The History of GBA - Domestic and International Milestones
Building Accountability (2002 - present)
Once GBA was accepted as the means to achieving gender equality there was a need for Building Accountability. Putting those policies and institutions in place which would serve to oversee the implementation and use of GBA across the Government, leading to better results for Canadians in policy, programming and legislation.
The following events contribute to the ongoing efforts to make the application and use of GBA systematic in the Federal Government:
- 2004 to present Standing Committee on the Status of Women (FEWO) - is a Parliamentary Committee who researches and reports on the implementation of GBA in the Federal Government. The Canadian Government is able to reaffirm it's commitment to GBA through Government responses to FEWO reports.
- 2007 the Treasury Board Secretariat considers GBA as part of due diligence when preparing Treasury Board Submission. The Guide to Treasury Board Submissions section 9.7.3 provides details. Memoranda to Cabinet are also expected to include gender considerations, where appropriate.
- 2009 the Auditor General conducts an evaluation of the use of GBA in the Federal Government. As a result, a Departmental Action Plan was created to address the recommendations made by the OAG. All federal Departments and Agencies will participate in the Action Plan, designed to assist them with the development of a GBA framework and pilot GBA with one initiative.
- 2010 the Public Accounts Committee tables a report on GBA and requires and interim report on the progress of the implementation of the GBA Action Plan.
2004 - Standing Committee on the Status of Women
In October 2004, the Standing Committee on the Status of Women (FEWO) was established by agreement of all political parties in the House of Commons. It is composed of representatives from all political parties in the House of Commons.
This Committee is responsible for keeping Parliament informed of issues pertaining to women's participation in society and facilitating government action on equality for women.
FEWO has taken a special interest in accountability mechanisms that ensure that the federal government complies with its obligations to advance women's equality and commitments to conduct gender-based analysis in all major areas of its work.
2005 - Gender-Based Analysis: Building Blocks for Success
This report, prepared by the Standing Committee on the Status of Women (FEWO), explored how GBA is implemented in federal government departments, the emerging and ongoing challenges to the implementation of GBA and the adequacy of existing accountability mechanisms.
The Report clarified that the implementation of GBA across the federal government should be a shared responsibility between SWC, the Central Agencies and Departments. It reported that there is great potential for GBA to lead to improved policy making in areas which are not usually defined as 'women's ' issues - areas such as the budget, fiscal policy, trade and defence.
2007 - GBA Treasury Board Submission Requirement
The Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS) has a challenge function for GBA, and can return a submission to the originating Department if the GBA is insufficient or insufficiently documented.
The 2007 revised Guide to Preparing Treasury Board Submissions makes it mandatory for GBA information to be included in any submissions to the TBS. The guide states that GBA is the appropriate process to identify how public policies affect women and men differently and that "gender questions" should be included in the initial stages of the approval process (at the Memorandum for Cabinet (MC) stage, for example) and raised throughout the analytical process.
Gender considerations have also been an important part of the MC template for a number of years
2009 - Spring Report of the Office of the Auditor General
At the request of the Standing Committee on the Status of Women, the Office of the Auditor General reported on the GBA practices of six departments, and the three Central Agencies, in spring 2009. The main findings from the report showed:
- Little or no evidence of GBA frameworks implemented in departments
- No evidence that GBA was considered or documented in decision-making
- No record of the Privy Council Office and the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat playing their challenge function with departments
2009 - Departmental Action Plan on Gender-Based Analysis
In response to the Auditor General's report and the government's response to its audit, SWC and the central agencies developed an Action Plan setting out various commitments made in response to the Auditor General's recommendations, including:
- Continue to work with all departments to help the government meet its 1995 GBA commitment;
- Clarify expectations, particularly about when it is appropriate to perform GBA and how to report the findings;
- Establish a plan for facilitating GBA implementation;
- Better communicate to departments and agencies their responsibilities; and
- Assess the performance of GBA across the federal government and the effectiveness of GBA practices on a yearly basis.
2010 - Public Accounts Committee review of GBA audit
After reviewing the Office of the Auditor General Canada (OAG) (Spring 2009) Report and the Departmental Action Plan on GBA (October 2009), the House of Commons Standing Committee on Public Accounts (PAC) presented its report to the House of Commons in April 2010.
In "Report 4 - Chapter 1, Gender-Based Analysis of the Spring 2009 Report of the Auditor General of Canada", the PACP indicated that all of the recommendations raised in the Audit were not being adequately addressed in the Action Plan.
As such, the PACP made a number of recommendations that focused on ensuring that there would be regular reports on the progress of GBA implementation across the Federal Government, and that the Treasury Board Secretariat and the Privy Council Office formalize their GBA challenge function, regularly request documented evidence of GBA, and communicate the expectation to all departments that GBA be integrated into its work.
