Archived: Departmental Plan 2018 to 2019, supplementary tables, Environment and Climate Change Canada, chapter 6

Gender-based analysis plus

Governance structures

The Assistant Deputy Minister (ADM) of the Strategic Policy Branch is Environment and Climate Change Canada’s (ECCC) Gender-based analysis plus (GBA+) Champion. As such, GBA+ functions are managed by the Branch, which includes the GBA+ Centre of Responsibility.

The Centre of Responsibility provides advice and support, establishes tools and templates to provide departmental guidance and training, as well as liaises with Status of Women Canada (SWC) and works on horizontal GBA+ initiatives with other departments and agencies.

ECCC Action Plan

ECCC is currently implementing a GBA+ Action Plan to mainstream and integrate GBA+ in all facets of departmental activities.

The Action Plan will advance GBA+ integration at ECCC by building on three pillars:

• Build and strengthen ECCC capacity to carry out the level of work to support mainstreaming and integration;
• Ensure that a GBA+ lens is used across all facets of policy development and decision making; and
• Build a departmental culture around inclusiveness.

A focus of the Action Plan proposes to build and strengthen departmental capacity through the creation of a GBA+ Branch Advisory Network.

Human resources

The creation of a departmental Branch Advisory Network and Centre of Expertise will build GBA+ capacity to ensure horizontality and expertise across the department. The ADM of Strategic Policy will continue to act as GBA+ champion.

By the end of the fiscal year 2018–19 ECCC will have several FTEs working on GBA+ activities.

Training needs will be identified and members of the Network will receive specialized training. All staff that support GBA+ will receive basic training required.

Moreover, as part of ECCC’s approach to building a departmental culture of inclusiveness, GBA+ activities will link to initiatives from the DM’s Panel and Working Group on Diversity and Inclusion and the work of the ADM Diversity and Inclusion Co-champions.

Planned initiatives

Over the 2018–19 fiscal year, the initiatives listed below will support GBA+ mainstreaming in key aspects of departmental work.

Internal/ Operational Activities:

The GBA+ Action Plan will outline ECCC’s long-term strategy for implementing GBA+ across the department, including training and development, research, evaluation, and other materials that are measured against performance criteria developed by SWC.

• Develop centralized resources and a data bank to support the integration of diversity and inclusion considerations into departmental activities.
• Operationalize a Branch Advisory Network to build capacity and enhance departmental cross-collaboration and outcomes on GBA+
  • A Terms of Reference will be developed to formalize reporting relationships through the GBA+ champion.
• Ensure that the collection of disaggregated data is considered at the forefront of the policy development process, ECCC will advance the collection of disaggregated data as part of existing activities.
• Identify GBA+ gaps as well as opportunities to improve ongoing diversity and gender analyses in key departmental GBA+ activities.
  • Tools and templates will be developed to support GBA+ related undertakings including, among other things, the preparation of Memoranda to Cabinet, Treasury Board Submissions, and Budget proposals.
• Build capacity in order to better consider GBA+ dimensions in future Risk-based audit plans and Departmental evaluation plans
• Pilot the incorporation of GBA+ focused criteria in one program evaluation.

Outward-Looking Activities:

• The International Climate Change Action Program will focus on and target vulnerable and diverse groups and integrate gender considerations in the design, decision-making, and implementation of projects.