Secretary of the Treasury Board appearance before the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (PACP) – Follow-up Study on Report 3, Gender-Based Analysis Plus – November 2023

Background

• The Auditor General of Canada tabled her spring 2022 reports 1 to 4 on May 31, 2022, and they were subsequently referred to the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (PACP).

Day of: scenario (PACP)

• On November 7, 2023, the Secretary and Annie Boudreau, Assistant Secretary, Expenditure Management Sector, are expected to appear alongside the following:
  • Frances McRae, Deputy Minister of Women and Gender Equality Canada
  • Leila Boussaïd, Director General of the Research, Data and Intersectionality Branch, Women and Gender Equality Canada
  • Kaili Levesque, Deputy Secretary to the Operations, Privy Council Office
  • Jennifer Miller, Assistant Secretary, Privy Council Office
  • Andrew Hayes, Deputy Auditor General, Office of the Auditor General of Canada
  • Carey Agnew, Principal, Office of the Auditor General of Canada
• The appearance will be for one hour (11 am to 12 pm).
• The committee is expected to meet for a second hour to consider draft reports.

Briefing binder

• A binder has been prepared that provides:
  • an overview of the audit
  • the management action plan (submitted to PACP)
  • the status of the Auditor General’s recommendations since the 2022 report

The binder also includes material on key issues respecting GBA Plus, such as data collection and Treasury Board of Canada (TBS) accountability on GBA Plus.

Other relevant information

• The Auditor General has now released several audit reports since the 2022 report on GBA Plus was tabled. The fall 2023 reports were tabled on October 19, 2023. The committee received a briefing from the Auditor General on all of the reports but has not yet called any individual meetings on the reports. TBS was named in the following reports:
  • Report 5: Inclusion in the Workplace for Racialized Employees (Public Safety Canada lead)
  • Report 7: Modernizing Information Technology Systems (TBS lead)
  • Report 8: The Benefits Delivery Modernization Programme (Employment and Social Development lead)
• TBS recently submitted a status update on Recommendation 3 in the committee’s report on the Public Accounts 2021 concerning divulgation of expenditures by Crown corporations. The Government Response committed to providing the committee with the full report along with the reports responding to the other recommendations by the end of the year. The final report is in progress and on track to meet the end-of-year deadline.
• The committee has received training on how to evaluate audit reports and generally ask questions relevant to the details of the report.
• Given the length of time between the release of the report and the appearance, the committee will be interested in the specific details in relation to:
• how the government will implement the recommendations outlined in the report
• how it has implemented any recommendations since the report was tabled
• The Public Accounts 2023 were tabled on October 24. The committee is expected to hold its first public meeting on the Public Accounts later in November. The Comptroller General, the Department of Finance Canada and the Office of the Auditor General are expected to appear.

Issue

Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS) actions to address the Auditor General’s recommendations since the 2022 spring report on gender-based analysis plus (GBA Plus) implementation

Response

• To respond to the Auditor General’s recommendations of May 2022, TBS:
  • has consolidated and shared observations with Women and Gender Equality Canada (WAGE) in September 2023 on the state of play of GBA Plus based on a review of Treasury Board submissions
  • created and maintained tools and guidance to encourage the development and use of disaggregated data, including by publishing a Privacy Information Notice in July 2023 and continuing to consult on data-linking guidance
  • has refined the annual guidance for 2023–24 Departmental Results Reports and the 2024–25 Departmental Plans, in consultation with WAGE, to ensure that meaningful information and progress on institutional capacity and impacts are made available to decision makers and the public
• TBS commits to continuing these actions on an annual basis.
• Also on an ongoing basis, TBS intends to:
  • annually publish best practices online of how departments are using GBA Plus and moving toward presenting better analysis of GBA Plus impacts reporting
  • collaborate with central agencies, WAGE and the Canada School of Public Service to develop new tools and resources to support GBA Plus implementation
  • share information and best practices on implementation, including through international forums such as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

Background

The 2022 Auditor General report on GBA Plus implementation was a follow-up to selected recommendations from the 2009 and 2015 Auditor General reports on GBA Plus, with a focus on WAGE, TBS and the Privy Council Office. The 2022 report also examined the use and availability of data to support GBA Plus.

TBS has made progress within its mandate and role to address the Auditor General’s findings.

