Parole Board of Canada 2023-24 Departmental Results Report: Supplementary Information Tables

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Gender-based analysis plus

Introduction

In 2018, Parliament passed the Canadian Gender Budgeting Act. The Departmental Plans and Departmental Results Reports are being used to fulfill the President of the Treasury Board’s obligations to make public, every year, analysis on the impacts of expenditure programs on gender and diversity.

Each organization is responsible for conducting their own Gender-based Analysis Plus (GBA Plus)

The Policy on Results indicates that Program officials, as designated by Deputy Heads, are responsible for ensuring data collection for meeting policy requirements.

Applicability

All organizations must complete GBA Plus supplementary information tables in Departmental Plans and Departmental Results Reports on an annual basis.

Section 1: institutional GBA Plus governance and capacity

Governance

The Parole Board of Canada (PBC) has a Gender-Based Analysis Plus (GBA+) Framework that serves as the PBC's statement of intent and seeks to build and sustain the practice of GBA+ through several streams. The Framework ensures that GBA+ is applied in all areas of the PBC’s policies, programs, and initiatives. The PBC has a Senior Designated Official (i.e., Deputy Chairperson) responsible for Employment Equity, Diversity and Inclusion who also serves as the organizational GBA+ Champion.

Capacity

All PBC employees are required to complete Introduction to Gender-based Analysis Plus training as part of the PBC’s collective learning roadmap. Additional courses to reflect on bias and increase cultural competency are also required for both Board members and staff. In addition, management learning roadmaps include courses on inclusivity in the hiring process, moving from bias to inclusion and on GBA+.

The PBC has conducted an Employment System Review (ESR). This review helped identify and prevent potential employment barriers that negatively impact employees, particularly women, persons with a disability, Indigenous Peoples, members of racialized groups and members of the 2SLGBTQI+ community. The results of the ESR will assist in the development and implementation of measures that will contribute towards a diverse representation and to ensure that all PBC employees can participate fully and equitably in the workplace.

Human resources (full-time equivalents) dedicated to GBA Plus

The Deputy Chairperson is the champion for GBA+ at the PBC. The champion’s role is to lead and promote the implementation of the PBC’s awareness and the integration of GBA+ across the organization. The PBC developed a GBA+ Framework in September 2019, which sets out the overall approach and structure intended to serve as a support and build and sustain the practice of GBA+. A working group was established to implement the various elements identified within the framework and to ensure that GBA+ is applied in all areas of PBC's policies, programs, and initiatives.

Although there is no specific Full-Time Equivalent(s) dedicated solely to GBA+, each of the PBC’s Board members and staff are responsible/accountable to ensure a GBA+ lens is applied to all decisions, activities, and initiatives.

Section 2: gender and diversity impacts, by program

Core responsibility: Conditional Release Decisions

Program name: Conditional Release Decisions

Program goals: Conditional release contributes to the protection of society by allowing for the gradual and supervised reintegration of some incarcerated individuals. When making conditional release decisions, Board members consider all relevant and available information, with consideration for gender, race, cultural and linguistic differences and the intersecting needs of incarcerated individuals.

Target population: Incarcerated Individuals

Distribution of benefits
Distribution	Group
By gender	First group: predominantly men (80% or more men).
By income level	Third group: no significant distributional impacts.
By age group	Second group: no significant intergenerational impacts or impacts on generations between youths and seniors.

Specific demographic group outcomes

Indigenous and Black Individuals are over-represented in the federally incarcerated population. Indigenous peoples are also less likely to be released on conditional release and are incarcerated for longer periods of time prior to release on parole compared to other groups.

Key program impacts on gender and diversity

Board members are required to consider systemic and background factors that have played a part in bringing an individual into interaction with the criminal justice system. Board members are also required to consider alternative community interventions in decision-making for Indigenous peoples. The PBC offers alternative models of hearings to provide a culturally responsive process, while adhering to the criteria for conditional release decision-making.

Key program impact statistics
Statistic	Observed results*	Data source	Comment
Number of culturally responsive hearings (CRHs)	766 hearings conducted by the PBC in 2023-24 that involved an Indigenous Elder or Cultural Advisor	Integrated Decision System	In June 2022, to address the over-representation of Black individuals in the criminal justice system, the PBC introduced CRHs for Black individuals in the Atlantic region. In January 2024, the PBC expanded CRHs for Black individuals nationally.

