Archived - Departmental Plan 2022-2023: Supplementary Information Tables: Page 2

Gender-based analysis plus

Introduction

Each organization is responsible to conduct its own analysis, under the Gender-Based Analysis Plus (GBA Plus) framework, to support this government-wide reporting requirement.

In 2018, Parliament passed the Canadian Gender Budgeting Act. The departmental plans and departmental results reports are being used to fulfil the President of the Treasury Board’s obligations to make public analysis on the impacts of expenditure programs on gender and diversity.

Applicability

All departments must complete the GBA Plus supplementary information table. Even if GBA Plus is deemed not relevant to a department’s programs, the department must complete the table and explain how GBA Plus is not relevant.

General information

Institutional GBA Plus Capacity

The Department advances the Government’s commitment to fairness and equality through gender budgeting (including GBA Plus) and fulfilling the requirements of the Canadian Gender Budgeting Act, in support of Canada’s long-term sustainable and inclusive growth. This work is led by the Fiscal Policy Branch, and is supported by an executive-level Department wide Gender Advisory Committee.

In line with this commitment, and consistent with the Act, all budgetary and off-cycle proposals in 2022-23 will continue to be informed by gender and diversity analysis (GBA Plus). This helps ensure that funding decisions are made with the understanding of how diverse groups of Canadians would be affected and that the Government’s programs and initiatives continue to support those most affected by the pandemic and help address long-standing inequalities.

The Department continues to work to strengthen the quality of gender and diversity analysis performed as part of the policy development and budgeting processes, with particular focus on timing, responsive approaches and data sources. Additionally, the Gender Results Framework Placemat will continue to support decision-making and contribute to the Government’s efforts to understand and respond to the gender and diversity implications of the COVID-19 pandemic and other social and economic factors.

The Department is also building upon its existing gender and diversity analysis capacity through the introduction of the new Quality of Life Framework. This Framework extends reporting on who is affected by budget proposals with a more thorough assessment of the nature of the expected impacts based on key determinants of quality of life now and into the future; such as prosperity, health, environment, social cohesion and good governance. This expanded analysis informed the development of Budget 2021’s Impacts Report, which replaced the Gender Report. The Quality of Life framework will continue to complement and reinforce GBA Plus and support evidence-based decision-making about government priorities and investments.

Highlights of GBA Plus Results Reporting Capacity by Program

Economic and fiscal policy, planning and forecasting

All budgetary and off-cycle proposals are informed by gender and diversity analysis and this analysis is reviewed and considered as part of the Department’s challenge function. The Department uses the budget proposal templates to gather data and support analyses that consider both who is affected by a proposal (GBA Plus), as well as how, through an alignment with the of quality of life domains. This process informs budget decision making and supports the publication of gender and diversity considerations for final budget decisions. For example, see Annex 4 and Annex 5 of Budget 2021.

Tax Policy

Tax Policy and Legislation

Pursuant to the reporting requirements of the Canadian Gender Budgeting Act, analytical studies on gender and diversity impacts of tax expenditures are published as part of the annual Report on Federal Tax Expenditures.

Ways to make better use of available data and overcome existing data limitations are continuously explored to improve gender and diversity analysis of tax expenditures. For instance, while the tax filers’ area of residence is not directly identifiable in T1 tax return data, a merge with Statistics Canada’s Postal Code Conversion File (PCCF) has been conducted for the purpose of the 2021 GBA Plus study. This approach made it possible to examine the impacts of tax expenditures by area of residence (i.e., residents of rural versus urban areas). Ways to merge tax administrative data with survey data are being contemplated to take into account intersecting identity factors that go beyond those already explored such as race, ethnicity, and the presence of a disability.

Tax Collection and Administration Agreements

Finance Canada does not collect gender and diversity data that is uniquely related to Tax Collection and Administration Agreements.  Federal measures that are linked to these agreements would be assessed to the extent that they are budgetary or off-cycle proposals.  Provinces, territories, Indigenous and other non-federal entities would be responsible for assessing the gender and diversity impacts of any measures, linked to these agreements, which fall under their purview.

Federal and Provincial and Social Policy

Transfer Policy

Finance Canada does not collect gender and diversity data related to federal transfers, as these transfers are unconditional; provinces and territories are responsible for all public reporting on the gender and diversity impacts of their programs and initiatives.