In the 2022 spring report to Parliament, the Auditor General made recommendations that TBS responded to:

1. Recommendation 3.33: PCO and TBS provide timely and documented feedback to departments and agencies on the application of gender-based analysis plus (GBA Plus) in their Treasury Board submissions and share this feedback with Women and Gender Equality Canada (WAGE).
   • In response, TBS committed to identify observations on GBA Plus based on its feedback to departments and agencies on their Treasury Board submissions and provide these in a consolidated fashion to WAGE annually.
   • To date, we met with WAGE senior officials, along with PCO, for sharing Part A and Part B consolidated observations on GBA Plus and gaps. The Department of Finance Canada will be included in future discussions.
2. Recommendation 3.46: PCO, TBS and WAGE ensure all departments and agencies appropriately implement the GBA Plus Framework and report publicly on their progress.
   • In response, TBS committed to ensure, in consultation with WAGE, that Departmental Plan and Departmental Results Report guidance promote the implementation of GBA Plus institutional capacity framework and allow for monitoring of status across federal organizations.
   • To date, WAGE has requested that specific references to the institutional capacity framework be included in the guidance, and these details have been reflected starting with the 2022–23 Departmental Plan guidance.
3. Recommendation 3.57: PCO, TBS and WAGE work with departments and agencies to ensure that disaggregated data is sought, compiled and used in the design, delivery and measurement of all policies, programs and initiatives.
   • In response, TBS is to develop and refine tools and guidance to encourage the development and use of disaggregated data, wherever feasible. This includes in ministerial decisions and in ongoing program administration and would support fulfillment of the analysis and reporting requirements of the Canadian Gender Budgeting Act.
   • In July 2023, TBS published a Privacy Implementation Notice for program monitoring, evaluation and reporting purposes. This notice was developed in response to challenges that departments and agencies face in applying privacy provisions to these program areas.
   • TBS continues to advance departmental guidance on using linkable file environments to leverage government data repositories and enhance impact analysis of policies, programs and initiatives.
   • TBS found that the level of maturity across departments varies widely. In 2021–22:
     • 65% of programs were meeting the minimum requirement for developing a data collection plan (from 57% in the previous year)
     • 35% of government programs have at least one quantitative indicator for monitoring impacts on gender and diversity (29% in the previous year)
     • about the same percentage of programs reported qualitative impacts
4. Recommendation 3.66: WAGE, with the support of PCO and TBS, regularly and comprehensively monitor and publicly report on the status of GBA Plus implementation across the federal government, including plans to advance GBA Plus implementation.
   • In response, TBS is to meet annually with WAGE and PCO to:
     • discuss the monitoring and reporting of GBA Plus implementation and future plans
     • provide input annually into WAGE’s departmental GBA Plus implementation survey
   • TBS also is to support the monitoring and reporting on program impacts on gender and diversity through the GBA Plus supplementary information table of Departmental Results Reports and by updating its web page annually.
   • To date, TBS has provided feedback to the WAGE GBA Plus implementation survey.
   • Since 2022, TBS also updated its web page to highlight good practices in reporting program impacts on gender and diversity found in Departmental Results Reports.
5. Recommendation 3.76: TBS issue guidance to departments and agencies for reporting GBA Plus in their Departmental Results Report that requires complete, accurate and consistent results that can contribute in a meaningful way to analysis on the progress of GBA Plus implementation and impacts.
   • TBS committed to review and refine annual guidance to departments to report on relevant analysis of impacts.
   • TBS issues guidance for departments and agencies annually in the spring to report consistently on certain core indicators, in the context of their annual reporting under the Canadian Gender Budgeting Act (through the Departmental Results Reports), while also providing flexibility to report on the most relevant GBA Plus aspects of a specific initiative.
   • TBS will continuously review and refine the guidance for Departmental Results Reports to ensure that meaningful information is made available to decision makers and the public.

Detailed Recommendations and Responses of Spring 2009 Report

This information has been published and is available online at: Report of the Auditor General of Canada to the House of Commons – Chapter 1: Gender-based analysis (2009)

Detailed Recommendations and Responses of Fall 2015 Report

This information has been published and is available online at: Report 1—Implementing Gender-Based Analysis (2015)

Issue

TBS’s roles and responsibilities on GBA Plus

Response

• Within their mandates, ministers and departments are accountable for applying and integrating gender-based analysis plus (GBA Plus) in the monitoring and reporting of their operations.
• TBS has two main roles in GBA Plus implementation:
  1. to offer guidance and engage in the challenge function with departments on the integration of GBA Plus in program design, implementation and reporting
  2. to make gender and diversity impacts of government expenditure programs public, in accordance with the Canadian Gender Budgeting Act
• TBS continues to work closely in coordination with central agencies on GBA Plus implementation in government decision-making and with departments to enhance their GBA Plus reporting to meet their GBA Plus obligations.

Background

GBA Plus is a shared responsibility across all ministers and departments. There are different actors and roles at various stages of the decision-making process. TBS’s roles and responsibilities are related to the specific areas detailed below.

Support to the Treasury Board

The Government of Canada is committed to the application of GBA Plus in the planning, design, implementation and monitoring of policy and program development so that differential impacts across diverse populations are taken into account. Among other things, this means that GBA Plus information is expected to be included where relevant in departments’ Treasury Board submissions seeking Treasury Board authorities, and submissions are expected to be compliant with Treasury Board policies.