*2023-24 or most recent

Other key program impacts

In 2023-24, the PBC:

Made significant progress to address recommendations further to the PBC Working Group on Diversity and Systemic Racism report entitled Moving Towards Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. This included expanding Culturally Responsive Hearings (CHR) with support from Cultural Advisors from Black communities nationally;
Continued to offer CHRs with support from Indigenous Elders and Cultural Advisors for Indigenous incarcerated individuals and non-Indigenous incarcerated individuals who have demonstrated a commitment to an Indigenous way of life;
Continued to implement a framework for the application of guiding principles to serve as a foundation for working with women in the conditional release process;
Provided Board members and staff with informational products to enhance cultural competency, awareness and application of Black social history; and
Continued to provide training for Board members to support culturally informed and gender-responsive decision-making (i.e., Indigenous Cultural Responsiveness Training (ICRT), which includes a Blanket Exercise).

Supplementary information sources

GBA Plus data collection plan

Incarcerated individuals’ identification information such as age, race, and gender, entered into the Correctional Service of Canada’s (CSC) Offender Management System (OMS) and PBC decisions recorded in the PBC Integrated Decisions System (IDS) are stored in the CSC/PBC data warehouse. Furthermore, recent reporting and analysis on the profile of incarcerated individuals in the federal correctional system, including race group disparities in conditional release decisions and how these have evolved in recent years, have been possible through accessing the information in the data warehouse.
Work is underway at the PBC to remove salutations from all Conditional Release forms. The majority have been updated and remaining forms will be completed by 2024-25.
In order to accommodate gender identity, CSC made changes to OMS in November 2019. The PBC made simultaneous updates to IDS to ensure that the most recent incarcerated individual chosen name/pronoun as identified and collected by CSC is available. These updates along with a Gender Considerations Tool are ensuring that the PBC takes an inclusive and respectful approach in addressing incarcerated individuals with gender considerations, including in responding to correspondence and conducting conditional release reviews.

Core responsibility: Conditional Release Openness and Accountability

Program name: Conditional Release Openness and Accountability

Program goals: The PBC operates in an open and accountable manner, consistent with the provisions of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act (CCRA). This includes working with victims of crime, incarcerated individuals, and the public in a transparent and responsive manner.

Target population: All Canadians

Distribution of benefits
Distribution	Group
By gender	Third group: broadly gender-balanced.
By income level	Third group: no significant distributional impacts.
By age group	Second group: no significant intergenerational impacts or impacts on generations between youths and seniors.

Specific demographic group outcomes

These activities are available to all segments of the Canadian population and involve working with victims of crime, incarcerated individuals, and the public by providing information about our policies and programs, including access to the PBC's registry of decisions, as well as providing assistance for observers at hearings. The core responsibility also includes working to encourage citizen engagement and enhancing public education and awareness.

Key program impacts on gender and diversity

Depending on the activity, the impact on gender may vary. For example, the majority of offenders are men, more victims of violent crime are women. For accessing decisions, or attending hearings as observers, this service is available to the Canadian public on request. As such, statistics collected are not broken down by gender, though some outreach sessions may be targeted to specific demographic groups.

Other key program impacts

In 2023-24, the PBC:

Participated in many internal and external working groups and committees, such as the Chairperson’s Indigenous Circle and the PBC Committee on Victims, in order to remain informed and sensitive to the issues facing specific groups. The PBC continues to explore new partnerships with groups representing various vulnerable populations;
Hosted a National Elder and Cultural Advisor Gathering to enhance and support CHRs and improve Elder and Cultural Advisor wellness;
Delivered in-reach initiatives to prepare women and racialized populations for parole hearings. An approach to seek feedback further to in-reach sessions was implemented to ensure that practices are continuously adapted to meet individual needs;
Provided training sessions and resources to staff working directly with victims of crime, including on sociocultural factors impacting victimization; and
Delivered a presentation on “Diversity and Gender considerations in Parole Decision-Making” at the American Probation and Parole Association Training Institute.

