Supplementary Information Tables

Gender-Based Analysis Plus

Governance Structures

DFO and the Coast Guard are committed to strengthening the Department’s policies and decision-making processes by ensuring that GBA+ assessments are conducted during the development of new or renewed policies and program proposals, to provide thorough decision-making information, and minimize unintended GBA+-differentiated impacts of departmental activities.

This applies to all sectors and regions within DFO and the Coast Guard. GBA+ assessments are required for all policies, programs, and initiatives seeking Ministerial approval, including: Memoranda to Cabinet, Treasury Board submissions, legislative proposals, regulatory processes, and budget proposals.

In addition, Treasury Board’s Directive on Results requires evaluations to take GBA+ into account.

Human Resources

Two full-time equivalents (FTEs) will be dedicated to GBA+ implementation in the Department in 2020-21, including:

  • One Departmental GBA+ Focal Point
  • One FTE on GBA+ advisory committees and other governance bodies including the Coast Guard

In addition, the Economic Analysis and Statistics Directorate and the Evaluation Division devote staff time to assessing data and results related to GBA+.

Planned Initiatives

The Department will continue to collect, refine, and analyze data through interdepartmental efforts and best practices led by the Department for Women and Gender Equality, and will leverage the valuable resources that are available through the new Centre for Gender, Diversity and Inclusion Statistics at Statistics Canada.

DFO will pursue measures and strategies, as necessary, to ensure that people of all identity factors, including Indigenous peoples, or any segment of the population that may be more vulnerable, have an equal opportunity to provide input during the development of new policies, regulations, and mechanisms.

As noted above, all Memoranda to Cabinet, Budget proposals, Treasury Board Submissions, and other policy initiatives will include GBA+ assessments.

Sustaining Canada’s Wild Fish Stocks:

Sustaining Canada’s wild fish stocks continues to be a top priority for the Department. Following funding announcements made as part of the recent 2018 Fall Economic Statement, DFO has expanded on the success of the Atlantic Fisheries Fund with the creation of a British Columbia Salmon Restoration and Innovation Fund, as well as a Quebec Fisheries Fund.

The Funds will support projects focused on innovation, clean technology adoption, infrastructure investments that improve productivity, sustainability and safety, and science partnerships. These funds are expected to enhance the long-term sustainable growth of the fish and seafood industry, which will have both direct and indirect positive economic impacts as it will create or sustain many jobs, including those for women and Indigenous peoples, and notably in many rural and coastal communities.

In line with its strong commitment to GBA+, the Department will continue working to integrate sex, gender, and other identity considerations into decision-making, and to avoid reinforcing existing inequities. Additionally, as programs and policies are developed further, analysis to inform more specific assessments of differential impacts will be undertaken.

Advancing Reconciliation:

DFO is undertaking a complete review of the Department’s collaborative management and commercial programming, and as part of this review, the Department will be introducing additional performance measures to track gender-based employment statistics aimed at pursuing opportunities to increase employment for Indigenous women.

In addition, DFO will be advancing proposals to negotiate treaties and reconciliation agreements over the coming year. Each proposal will take into account and incorporate GBA+ considerations, drawing on existing information and gathering new information through department-wide collaboration. DFO will continue to strengthen and consolidate its capacity to implement its treaty and reconciliation obligations with Indigenous Nations across Canada where DFO manages the fisheries.

The long-term benefits of achieving agreements, implementing treaty obligations, and conducting meaningful engagement will contribute to narrowing the economic gap between Indigenous Nations and non-Indigenous Canadians, reducing health risks associated with living in communities with low socio-economic outcomes, and enhancing self-determination with respect to fisheries management. DFO will take measures to ensure that treaty rights and the benefits of fisheries agreements (treaty or reconciliation) are communicated equally to all Indigenous peoples.

Finally, the Fisheries Act has been recently amended. In making decisions, the Minister may formally consider the intersection of sex, gender, and other identity issues alongside other social, economic, and cultural factors, as well as other important considerations.

DFO is among the first departments to propose enshrining GBA+ though legislation. In 2020-21, the Department will be developing policies to help implement this, and other, decision-making considerations.

Reporting Capacity and Data

The Economic Analysis and Statistics Directorate (EAS) supports DFO sectors and regions preparing GBA+ analysis with data and reporting capacity. EAS is the lead DFO sector responsible for data mining and statistics.

The Evaluation Division reports on GBA+ findings as a matter of course in undertaking evaluations.

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