Over time, TBS has increased the GBA Plus information required for Treasury Board submissions. Guidance from 2007 only specified that GBA information should be integrated into submissions; by 2017, a GBA Plus appendix was introduced. Since 2020, TBS has asked that departments integrate GBA Plus into and throughout the overall narrative and body of their submissions, particularly with respect to design, delivery and results.

In certain cases, a separate results appendix is required, in which departments provide details on their GBA Plus Data Collection and Reporting Plan.

There continue to be gaps in GBA Plus information for Treasury Board submissions, and these are often related to data collection issues. TBS is working with departments to improve both their data plans and their capacity to report results.

That said, departments should not wait to prepare Treasury Board submissions to develop and implement a data collection plan in relation to GBA Plus. The planning for this should be a part of policy development at the memoranda to Cabinet or budget proposal stages but also integrated in the ongoing management of their activities. Data gaps often cannot be addressed at the Treasury Board submission stage.

Departments need to develop their data collection plans and ensure that they have proper authorities to collect the data. Ideally, this planning occurs before a Treasury Board submission is being drafted, and TBS guidance is and continues to be developed to reflect this.

Treasury Board Policy on Results

Under the Treasury Board Policy on Results, among other things, GBA Plus is required to be integrated into the Performance Information Profiles of departmental programs. Deputy heads are required to designate officials responsible for establishing, implementing and maintaining each program’s Performance Information Profile, including ensuring data collection for it.

The Standard on Evaluation requires that government-wide policy considerations be taken into account, where relevant, such as GBA Plus. Since the 2015 audit, TBS has collaborated with Women and Gender Equality Canada to publish guidance on integrating GBA Plus in evaluation (Integrating Gender-Based Analysis Plus into Evaluation: A Primer (2019)).

Section 5 of the Canadian Gender Budgeting Act (reporting on gender and diversity impacts)

The Canadian Gender Budgeting Act (CGBA) requires that: “Once a year, the President of the Treasury Board must make available to the public analysis of impacts in terms of gender and diversity of the existing Government of Canada expenditure programs that the President, in consultation with the Minister of Finance, considers appropriate.” The Department of Finance Canada has a separate obligation to report on the impact of tax expenditures.

Other than the requirement to publish once a year, other aspects of producing the CGBA report, including the specific form, contents and timing, are at the discretion of the President, in consultation with the Minister of Finance.

Since the Act was enshrined in 2018, the TBS has taken key steps to support departments reporting capacity to meet CGBA requirements.

Issue

Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS) improvements to data collection for gender-based analysis plus (GBA Plus) and Canada Gender Budgeting Act reporting

Response

• Good-quality data is essential for measuring impacts on gender and diversity and conducting GBA Plus.
• Collecting quality data requires advance planning, in particular to ensure protection of privacy in the collection of personal information.
• TBS is focused on providing guidance and support to departments to enhance capacity in data collection and reporting.
• For instance, in July 2023, TBS published a Privacy Implementation Notice for program monitoring, evaluation and reporting purposes to support departments and agencies facing challenges in applying privacy provisions to these program areas.
• TBS is also developing ways for departments and agencies to better leverage existing data tools to improve evaluation and reporting.
• Further efforts toward better government data collection and use will be coordinated across government.
• Work is also underway to improve infrastructure across the government to facilitate data collection more generally and by improving data interoperability.

Background

Program monitoring of impacts on gender and diversity generally requires the collection of personal information. Institutions must ensure they:

• have the legislative authority to collect any personal information:
  • the Privacy Act outlines the requirements for personal information collection, creation, use, disclosure and disposition, including for non-administrative uses such as for program evaluation
• collect only the information they need to, including for program evaluation and impacts reporting
• establish the proper infrastructure to do so, including establishing proper safeguards to protect personal information

Since 2020, TBS has requested that details on departments’ data collection plans be specified in the Results Annex of Treasury Board submissions to encourage planning and building of departmental capacity for GBA Plus data collection. Departments will also need to provide details on their overall data governance as part of the Service and Digital Annex of Treasury Board submissions.

In the Department Results Reports process, departments are required to report annually on data collection plans for reporting on impacts of programs on gender and diversity.

These steps take time and resources. TBS has focused its guidance and tools for departments on building their data collection capacities.

TBS will continue to develop guidance, in particular for programs that provide benefits to identifiable individuals or firms so that departments make better use of government data through data-linking. These efforts would also enhance the capacity of departments and agencies to measure the impacts of their programs on the diverse Canadians they serve.

At the same time, these efforts need to be coordinated with other government data priorities (for example, on disaggregated data, common data standard and practices) and the renewed Government of Canada’s Data Strategy.