Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I thank Mr. Hayes and his team for their work.
We agree with the Auditor General's recommendations, of course, and we are implementing them through a number of key measures, which I will discuss.
Earlier this fall, we shared our observations with WAGE, along with the Privy Council Office, on progress in integrating GBA+ into decision-making processes and areas for improvement. Although there had been exchanges between departments for a long time, that process made those exchanges more official, particularly by putting them in writing.
We indicated that more and more Treasury Board submissions are backing up their proposals with disaggregated data, but some still do not have a plan to track or mitigate the impact of GBA+. This information sharing will become an annual practice and will help identify systemic barriers to the achievement or quality of GBA+.
Disaggregated data is key to planning and understanding the impact of GBA+. This is why TBS continues to strengthen the tools and guidance to encourage the use of disaggregated data where feasible and appropriate.
For example, this past July, we published a privacy information notice to support departments as they plan their data collection for program monitoring, evaluation and reporting. This helps to address concerns that another officer of Parliament, the Privacy Commissioner, raises around the appropriate protection of privacy and information.
TBS will also continue to review and refine the guidance for departmental results reports to ensure that meaningful information is made available to decision-makers and the public.
In addition, TBS publishes best practices on GBA+ program impacts based on a review of the supplementary information tables in the departmental results report. We did this in 2021 and 2022, and next month we intend to publish an update that's significantly more comprehensive in terms of best practices. As part of this update, we will also be providing a new analysis on government-wide program impacts on gender and diversity, and we'll be building on this in further updates.
This will provide a baseline for other departments in terms of their reporting requirements as outlined in the Canadian Gender Budgeting Act, as well as hold the government accountable for the impacts of its programs.
The entire public service must ensure that GBA+ is an important consideration at all stages of the legislative, policy, and program process, not just an add-on.
Significant progress has been made through the use of GBA+. However, the capacity building required for data collection and analytical work is still ongoing and will take time.
I'd be pleased to answer any questions.