Proactive Disclosure Questions

Why is it when senior public servants decide to meet over lunch, when not in travel status, taxpayers pick up the tab? Wouldn't they be eating a lunch anyway? Why aren't such lunches a taxable benefit? Here's an example from LAC.

Hospitality Expenses - 2010

Dates	Event Description	Cost
02-15	Business Lunch with the Chief Information Officer of Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat.	$88.84
02-19	Business Lunch with a professor from Swizterland.	$76.73
02-22	Meeting with the Management Team of the Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada.	$10.84
02-23	Business Lunch with the President of the Public Service Commission.	$72.10
03-05	Business lunch with the President & Vice-President of the Historica-Dominion Institute	$75.40
03-10	Business Lunch with the Director of Corporate Security Services of Library and Archives Canada.	$39.96
03-15	Business lunch with the Director of the Records and Archives Management at the Japan Archives Department and his interpretor	$159.65
03-17	Business Breakfast with the President of the Library and National Archives of Quebec.	$42.12
03-18	Business lunch with the President of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council	$84.34
04-15	Business lunch with the Executive Director and General Counsel of the Canadian Judicial Council	$79.83
04-22	Refreshments with the Minister of Culture of Colombia	$57.52
04-28	Business lunch with the President and Director General of the Canada Science and Technology Museum Corporation	$82.72
05-07	Breakfast meeting with the Secretary of the Canadian Intergovernmental Conference Secretariat	$35.17
05-10	Business lunch with a consultant	$27.30
05-17	Business lunch with a consultant	$33.07
05-18	Business lunch with the Acting Assistant Deputy Minister of Public Works and Government Services Canada	$92.12
05-21	Business lunch with the Director of Canada Lands Company Limited	$92.38
06-01	Business lunch with a representative of "l'École Nationale d'administration publique"	$83.36
06-08	Business lunch with a representative of "l'École Nationale d'administration publique"	$78.18
06-21	Business lunch with executives of several federal departments	$184.16
07-08	Business lunch with the Assistant Chief of Air Staff from National Defense	$106.56
07-12	Business lunch with 2 consultants	$134.18
	Total:	$1,736.53