursed for fees associated with attending optional events at a national meeting.

b. Voting Members of National Council

A member who attends a meeting of National Council as a voting member for the Association shall be eligible to receive a stipend of $1,200 to assist with expenses incurred for attending the meeting.

If all of the Association’s voting positions at a meeting of National Council are not filled, those members who do attend as voting members are entitled to share, on a pro-rata basis, any funds remaining undisbursed for this purpose.  In order to qualify for this additional reimbursement, the member’s claim shall be supported by receipts showing expenses in excess of his or her initial $1,200 stipend.

c. Association Representatives on National Standing Committees

A member of the Association who is a member of a standing committee of the National Association shall be eligible to have his or her expenses reimbursed for attendance at one national meeting each year, to a maximum of $1,200.

6. Speaker Expenses

The expenses incurred by a speaker at or a chair of a professional development session, including sessions held at the mid-winter meeting of the Association, shall be reimbursed in accordance with this policy.

No speaker at or a chair of a professional development session shall be paid an honorarium unless prior approval is received from the Executive Director.  A $20 donation will be made to CBA's Law for the Future Fund in the name of each speaker at and chair of a professional development session.

a. Registration Fees Generally

A speaker at or the chair of a professional development session is not required to pay the registration fee to attend the session in which he or she is participating. 

b. Mid-winter Meeting Expenses

With respect to professional development sessions held at a mid-winter meeting of the Association:

1. a speaker or chair is entitled to attend the luncheon held on the day of the session at which he or she is participating at no cost or may choose to be reimbursed for meal expenses in accordance with this policy;
2. a speaker or chair who does not reside in New Brunswick may attend the mid-winter meeting at no cost with prior written approval of the Table Officers; and
3. if a speaker or chair is registered to attend the mid-winter meeting, no registration fees shall be reimbursed to him or her for the session in which he or she is participating. 

7. Registration Fees for Other Events

The Table Officers and the Executive Director are eligible to be reimbursed for payment of the following registration fees:

1. the fee to attend the Annual Meeting of the Law Society of New Brunswick, provided it is held in the Province;
2. the fee to attend the mid-winter meeting of the Association; and
3. the fee for the spouse of the President to attend
   1. the Annual Meeting of the Law Society of New Brunswick, provided it is held in the Province, and
   2. the mid-winter meeting of the Association.

8. Miscellaneous Expenses

Generally, meeting and professional development materials will be available electronically. In the event that documents are to be copied and distributed, they shall be sent to the Association’s office for preparation and distribution.

Telephone charges shall be reimbursed at the claimant's cost.