I think it's a combination of factors. A challenge always in government is working horizontally. It's an issue we've tried to address over many years. Accountabilities, of course, are very much vertical in terms of departmental ministerial accountabilities to Parliament, so the challenge is trying to work across the system in terms of coming up with accountability structures that ensure you have synergy and coordination happening.
The reason we actually do have.... It's certainly a requirement for PCO. It's required that we do interdepartmental consultations before something comes forward. It's very important that the connections be made. Certainly one of the key issues we ask for is interdepartmental work before an initiative comes forward, just to ensure that very thing—that an integrated perspective is actually taken into account and that there's every opportunity to identify issues.
It may not be a perfect system, but I think the mechanisms are certainly in place to try to ensure that those kinds of issues are raised at the officials level; then of course, it's incumbent on officials to brief their ministers who sit on policy committees of cabinet and on cabinet. Officials brief their ministers, so if there are continuing issues, that's also an opportunity to ensure that their ministers are aware. Ministers have every opportunity in cabinet committees, of course, to deliberate. That is their role: to debate, to discuss, to ask questions, and to ensure they are satisfied with the proposal coming forward.
A number of mechanisms have been put in place to try to ensure that happens. I think that to an extent it is a responsibility for everyone. The budget preparation process, as I mentioned, is the responsibility of Finance. This committee has already made recommendations, which I think Finance is certainly acting on; I think you'll have every opportunity next week to hear from them in terms of the extent of the work they're doing on gender-based analysis, but I know they also are working with Status of Women.
I think having a champion is very helpful, but I think it is a system issue as well, in the sense that it's incumbent on—and I think we've tried to build them in—various steps along the way to make sure there is every opportunity to reflect on key issues.