Mr. Chairman, thank you for the invitation to appear before your committee.
I'm delighted to speak to you today on behalf of the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat. I'm also pleased to be here with my colleagues from Status of Women Canada and the Privy Council Office.
The government recognizes the importance of conducting gender-based analysis because it informs decision-makers of the impacts government policies, programs and initiatives could have on the diverse groups of men and women that make up Canada today.
In light of the Auditor General's fall 2015 report on implementing gender-based analysis, I would like to take this opportunity today to update you on the progress TBS has made in challenging federal departments and agencies to use gender-based analysis and our plan of action going forward.
GBA+ is the analytical tool that helps us understand why certain groups are not benefiting from our programs and services in the same way that other groups may be. It's only after knowing why this is happening that we become equipped to adjust our policies, programs, and services to achieve the gender parity we're seeking.
As you know, ministers seek Treasury Board approval for their proposals of new policies, programs, and services through Treasury Board submissions. The Auditor General talked about that in his report.
As part of the challenge function performed by TBS program analysts on all aspects of these proposals.... What I mean by that is that they assess whether the costs to implement the program are complete and accurate. They actually look at the capacity of departments to deliver the programs that are being proposed to Treasury Board. TBS staff, during this challenge function that they perform, also ask departments if there could be a negative gender impact on the program being put forward, and whether there would be any implications for the Canadians who are supposed to benefit from those programs.
As the Auditor General observed, TBS has been supporting federal organizations to implement GBA+ by clarifying our expectations of departments and requirements for conducting gender-based analysis where applicable, and by providing guidance throughout the development process for Treasury Board submissions.
Detailed guidance to federal departments and agencies for considering GBA+ when drafting Treasury Board submissions has been posted on the secretariat’s website so that departments understand what we're expecting. Training for TBS analysts and their executive directors, who work directly with departments on this every day, is refreshed every year to help better identify gender impacts of policy and program proposals through casework, best practices, and lessons learned.
In 2011, TBS conducted a baseline survey of the degree to which gender-related issues were identified and addressed in the departmental submissions considered by Treasury Board that year.
Of the 618 submissions, about one third were selected for an in-depth review and the potential for gender impacts. Of these, only 41 had identified gender-related issues in the content of their submissions. Encouragingly, in all 41 cases the programs had been adjusted to ensure that the programs were accessible and benefited both genders.
Not surprisingly, we also found evidence that the level of adoption of conducting GBA+ as a standard business practice varied by department.
Getting at the root causes of gender issues can be difficult, in our experience. In many cases, departments did not have the gender-disaggregated information and data about the recipients or the beneficiaries of their programs. As a result of that, collecting that information would have been costly, and most likely would have delayed the implementation of a very good program. For other proposals, gender implications of the work are not immediately obvious.
Recognizing these issues, TBS enhanced analyst training to identify gender issues early in the TB submission process in order to give departments extra time to conduct full, evidence-based analyses. However, we and departments continue to struggle to make it all work.
In addition, TBS has been working closely with Status of Women Canada and PCO to promote the value of GBA+ during meetings with senior executive committees and in conferences and workshops with departmental GBA+ champions.
Going forward, we are committed to continuing to reduce barriers and build capacity across the public service to ensure that GBA+ is solidly embedded in TB policy development, program analysis, and evaluation. We will engage deputy heads to discuss progress towards public service-wide implementation, including any barriers they may encounter, in consultation with our colleagues here at the table today.
We will also review our guidance and if necessary adapt it to the needs of federal departments and agencies so that it is more helpful in achieving better gender outcomes. We are also planning to orient TB ministers on the value of GBA+ findings to inform their decision-making on relevant TB submissions.
To measure our progress, TBS will conduct another review by the fall of 2017—just like we did in 2011—of the extent to which GBA+ findings influence decision-making by the Treasury Board between September of this year and June 2017. Because we know that federal regulations impact both genders in Canadian society, we will train regulatory analysts who work for us as well and will also challenge departments and agencies to conduct GBA+ where applicable in the federal regulation development process.
Finally, as program evaluation is another effective means of assessing programs and policies, the secretariat will assist Status of Women Canada to develop guidance and tools to help program evaluators across the public service identify gender impacts when evaluating the performance of federal policies, programs, and services.
Mr. Chair, Treasury Board Secretariat is committed to working with our partners to strengthen the development of informed, evidence-based, and gender equitable policy and program options for decision makers in order to provide better results for Canadians.
We welcome any input you'd like to provide.
Thank you.