Evidence of meeting #14 for Status of Women in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was gba.
A recording is available from Parliament.
4:40 p.m.
As an Individual
That is how I would work it. It would be more or less iterative.
4:40 p.m.
Liberal
Eva Nassif Liberal Vimy, QC
What tools could we use to effectively implement the results of our gender-based analysis in Canada's agencies and departments?
4:40 p.m.
As an Individual
I think there are existing tools, but we'll have to work on doing some more of them. You have the researchers who have already made a lot of headway. CRIAW is doing some work on that. There are a lot of tools. It's a question of bringing them together and harnessing them to the right audiences.
4:40 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Marilyn Gladu
All right, that's your time. We'll go over to my Conservative colleague Mr. Kmiec.
May 12th, 2016 / 4:40 p.m.
Conservative
Tom Kmiec Conservative Calgary Shepard, AB
Thank you, professors, and thank you, doctor, for the presentation today.
We've heard from other departments—I have been reading the evidence of the proceedings of the committee—that rely on Statistic Canada data to make many of the decisions on GBA. Is this data too limited, and can you provide some information on other potential data sources out there, quantitative or qualitative—I know that was mentioned as well—that could be used in this type of analysis in Canada?
4:40 p.m.
Associate Professor, Adult Education, University of Regina and President Elect, Canadian Research Institute for the Advancement of Women (CRIAW), As an Individual
I just gave two examples of studies that I had been involved in. They're both qualitative studies. They're community-based studies and they demonstrate that if gender were a consideration, things in the independent assessment process would have been very different. There, we're talking about close to...now they're saying it's over $3 billion of federal money. That's significant.
The other example was the study on social assistance. In part what's important here is that we're not just talking about gender, but about how people live their lives and the complexities of that and how policies and programs need to reflect those things.
4:45 p.m.
Professor, School of Public Policy, Simon Fraser University, As an Individual
I would just add that Statistics Canada has excellent statistics; it's a question of the way you use them, what you look for. There is no such thing as an innocent number.
If you're only looking at very simple disaggregations, you're going to get a certain evidence base. If you complicate the story and look at other factors, you're going to get another evidence base. Researchers across this country are showing the difference when you complicate the story.
So it's a question of relationship with researchers who know how to use these databases more than of just saying that it's either good enough or not good enough.
4:45 p.m.
Conservative
4:45 p.m.
Conservative
4:45 p.m.
As an Individual
I'm sorry, I couldn't hear very well.
I would agree with what both speakers have said. We have many policy institutes, large and small, across Canada that look at particular aspects of Canadian life, and they amass a great deal of data that can be accessed and can be used. Their expertise can be pulled into the mix. If we are about getting equality, it's equality for everybody, so we need help from all and partnership from all areas.
4:45 p.m.
Conservative
Tom Kmiec Conservative Calgary Shepard, AB
Madam Chair, I have another question, then.
It was also mentioned that Canada was losing its profile on this and that we should look beyond our borders to other institutes outside of Canada that we should be sourcing information from as well—qualitative or quantitative data—on a regular instead of an ad hoc basis, to add to this analysis.
Where should we be sourcing data from?. That is what I'm asking. I think the example of Brazil was given, which sounded very interesting, by Professor Hanson when she was saying what they've done. Should we be sourcing more data, qualitative or quantitative, from those areas as well to supplement what our department has here?
4:45 p.m.
Associate Professor, Adult Education, University of Regina and President Elect, Canadian Research Institute for the Advancement of Women (CRIAW), As an Individual
I'm not a quantitative researcher, so I don't talk about things as resourcing data, but I think there are many examples out there.
I also would reiterate what my colleague said here about students. It doesn't have to be about staff within departments, who may or may not have the skills to do the kind of research you're talking about. Maybe it's about relationships with universities and having students doing the kinds of research projects that would get this kind of information out.
4:45 p.m.