GBA Plus data collection plan

Victim GBA Plus data is voluntarily submitted by victims and recorded by both the PBC and CSC in the Victims Application Module (VAM). The PBC is participating in interdepartmental and inter-jurisdictional efforts to improve the quality of victim data collection through its participation in the Justice Canada led National Victim Services Data Collection subcommittee of the Federal-Provincial and Territorial Victims of Crime committee.

Core responsibility: Record Suspension and Expungement Decisions/Clemency Recommendations

Program name: Record Suspension and Expungement Decisions/Clemency Recommendations

Program goals: Record suspensions help remove the stigma of a criminal record so that people with criminal records who have completed their sentences and are living law-abiding lives can access meaningful employment, housing, education, and volunteer opportunities. An expungement order allows for the permanent destruction of a judicial record of conviction for eligible offences where the activity no longer constitutes an offence under an Act of Parliament, and if the criminalization of the activity is considered a historical injustice. Clemency is granted in exceptional circumstances in deserving cases involving federal offences, where no other remedy exists in law to reduce severe negative effects of criminal sanctions.

Target population: Applicants seeking a Record Suspension or Expungement Decisions or Clemency

Distribution of benefits
Distribution	Group
By gender	Second group: 60% to 79% men.
By income level	Second group: somewhat benefits low income individuals (somewhat progressive).
By age group	Second group: no significant intergenerational impacts or impacts on generations between youths and seniors.

Specific demographic group outcomes

Given the reduction in the record suspension application fee, it appears that access to record suspensions has increased for a greater number of individuals, which in turn will facilitate access to employment, housing, education and other necessities that support sustained reintegration. The reduction in fee will assist in alleviating pre-existing barriers for those disproportionately affected by the criminal justice system.

Other key program impacts

While these programs are not required to report on gender data, information about gender is collected as one of the identifiers used to identify individuals for investigation of applications as part of the record suspension and clemency processes. In the case of expungement, gender data is not collected. Legislatively, this core responsibility is not required to report on gender data, unless requested on an ad-hoc basis by the Minister of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions and Intergovernmental Affairs.

All programs remove stigmatizing barriers of having a criminal record that allow people to pursue two of the pillars and goals: education and skills development and economic prosperity and participation. Having a criminal record disproportionately impacts racialized and marginalized communities by exacerbating pre-existing socioeconomic barriers.

GBA Plus data collection plan

In 2023-24, the PBC ensured the record suspension, cannabis record suspension and clemency application forms, along with internal case management systems included a third gender box - “Another Gender” as a non-binary option to enable comprehensive gender data collection for possible future reporting.

Additionally, the Record Suspension Application Guide and forms were updated in 2023-24 to allow for the optional collection of information from applicants regarding how their background may have impacted their involvement in the criminal justice system. This will assist Board members in the consideration of systemic background factors in their pardon/record suspension decision-making. This change contributes to the PBC’s mission to make transparent and accountable decisions, respecting the diversity of applicants.

The Expungement Application Guide and form were updated to be as gender inclusive as possible. Gender data is not collected on the application form and gender-neutral language replaced gendered language in the guide where possible (e.g., removing references to “brother/sister”). Additionally, a question was added to the expungement application form that asks for the applicant to provide their preferred name for correspondence in addition to their legal name.

Definitions

Scales

Gender scale

First group: predominantly men (80% or more men)
Second group: 60% to 79% men
Third group: broadly gender-balanced
Fourth group: 60% to 79% women

Fifth group: predominantly women (80% or more women)

Income‑level scale

First group: strongly benefits low‑income individuals (strongly progressive)
Second group: somewhat benefits low‑income individuals (somewhat progressive)
Third group: no significant distributional impacts
Fourth group: somewhat benefits high‑income individuals (somewhat regressive)
Fifth group: strongly benefits high‑income individuals (strongly regressive)

Age‑group scale

First group: primarily benefits youth, children or future generations
Second group: no significant intergenerational impacts or impacts on generations between youths and seniors
Third group: primarily benefits seniors or the baby boom generation

Response to parliamentary committees and external audits

Response to parliamentary committees

There were no parliamentary committee reports in 2023-24 requiring a response.

Response to audits conducted by the Office of the Auditor General of Canada (including audits conducted by the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development)

There were no audits in 2023-24 requiring a response.

Response to audits conducted by the Public Service Commission of Canada or the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages

There were no audits in 2023-24 requiring a response.

United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals