Recommendation 1

That the Government of Canada, through Status of Women Canada, develop and present a clear and consistent definition of “gender” and “sex” for use by federal departments and agencies in the application of Gender-Based Analysis Plus (GBA+).

Recommendation 2

That the Government of Canada, through Status of Women Canada and in consultation with federal departments, the central agencies and civil society, promote the implementation of a Gender-Based Analysis Plus (GBA+) framework focused on “intersectionality” whereby individuals are understood as being shaped by an interaction of different identity factors, including but not limited to gender, sex, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, indigeneity, class, sexuality, geography, age, mental or physical disability and migration status.

Recommendation 3

That the Government of Canada introduce legislation by June 2017 that will create the Office of the Commissioner for Gender Equality, based on the model of the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages; that this legislation establish the Commissioner for Gender Equality as an Agent of Parliament and set out clearly the powers and responsibilities of the Office of the Commissioner for Gender Equality; and that the Commissioner for Gender Equality be provided with all necessary resources to fulfil his or her mandate.

Recommendation 4

That the Government of Canada, through Status of Women Canada, develop awareness-raising initiatives targeted to the general public and to all levels of government, including provinces, territories and municipalities, with the goal of sharing the positive outcomes of the implementation of Gender-Based Analysis Plus (GBA+) at the federal level.

Recommendation 5

That the Government of Canada, through Status of Women Canada, collaborate with the Canada School of Public Service and public policy programs of post-secondary institutions to incorporate Gender-Based Analysis Plus (GBA+) training in their regular curricula.

Recommendation 6

That Status of Women Canada evaluate its Gender-Based Analysis Plus (GBA+) online training course on an annual basis, with the goal of updating examples, incorporating greater diversity and improving effectiveness of policy outcomes.

Recommendation 7

That the Government of Canada make it mandatory for all employees of federal departments and agencies, the House of Commons, Senate and Library of Parliament who have research, policy, program, or customer service responsibilities, as determined by the respective senior management, to complete Status of Women Canada’s Gender-Based Analysis Plus (GBA+) online training course, entitled Introduction to GBA+; and that upon the creation of the proposed Office of the Commissioner for Gender Equality, the Commissioner for Gender Equality receive annual reporting by each organization on compliance with this requirement.

Recommendation 8

That the Parliament of Canada strongly recommend that all parliamentarians and parliamentary staff take Status of Women Canada’s Gender-Based Analysis Plus (GBA+) online training course, entitled Introduction to GBA+ within six months of commencing their duties.

Recommendation 9

That Status of Women Canada continue to play a leadership and coordinator role in developing and providing consistent Gender-Based Analysis Plus (GBA+) training programs and resources to all federal departments and agencies; and that Status of Women Canada continue to collaborate with groups of departments and agencies with similar mandates to develop specific training programs and resources that respond to the responsibilities of those groups of departments and agencies.

Recommendation 10

That the Government of Canada provide Status of Women Canada with the necessary additional financial and human resources required to develop and provide consistent Gender-Based Analysis Plus (GBA+) training programs and resources, as well as training programs and resources that respond to the mandate and responsibilities of individual federal departments and agencies.

Recommendation 11

That the Government of Canada require all federal departments and agencies to immediately designate an assistant or associate deputy minister with the responsibility for promoting Gender-Based Analysis Plus (GBA+) within their organization, and appoint a separate employee as the GBA+ Champion for the organization.

Recommendation 12

That the Government of Canada hold senior federal government officials, namely Deputy Ministers, Assistant Deputy Ministers and Directors General, accountable for the implementation of Gender-Based Analysis Plus (GBA+) in their departments and agencies by including the implementation of GBA+ as a measure in the officials’ annual performance assessments.

Recommendation 13

That the Treasury Board Secretariat, the Privy Council Office, and the Department of Finance review their challenge function in order to strengthen the application, both early on and throughout the policy development process, of Gender-Based Analysis Plus (GBA+) by federal departments and agencies; that the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, the Privy Council Office, and the Department of Finance each produce annual reports on the challenge function they play in promoting the application of GBA+; and that upon the creation of the proposed Office of the Commissioner for Gender Equality, the Commissioner for Gender Equality receive these reports.

Recommendation 14

That the Government of Canada, following consultation with federal departments and agencies, as well as civil society, introduce legislation by June 2017 that sets out obligations of federal departments and agencies with regard to the implementation of Gender-Based Analysis (GBA+).

Recommendation 15

That the Government of Canada, in consultation with Status of Women Canada, set a deadline of June 2017 by which it will be mandatory for federal departments and agencies to implement the following:

• a responsibility centre to monitor the implementation of the Gender-Based Analysis Plus (GBA+) Framework and the practice of gender-based analysis;
• training for senior officials, analysts, and other appropriate staff;
• guides, manuals and other appropriate tools;
• annual self-assessment on implementation of the GBA+ Framework;
• reporting on progress in external departmental reports, such as Departmental Performance Reports;

That upon the creation of the proposed Office of the Commissioner for Gender Equality, the Commissioner for Gender Equality receive annual reporting by each organization on compliance.

Recommendation 16

That Status of Women Canada invite Statistics Canada to the regular meetings of the network of Gender-Based Analysis Plus (GBA+) Champions with the goal of sharing available data; and that Status of Women Canada collaborate with Statistics Canada to design GBA+ training sessions, for groups of departments and agencies with similar mandates, on locating gender-disaggregated data in their specific subject areas.

Recommendation 17

That the Government of Canada introduce legislation, by or before June 2017, which legislates that:

• Gender-Based Analysis Plus (GBA+) is applied to all proposals before they arrive at Cabinet for decision-making;
• GBA+ is a mandatory portion of Privy Council Office, Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat and Department of Finance submissions for all departments and agencies;
• The Privy Council Office and Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat are mandated to return policies and programs that do not demonstrate the application of GBA+.

Recommendation 18

That the Treasury Board Secretariat develop a policy requiring departments and agencies to report on the current progress and anticipated efforts in implementing Gender-Based Analysis Plus (GBA+) in a designated section of the Departmental Performance Reports and the Reports on Plans and Priorities; that the section on GBA+ contain evidence-based outcomes generated by the application of GBA+; and that upon the creation of the proposed Office of the Commissioner for Gender Equality, the Commissioner for Gender Equality receive these sections and produce a summary report available to the public and outlining progress in the implementation of GBA+ across the federal government.

Recommendation 19

That the Government of Canada, through Status of Women Canada, promote collaboration among federal departments and agencies through the following: by continuing to convene quarterly meetings of the Interdepartmental Committee on Gender-Based Analysis Plus (GBA+); and by continuing to convene semi-annual meetings of the network of GBA+ Champions; and that these meetings be accompanied by informal information-sharing channels employed throughout the year.

Recommendation 20

That the Government of Canada, through Status of Women Canada, contribute to existing national and international communities of practice – groups that engage in a process of collective learning in a shared domain – to develop a compendium of best practices in the implementation and enforcement of Gender-Based Analysis Plus (GBA+).

Recommendation 21

That the Government of Canada restore financial resources to Status of Women Canada to enable the agency to reinstate funding for grants provided by the Women’s Program for research and advocacy, and that the first call for proposals under this funding stream focus on work that can inform the ongoing development of a Gender-Based Analysis Plus (GBA+) framework.