Thank you very much for the question.
I know there's more work we can do and I know it's important to be listening to people who identify new ways of getting it and working harder. I know that some colleagues behind me would like to say there are new approaches we should consider.
What this committee recommended in 2005 and the previous government committed to do in 2005 and the current government committed to do in 2006 was that in cases in which data exist, individual branches--and they named three branches within the Department of Finance--may include gender-based analysis in the policy when data are available.
It was a pretty soft start to the process in terms of what was committed on behalf of an important report from this committee. I think it was for all government departments to do gender-based analysis as well. I would say we have a comprehensive approach to it that is not done in every department. Part of it reflects the way we do business around the budget and part of it reflects the leadership from one of our branches that is able to jump into this analysis, so it fits into our budget process well.
We've done a comprehensive approach, Ms. Davidson. It was not called for and was not asked for by the government. That's how, in fact, we do business in terms of the budget analysis. We're not there yet, in terms of some of the branches and some of the initiatives. I think the chair had a question about some of these analyses having to be done on a qualitative basis, but I say that if you look objectively at what the government committed all departments to do in response to the work of this committee, we have gone well beyond that. I think it's still a work in progress, but we've shared with the committee, and will continue to share, benchmarks of that progress to inform your deliberations.
I know that my and Louise's contacts with Status of Women would say we are making some very important progress. We're also reaching out to other departments to let them know how we approach it and we're ready to continue to do that. It's one of the things we do.