As an Individual
There have been a number of studies about joined-up government and about how IT is being used in communities—I know that Bombay and Hyderabad in India are two such communities—to get the community to respond to what their policy issues are and to have some interchange with people who make policy. We might want to look at something like that. It would be very easy to do in Canada.
Dyfed, from the U.K., funded a number of programs that looked at joined-up government. I know there was one in Jamaica, and it looked at how you get information from very small communities and move it up through the policy and decision-making chain.
We do some of that in Canada, too, but these are two examples, and Dyfed should have those reports.
4:45 p.m.
Conservative
4:45 p.m.
Liberal
Anju Dhillon Liberal Dorval—Lachine—LaSalle, QC
The question is for Ms. Hanson.
It's been discussed that GBA is not only needed at the government level, but that also we need to provide the provinces and communities with support for community development and for resources to engage in equality-seeking mechanisms.
Can you elaborate on how we would go about achieving this goal?
4:45 p.m.
Associate Professor, Adult Education, University of Regina and President Elect, Canadian Research Institute for the Advancement of Women (CRIAW), As an Individual
I think there are many ways in which this can be done. I think it can be done at an institutional level, working with universities.
It could also be done with national women's organizations who have membership broadly across the country who could be engaged in processes. For example, CRIAW has been working; we get the odd SSHRC funding to do something and then try to do something using intersectional feminist frameworks. We do have relationships with communities across the country. I think that's where there can be an engagement with civil society in moving an agenda forward on GBA.
4:50 p.m.
Liberal
Anju Dhillon Liberal Dorval—Lachine—LaSalle, QC
Some provinces have been leaders in the application of GBA in their government work. What resources would you see the government providing to enhance GBA?
4:50 p.m.
Associate Professor, Adult Education, University of Regina and President Elect, Canadian Research Institute for the Advancement of Women (CRIAW), As an Individual
The government providing to provinces?
4:50 p.m.
Associate Professor, Adult Education, University of Regina and President Elect, Canadian Research Institute for the Advancement of Women (CRIAW), As an Individual
I'm not really sure. Is that as it has existed in the past, or currently...?
Maybe you want to speak to that.
4:50 p.m.
Professor, School of Public Policy, Simon Fraser University, As an Individual
I think the coordination committee that was set up between the federal level and the provinces and territories got off to a much better start in about 2012. I'm not sure where it's at right now. But putting some resources into developing those relationships helps with coordination, knowledge transfer, knowledge sharing, and joint activities. I know there was even a moment when there was consideration of some kind of conference that would feature the work across the country and of getting some funding to do that.
I think that's a place where some of that creative work can happen and collaboration can happen.
4:50 p.m.
Liberal
Anju Dhillon Liberal Dorval—Lachine—LaSalle, QC
This is for anybody who wishes to answer. If the committee recommended mandating GBA, what suggestions would you have in guiding the implementation? For example, would you recommend a phased-in approach, or do you have suggestions on how to make it more fully integrated?
Finally, who would you recommend be held accountable for the implementation—Parliament, or Status of Women, or...?
4:50 p.m.
Associate Professor, Adult Education, University of Regina and President Elect, Canadian Research Institute for the Advancement of Women (CRIAW), As an Individual
Status of Women Canada cannot be responsible unless it's a department and actually has some power or has some status behind it, right? I think that's a starting point.
I actually advocate for a phased-in approach: providing supports and resources from the PMO; with Status of Women becoming the main government agency overseeing the process, hopefully as a department; FEWO pressing for supports and resources, including evaluations to demonstrate the effectiveness; and Treasury Board and Privy Council being mandated to reject policies or programs that have not demonstrated GBA in process.
Following that, once it's solidly supported and has adequate resources, then it can be widely applied to policy and programs both locally and globally. Interestingly enough, Canada has been very good at insisting that there be a gender analysis of programs and policies internationally. We've been very good at that. We haven't been as good at doing it domestically.