Introduction to GBA Plus

In October 2004, the Standing Committee on the Status of Women (FEWO) was established by agreement of all political parties in the House of Commons. It is composed of representatives from all political parties in the House of Commons.

This Committee is responsible for keeping Parliament informed of issues pertaining to women's participation in society and promoting government action on equality for women.

FEWO has taken a special interest in accountability mechanisms that ensure that the federal government complies with its obligations to advance women's equality and commitments to conduct GBA in all major areas of its work.

This report, prepared by the Standing Committee on the Status of Women (FEWO), explored how GBA is implemented in federal government departments, the emerging and ongoing challenges to the implementation of GBA and the adequacy of existing accountability mechanisms.

The report clarified that the implementation of GBA across the federal government should be a shared responsibility between Status of Women Canada, the central agencies, and departments and agencies. It reported that there is great potential for GBA to lead to improved policy making in areas which are not usually defined as “women's issues” -- areas such as the federal budget, fiscal policy, trade, and defence.

The Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS) plays the role of a “challenge function“ for the use of GBA, and can return a submission to the originating department if the GBA is insufficient or insufficiently documented.

The 2007 revised Guide to Preparing Treasury Board Submissions made it mandatory for GBA information to be included in any submissions to the TBS. The guide stated that GBA is the appropriate process to identify how public policies affect women and men differently and that "gender questions" should be included in the initial stages of the approval process (at the Memorandum for Cabinet (MC) stage, for example) and raised throughout the analytical process.

Gender considerations have also been an integral part of the template used for MCs for many years.

At the request of the Standing Committee on the Status of Women, the Office of the Auditor General reported on the GBA practices of six departments, and the three central agencies, in Spring 2009. The main findings from the report showed:

• Little or no evidence of GBA frameworks implemented in departments;
• No evidence that GBA was considered or documented in decision-making; and
• No record of the Privy Council Office and the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat playing their challenge function with departments.

In response to the Auditor General's report and the government's response to its audit, WAGE and the central agencies developed an action plan setting out various commitments made in response to the Auditor General's recommendations, including to:

• Continue to work with all departments and agencies to help the government meet its 1995 GBA commitment;
• Clarify expectations, particularly about when it is appropriate to perform GBA and how to report the findings;
• Establish a plan for facilitating GBA implementation;
• Better communicate to departments and agencies their responsibilities; and
• Regularly assess the performance of GBA across the federal government and the effectiveness of GBA.

After reviewing the Office of the Auditor General Canada (OAG) Report (Spring 2009) and the Departmental Action Plan on GBA (October 2009), the House of Commons Standing Committee on Public Accounts (PACP) presented its report to the House of Commons in April 2010.

In Report 4 - Chapter 1, Gender-Based Analysis of the Spring 2009 Report of the Auditor General of Canada, the PACP indicated that all of the recommendations raised in the audit were not being adequately addressed in the action plan.

As such, the PACP made a number of recommendations that focused on ensuring that there would be regular reports on the progress of GBA implementation across the federal government, and that the Treasury Board Secretariat and the Privy Council Office formalize their GBA challenge function, regularly request documented evidence of GBA, and communicate the expectation to all departments and agencies that GBA be integrated into their work.

In 2011 Women and Gender Equality Canada rebranded Gender-based Analysis. Now known as Gender-based Analysis Plus (GBA Plus). The ‘Plus’ was added to encourage consideration of the multiple factors that shape experiences and outcomes, beyond sex and gender. With this re-branding, the GBA Plus wheel was introduced.

As a result of the Public Accounts Committee report, Women and Gender Equality Canada, the Privy Council Office and the Treasury Board Secretariat encouraged departments to implement GBA frameworks in accordance with the GBA Action Plan. Women and Gender Equality Canada also implemented interdepartmental committee meetings to encourage departments to share best practices and lessons learned.

In November 2015, the first-ever full Minister of Women and Gender Equality Canada was appointed, demonstrating the Government’s strong commitment to ensuring that gender and diversity considerations are brought to the Cabinet table.

In February 2016, the Auditor General released the fall 2015 report, Implementing Gender-based Analysis, which pointed to the need to do more to fully implement GBA Plus as a rigorous practice across government.  It recommended that Women and Gender Equality Canada (WAGE), the Privy Council Office (PCO) and the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS) work with all federal departments and agencies to identify the barriers to implementing GBA Plus, and to periodically assess and report on progress.

The requirement for GBA Plus in Memoranda to Cabinet and Treasury Board submissions is included in the GBA Plus Action Plan 2016-2020.

Report of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts

“REPORT 1—IMPLEMENTING GENDER-BASED ANALYSIS,” 2015 FALL REPORTS OF THE AUDITOR GENERAL OF CANADA,

• Government response

Report of the Standing Committee on the Status of Women

IMPLEMENTING GENDER-BASED ANALYSIS PLUS IN THE GOVERNMENT OF CANADA,

• Government response

In response to the Auditor General’s report, in April 2016, Women and Gender Equality Canada, the Privy Council Office and the Treasury Board Secretariat released the GBA Action Plan (2016-2020). The plan details actions to support the implementation of GBA across government under the themes of identifying barriers, building GBA Plus capacity, strengthening monitoring and accountability, and reporting on outcomes.

In June 2016, the Standing Committee on Public Accounts and the Standing Committee on the Status of Women each released reports on the implementation of GBA Plus across government. The recommendations contained in these reports have shaped the activities undertaken by Women and Gender Equality Canada, the Privy Council Office and the Treasury Board Secretariat to advance the integration of GBA Plus across government.

March 2017 saw the Government table the first-ever gender-based assessment of budgetary measures in Budget 2017.

In March 2017, Women and Gender Equality Canada, the Privy Council Office and the Treasury Board Secretariat provided an interim progress report on the implementation of GBA Plus to the Standing Committee on Public Accounts and the Standing Committee on the Status of Women. The report highlighted the significant progress has been made in all areas, including measures to: create new requirements for GBA Plus in Cabinet proposals; strengthen networks and enhance GBA Plus training for officials; increase Status of Women Canada’s engagement in the provision of GBA Plus advice on initiatives; and, identify new, more robust monitoring and reporting mechanisms.

Canadian Gender Budgeting Act passed. GBA Plus is legislated for all new annual Budget measures, for tax expenditures, and for existing expenditures.

Within the Government of Canada, we continue to build on the milestones presented here to ensure that GBA Plus is implemented broadly and that it will result in more equitable outcomes for Canadians.