FEWO Committee Report

CHAPTER EIGHT: RECOMMENDATIONS FOR GENDER- BASED ANALYSIS IN THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

The Committee feels strongly that specific accountability mechanisms need to be developed to ensure that the federal government is obligated to demonstrate, not only a high level of support and activities, but also clear successes for gender-based analysis throughout government departments and agencies.

Combined with measures to enhance the systematic implementation of GBA, there must be a strong federal machinery to coordinate progress on policy within government, as well as support for women's and equality-seeking organizations. Ms. Florence Ievers (Coordinator, Status of Women Canada)

EQUALITY LEGISLATION FOR SYSTEMATIC GENDER-BASED ANALYSIS

The Committee heard that establishing a legislative mandate for gender equality in Canada would be a significant step. In her appearance before the Committee, the Minister responsible for the Status of Women talked about the experience of other countries with equality legislation that requires a systematic application of gender-based analysis. Other witnesses pointed to legislative requirements in the areas of employment equity, official languages and multiculturalism. In addition, the legislative requirement to provide an annual report of gender-based analysis for the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act was reported to have increased the attention to gender-based analysis in the Department of Citizenship and Immigration Canada.

The Committee is also aware that, through the work of various secretariats, the Privy Council Office maintains an overview of the entire range of government activities and ensures that particular policies are implemented effectively.

RECOMMENDATION 1

The Committee recommends:

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That the Government of Canada immediately initiate consultations, in time for the 2006-2007 budget, aimed at the development of legislation that would ensure the systematic application of gender-based analysis to all to federal policy and program activities;

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That the Privy Council Office establish a secretariat with responsibility for ensuring the development and eventual implementation of effective gender equality legislation; and

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That the PCO secretariat table annually in Parliament a public report outlining progress toward the legislation.

EVALUATING EXISTING GBA ACCOUNTABILITY

In order to move forward in the absence of equality legislation, there is still work to be done in evaluating the wide range of accountability mechanisms that currently exist in the federal government. Evaluation could determine which would be most effective in the implementation of gender-based analysis throughout the federal government.

Status of Women Canada, as the focal point for gender-based analysis, is well situated to work with other departments to assess which mechanisms could ensure a more systematic application of gender-based analysis. At present, Status of Women Canada does this with a small GBA budget of about $500,000 and through an interdepartmental committee of only 13 departments that appears to be relatively inactive.

RECOMMENDATION 2

The Committee recommends:

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That Status of Women Canada immediately re-activate the Interdepartmental Committee on Gender-based Analysis to provide a full assessment of existing accountability mechanisms for gender-based analysis;

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That the Interdepartmental Committee on Gender-based Analysis be expanded to have representation from all government departments;

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That each department on the Interdepartmental Committee on Gender based Analysis provide an overview of their particular measures for ensuring accountability on GBA and provide an evaluation of the effectiveness of these measures, and that this information be communicated through each department’s departmental performance report as well as through the departmental performance report of Status of Women Canada.

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That Status of Women Canada coordinate the production and distribution of information on the state of GBA accountability mechanisms on an annual basis; and

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That Status of Women Canada be allocated increased funding specifically for the evaluation of GBA accountability measures.

ENGAGING EQUALITY SEEKING ORGANIZATIONS

Status of Women Canada is currently assisting in the development of the 2005-2010 action plan on gender equality. Numerous women’s organizations indicated a desire to voice their sense of needed directions.

RECOMMENDATION 3

The Committee recommends:

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That Status of Women Canada ensure that equality-seeking organizations are engaged in a thorough consultation on the equality goals for priority action in the 2005-2010 action plan on gender equality;

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That the outcomes from such consultations be made public; and

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That a one-time supplementary funding amount be allocated to Status of Women Canada during this fiscal period to make such a consultation possible.

A GBA ROLE FOR CENTRAL AGENCIES

Status of Women Canada can also work with central government agencies such as the Treasury Board Secretariat, the Privy Council Office and Finance Canada on this goal. However, each central agency has its own role in ensuring that this important policy objective of gender-based analysis is realized as a principle in action throughout the federal realm.

A.     Finance Canada and Gender-Budgeting

…the Department [of Finance] plays a central agency function, along with the two other central agencies, the Privy Council Office and the Treasury Board Secretariat. We are basically giving advice and making recommendations to the government on decisions about — most of the time — funding for new proposals in various policy areas. In these cases, what we are facing is the situation of operational departments making proposals for changes in areas related to their specific lines of responsibilities, as part of the cabinet decision-making process. Funding decisions on these policy initiatives are typically made in the budget — a number of decisions are made off the budget cycle, but the budget is a moment where an important number of those decisions are made. Mr. Louis Lévesque (Associate Deputy Minister, Department of Finance)

As a key central agency, the Department of Finance has an important role to play in promoting gender-based analysis. This role can logically extend to ensuring that all policy proposals for a federal budget undergo analysis from the perspective of gender equality. On an even broader scale, the Department could take a leadership role internationally in gender-budgeting. Canada needs a more effective process to do a gender analysis of the budget.

RECOMMENDATION 4

The Committee recommends:

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That the Department of Finance designate one senior official with clear responsibility for implementing a gender-analysis process;

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That the Department of Finance provide a written report to Parliament annually on the steps taken to implement gender-budgeting; and

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That the Department of Finance report to Parliament include examples of areas where gender analysis produced specific results and that this report be referred to the Standing Committee on the Status of Women.

