Toronto Blue Jays' Steve Pearce throws the bat in celebration after hitting a walk off grand slam to defeat the Oakland Athletics during the 10th inning of MLB baseball action in Toronto, Thursday July 27, 2017. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Mark Blinch

The federal government spent at least $15,726 on tickets to sporting events over the past year, according to government documents tabled this week in Parliament. But one Crown corporation refused to reveal how much it spent on a dozen tickets to professional sporting events meaning the total spent was actually higher.

Government departments shelled out for tickets to the Rogers Cup, the Tim Hortons Brier, and to watch Saskatchewan Roughriders, Vancouver Canucks and Toronto Blue Jays games, justifying the purchases as “employee appreciation” events for bureaucrats, charity events, and acts of cultural diplomacy.

Global Affairs was the biggest buyer. It said it bought dozens of tickets to the Canada Day Toronto Blue Jays/Seattle Mariners game as an effort to “broaden public diplomacy.”

“Global Affairs Canada’s missions abroad use cultural events to stimulate discussion and interact with stakeholders and partners on Government of Canada priorities,” the department said in the document.

“Culture remains a valuable instrument for use in public diplomacy, trade promotion, advocacy, and access.”

According to the document, group suite tickets were purchased for the game in Seattle, Washington for managers at Air Canada, the City of Seattle, Amazon, various trade commissioners and officials from the Consulate General of Canada, B.C.’s ministry of trade, U.S. immigration and customs officials, and a yoga therapist.

The department originally spent $13,766 for 90 tickets total, but the department recovered $6,113 from “regional partners who were responsible for reimbursing their cost.”

“The Canada Day event provided a remarkable opportunity for Global Affairs Canada to reinforce the central role that Canadian business and government play in regional economic clusters, including aerospace, IT, energy and tourism with key contacts, while fostering partnerships with the United States,” it explained.

“The event was also an important opportunity to support ongoing engagement with the U.S. and highlight the economic importance of Canada-U.S. business ties.”

Diplomats purchasing sports tickets was something that caused the Harper government headaches in 2013. After figures came out showing Foreign Affairs spent thousands on NHL private box tickets and for other sports events, then-Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird ordered his department to stop purchasing pro sports tickets.

Destination Canada said its spending on tickets this past year for Jays and Canucks games were purchased for “international travel and hospitality media / influencers who are active on social media with a large following and can influence consumer’s travel choices” – as well as a travel magazine journalist, and several videographers “who recorded footage to be shared by domestic and international travel influencers – e.g. on popular travel sites or across social media channels – that will be used to inspire readers, viewers, followers and potential travellers to plan a visit to Canada.”

Canada Lands Company spent $1,245 on 23 tickets for a Jays game for “employee appreciation day,” and Farm Credit Canada bought four season tickets at $2,519 for Roughriders home games and spent $3,283 on six event passes for the 2018 Tim Hortons Brier. It did not log who it purchased the tickets for.

Canada Post was the only department that said it bought tickets to games, but refused to detail its expenses – which could range in cost depending on tickets purchased – or for whom it bought the tickets.

“The requested information is financial in nature and has third party in nature and always been treated as confidential,” it said in its response. But it did confirm it bought four tickets for the Rogers Cup in Montreal, and eight for the Shaw Charity Classic PGA golf tournament in Calgary.

The RCMP and Correctional Services said they didn’t have enough time to figure out if someone in their respective organization purchased any sports tickets in the past year to respond to the research question by the deadline to respond.

A number of other arms-length agencies, including VIA Rail and the Federal Bridge Corporation, noted that their spending is “not considered government expenditures under the Financial Administration Act.”

The figures were drawn up by departments in response to a research question submitted by Conservative MP Steven Blaney asking for departmental spending on sports tickets since September 2016.