| Archived Guidelines |
The purpose of this document is to provide information and assistance to individuals claiming reimbursement for expenses incurred while traveling on approved CIHR business, including (but not necessarily limited to):
For additional information, please refer to the CIHR Travel Policy.
Travel Expense Claim Form (for other than Government Employees) [ PDF non-fillable (241KB) | PDF on-line fillable (201KB) | Help ]
In the event that you have trouble accessing an on-line PDF file found on this website, you can simply save a copy to your computer's hard drive or network. Position the cursor on the PDF link, click the right mouse button and choose "Save file as". Once the PDF is saved, you should then be able to access it. You must have "Adobe Writer" in order to write to and save the file.
Note: If you cannot access this form in PDF format and wish to obtain hard copies by regular mail please contact Corporate Financial Services (coordinates at the bottom of this page).
For air travel within Canada and the United States with an overnight stay, economy class will be used. For international flights with more than nine (9) hours airtime, upgrade to business class air travel will be permitted. Nine (9) hours airtime is: continuous air travel starting at the scheduled departure time and ending with the arrival at destination (including stop over for flight transfer).
Note: For non-government employee, when airfares booked through Algonquin Travel & MKI Conference Management and charged directly to CIHR, airfare receipts, or a copy of the electronic ticket must be returned to CIHR, for audit purposes.
VIA 1 (business class) travel is permitted within the Montreal/Toronto/Windsor corridor. For longer trips, VIA 1 is still permitted with roomette or equivalent accommodation being provided for overnight travel.
The kilometric rate payable, when a Canadian registered vehicle is driven on government business travel in more than one province or in the USA, shall be the rate applicable to the province or territory of registration of the vehicle.
The rates payable, by province or territory, as per the Treasury Board travel directive, are as follows:
| Province or territory | Rate |
| Alberta | 45.5¢/km |
| British Columbia | 45.5¢/km |
| Manitoba | 44.0¢/km |
| New Brunswick | 45.5¢/km |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | 49.0¢/km |
| Northwest Territories | 52.5¢/km |
| Nova Scotia | 46.0¢/km |
| Nunavut | 52.5¢/km |
| Ontario | 47.0¢/km |
| Prince Edward Island | 45.5¢/km |
| Quebec | 50.0¢/km |
| Saskatchewan | 43.0¢/km |
| Yukon | 55.0¢/km |
Distance limits:
In the interests of safe driving, employees shall not be expected to drive more than:
In any case, the maximum for all expenses while travelling by car, including accommodation and meals, should not exceed the equivalent of economy class air travel plus normal ground transportation costs.
Liability:
The Canadian Institutes of Health Research shall not be held responsible for any accidents, injury or death to persons or damage to property arising from use of a private motor vehicle. Refer to Appendix B of CIHR travel policy in the event that an employee becomes ill, is injured or dies while travelling on government business.The use of rental vehicles may be authorized where, in the opinion of the CIHR, this method of travel is economical and practical. Reimbursement shall include the costs of insurance paid to the car rental agents for releases of liability when a travel card is not used. Note that when using the American Express government travel card issued by CIHR, the insurance is automatically covered by the card. The standard for rental vehicles is mid-size. Rental vehicles beyond the standard shall be authorized based upon factors such as, but not limited to safety, the needs of the traveler and the bulk or weight of goods transported.
Receipts are required for cash payments where the charges exceed $10.00. Specific details (i.e. trip from address to address) must be recorded on the travel claim.
Receipts are required for parking charges above $10. Parking charges shall be reimbursed where it is practical and economical to leave a private vehicle at the public carrier's terminal during the period of absence.
As a rule, when CIHR is the organizer of the event, accommodation arrangements will be made on behalf of the traveller. In these cases, CIHR will pay the basic room charges plus taxes directly to the hotel and other expenses will be charged directly to the traveller. The reimbursement of those expenses will be done through the travel expense claim process. In any other cases, the traveller will pay the hotel directly for all charges and get reimbursed through the travel expense claim process.
Private non-commercial accommodation is encouraged. A traveller who makes arrangements for private non-commercial sleeping accommodation will be reimbursed $50.00 per night, plus the incidental allowance of $17.30.
Meals, only, are allowed as follows:
In addition to the applicable meals shown above, an allowance of $17.30 per day may be claimed to cover incidental expenses, such as tips, dry cleaning, long distance calls for a total allowance per day of $75.40. See definition of incidentals in Section 5 of the CIHR Travel Policy.
Note:
Personal communication is included in the incidental expense allowance. For International trips of more than 3 consecutive days, a traveller can claim a 10 minute phone call home per day. If satellite communication is used, traveller could claim only 5 minutes phone call home per day. In order to be reimbursed, traveller must provide a receipt.
Note: Employees provided with international telephone card privileges shall not claim the cost of the phone call home.
It is recommended to use the corporate calling cards for business related calls, either local or long-distance. Should a traveller not use corporate calling cards, those expenses can be claimed as part of your travel expenses.
The following expenses shall be supported by receipts or other appropriate documents:
The original copy of the Travel Expenses Claim Form (for other than government employees), signed by the claimant, together with supporting receipts, are to be forwarded to:
Canadian Institutes of Health Research
Service & Operations
Corporate Financial Services
160 Elgin Street, 9th floor
Address locator 4809A
Ottawa ON K1A 0W9
Additional information, as well as hard copies of the Travel Expense Claim Form, may be obtained from:
Corporate Financial Services
Tel: (613) 952-5217 or (613) 941-0813
Fax: (613) 954-1800
e-mail: rlacroix@cihr-irsc.gc.ca or tguignard@cihr-irsc.gc.ca