B.     The Privy Council Office and GBA Accountability

The Privy Council Office (PCO) as the Prime Minister’s department and the Cabinet Secretariat is a primary point of action for consultation and coordination of policy throughout the federal public service. The Committee insists that there is need for accountability mechanisms to be implemented as soon as possible and sees this as a major role for the Privy Council Office.

RECOMMENDATION 5

The Committee recommends:

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That the Privy Council Office immediately designate one senior official with clear responsibility for initiating and coordinating accountability on GBA;

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That the Privy Council Office begin the coordinating process immediately;

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That the Privy Council Office provide a written report to Parliament about any consultations on accountability and about the options within 120 days; and

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That the options include measures to penalize departments that do not comply.

C.     PCO Engaging Senior Officials

The Privy Council Office, through the Clerk of the Privy Council and various secretariats, provides advice in setting overall policy directions and in keeping track of developments within specific policy sectors. It has the capacity and the authority to champion gender-based analysis and to engage senior public servants in embracing the necessary changes. The Committee is aware that GBA is not a process familiar to all individuals currently occupying senior departmental positions.

RECOMMENDATION 6

The Committee recommends:

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That the Privy Council Office immediately establish a committee of deputy ministers responsible for analyzing all memorandum to cabinet and other cabinet documents for gender-based analysis; and

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That Privy Council Office officials and all deputy ministers, assistant deputy ministers and associate deputy ministers participate in workshops that provide training to assess GBA content.

D.     The Treasury Board Secretariat and GBA Resources

The Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS) has responsibility for the general management of the government as it affects initiatives, issues and activities that cut across all policy sectors. It provides oversight of the financial management functions and ensures that departments are provided with the resources and the administrative environment needed to translate Cabinet approved policies and programs into operational reality.

RECOMMENDATION 7

The Committee recommends:

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That Treasury Board Secretariat designate a senior official to take responsibility for ensuring that GBA is included in policies, directives, and regulations pertinent to the 2005-2010 action plan on gender equality which is currently being developed by Status of Women Canada;

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That all program expenditure proposals with respect to priority areas identified for the 2005-2010 action plan on gender equality include GBA analysis and implementation goals;

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That the Treasury Board Secretariat provide wide and clear communication to the general public, equality-seeking organizations and other government departments in order to ensure a high level of support for the expected equality goals;

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That the Treasury Board Secretariat support and participate in work to identify, and, where necessary, develop indicators, to measure progress toward the identified equality goals; and

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That the Treasury Board Secretariat report annually to Parliament on progress toward gender-based analysis goals and the activities of departments and agencies both in active measures to attain gender equality goals and in increasing their capacity to implement gender-based analysis to ensure that unintentional negative impacts of programs and policies do not hinder progress toward gender equality goals.

E.     Treasury Board Secretariat and GBA Reporting

The Treasury Board Secretariat also sets criteria and looks for consistency between the two Estimates documents that are currently used to communicate expenditure information to Parliament, the reports on plans and priorities and the departmental performance reports. The reports on plans and priorities (RPP) are individual expenditure plans for each department and agency and are tabled in Parliament by the President of the Treasury Board on behalf of the ministers who preside over these organizations. The departmental performance reports (DPR) provide a presentation of the actual performance achieved against planned results as set out in the reports on plans and priorities.

RECOMMENDATION 8

The Committee recommends:

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That Treasury Board Secretariat establish clear criteria for reporting on GBA; and

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That the Treasury Board Secretariat ensure consistent annual reporting to Parliament on GBA in departmental reports on plans and priorities and performance reports.

THE RESPONSIBILITY OF INDIVIDUAL DEPARTMENTS FOR GBA

The preceding recommendations for Status of Women Canada and the central agencies, the Privy Councl Office, the Treasury Board Secretariat and Finance Canada, do not remove the responsibility of individual departments to initiate gender-based analysis, to designate staff with authority and resources to oversee GBA, to establish departmental structures to support GBA and to account for GBA across departmental spheres of influence. Even departments that have met some of these criteria still have more to do.

We expect the departments to do the gender-based analysis, and again, I think the objective of gender-based analysis across government is to not have it all done in one place, because if it's all done by Status of Women Canada, if all policy proposals go to Status of Women Canada, then departments will not own that process, and departments need to own that process. Ms. Joan Atkinson (Assistant Secretary to the Cabinet, Social Development Policy, Privy Council Office)

RECOMMENDATION 9

The Committee recommends:

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That every federal department and agency immediately designate an assistant or associate deputy minister with responsibility for GBA;

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That all federal departments and agencies ensure regular and active participation in the Interdepartmental Committee on GBA;

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That all federal departments and agencies develop a strategic framework for GBA and action plans for implementation;

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That all federal departments and agencies provide additional resources for data needed for GBA and for staff to ensure that it is used;

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That all legislative, program and policy initiatives undergo GBA;

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That senior level departmental policy and other committees within all federal departments and agencies require regular, at least annual, progress reports on GBA with a particular focus on specific results; and

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That federal departments and agencies make this information about GBA available to Parliament and to the public in their reports on plans and priorities and departmental performance reports.