Towards gender responsive budgeting: rising to the challenge of achieving gender equality

HOUSE OF COMMONS
TOWARDS GENDER RESPONSIVE BUDGETING:
RISING TO THE CHALLENGE OF ACHIEVING
GENDER EQUALITY
Report of the Standing Committee on
the Status of Women
Hon. Hedy Fry, MP
FEBRUARY 2009
40th PARLIAMENT, 2nd SESSION
The Speaker of the House hereby grants permission to reproduce this document, in whole or in part for use in schools and for other purposes such as private study, research, criticism, review or newspaper summary. Any commercial or other use or reproduction of this publication requires the express prior written authorization of the Speaker of the House of Commons. If this document contains excerpts or the full text of briefs presented to the Committee, permission to reproduce these briefs, in whole or in part, must be obtained from their authors. Also available on the Parliamentary Internet Parlementaire: http://www.parl.gc.ca Available from Communication Canada — Publishing, Ottawa, Canada K1A 0S9 TOWARDS GENDER RESPONSIVE BUDGETING:
RISING TO THE CHALLENGE OF ACHIEVING
GENDER EQUALITY
Report of the Standing Committee on
the Status of Women
Hon. Hedy Fry, MP
FEBRUARY 2009
40th PARLIAMENT, 2nd SESSION
STANDING COMMITTEE ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN
VICE-CHAIRS
OTHER MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT WHO PARTICIPATED
CLERK OF THE COMMITTEE
LIBRARY OF PARLIAMENT
Parliamentary Information and Research Service
THE STANDING COMMITTEE ON THE
STATUS OF WOMEN
SECOND REPORT
Pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the Committee has considered matters relating to Gender Budget raised in the Eleventh Report of the Standing Committee on the Status of Women in the 2nd session of the 39th Parliament, entitled Towards Gender Responsive Budgeting: Rising to the Challenge of Achieving Gender Equality. The Committee wishes to restate from the 2008 report, the following recommendations: RECOMMENDATION 1
The Committee recommends that the Privy Council Office, in
collaboration with Status of Women Canada, take the lead to
strengthen the existing interdepartmental committees on gender
equality and gender-based analysis (GBA); and, that PCO report to
the Committee on a yearly basis on the progress being made,
beginning January 2009.
RECOMMENDATION 2
The Committee recommends that Finance Canada immediately join
and actively participate in the interdepartmental working group on
gender indicators.
RECOMMENDATION 3
The Committee recommends that Status of Women Canada
establish, by January 2009, an advisory panel of experts from civil
society organizations and academia; that this panel provide advice
to Status of Women Canada on the implementation of gender-based
analysis and gender responsive budgeting in the federal
government; and, that the Government of Canada provide adequate
resources for this initiative.
RECOMMENDATION 4
The Committee recommends that Status of Women Canada, as the
lead on the working group on gender indicators, immediately involve
civil society organizations and academics in the development of the
Gender Equality Indicators Project.
RECOMMENDATION 5
The Committee recommends that the Government of Canada provide
financial resources to fund independent policy research on women’s
issues, including gender responsive budgeting.
RECOMMENDATION 6
The Committee recommends that Status of Women Canada provide
project funding for gender responsive budgeting projects.

RECOMMENDATION 7
The Committee recommends that Finance Canada, in order to
improve its technical GBA capacity and the quality of the gender-
based analysis being performed, create by January 2009 a
centralized GBA unit comprised of gender experts; that this unit
establish clear mechanisms to support the work of the policy
analysts throughout the Department; and that this unit be adequately
resourced over the long term.
RECOMMENDATION 8
The Committee recommends that the other central agencies, namely
the Privy Council Office and Treasury Board Secretariat, establish
specialized units on gender analysis in their offices.
RECOMMENDATION 9
The Committee recommends that Status of Women Canada, in
collaboration with Statistics Canada, immediately begin developing
data gathering and statistical training workshops essential to gender
responsive budgeting; that these workshops be based in part on the
existing publication Finding Data on Women: A Guide to Major
Sources at Statistics Canada; that these workshops be provided to
all federal departments and central agencies on a cost-recovery
basis; and, that additional resources be made available to Status of
Women Canada and Statistics Canada for developing these
workshops.
RECOMMENDATION 10
The Committee recommends that the GBA Champion at Finance
Canada immediately contact Statistics Canada for a briefing on the
available statistical resources that could be of use to the
Department; and that the GBA unit, once created, actively seek
disaggregated data and gender statistics from Statistics Canada on a
regular basis.
RECOMMENDATION 11
The Committee recommends that senior government officials,
namely Deputy Ministers, Assistant Deputy Ministers, and Director
Generals, be held accountable for their implementation of a true
gender-based analysis in all government departments by tying their
performance assessment, and thereby pay increases and
promotions to the implementation of gender-based analysis in their
respective areas of responsibility. This must include the Clerk of the
Privy Council, Secretary of the Treasury Board and Deputy Minister
of Finance.
RECOMMENDATION 12
The Committee recommends that Finance Canada undertake on a
regular basis a gender-based analysis of government
macroeconomic policy; that it seek the expertise of researchers and
academics who have analyzed how macroeconomic policy has
alleviated or exacerbated gender inequality; that it consider in its
analysis how such government macroeconomic policy increases,
reduces or leaves unchanged the losses to society from gender
inequality; and that these analyses be applied to subsequent federal
budgets.
RECOMMENDATION 13
The Committee recommends that Finance Canada undertake an
analysis of the distribution of benefits of current and new
government spending initiatives; that Finance Canada examine the
impact this funding has on women and men, on groups of women
and men and by income class, and where applicable, breakdowns by
age, relationship status and dependents; that these analyses be
periodically reviewed by the advisory panel of experts of Status of
Women Canada; and, that these analyses be applied to subsequent
federal budgets.
RECOMMENDATION 14
The Committee recommends that Finance Canada undertake a
gender-based analysis of new and current tax policy measures,
including personal income, corporate income, and sales and excise
tax measures; that it consider in its analysis the differential effects of
spousal provisions and joint tax measures on women and men; that
it develop a distributional analysis of the effects of these tax
measures by income class and gender, and where applicable,
breakdowns by age, relationship status, and dependents; that these
analyses be periodically reviewed by the advisory panel of experts of
Status of Women Canada; and that these analyses be applied to
subsequent federal budgets.
RECOMMENDATION 15
The Committee recommends that Finance Canada develop solutions
for addressing gender-based inequities in the personal income tax
system; that it seek the expertise of academics and researchers as
part of its analysis and review; that adequate resources be made
available for this initiative; and, that it present a report on this review
to the Committee by May 2010.
RECOMMENDATION 16
The Committee recommends that Finance Canada include in all
subsequent federal budget publications summary tables of both new
and current tax expenditure measures.
RECOMMENDATION 17
The Committee recommends that Finance Canada review, assess
and evaluate the differential impacts of tax expenditure instruments
by gender and income class, and where applicable, breakdowns by
age, relationship status, and dependents; including the impact of
refundable tax credits; and, that this analysis be applied to
subsequent federal budgets.
RECOMMENDATION 18
The Committee recommends that Finance Canada, in cooperation
with Status of Women Canada, develop a plan for integrating gender
into the budgetary cycle by January 2010; and that Finance Canada
report to the Committee on the status of this plan in May 2009.
RECOMMENDATION 19
The Committee recommends that Finance Canada, beginning with
the next federal budget, conduct broad-based pre-budget
consultations that include women’s organizations, in order to
develop a gender responsive budget that addresses the context of
women’s lives; that a report be published that discusses the issues
raised; and, that the federal budget take into account the issues and
recommendations brought forth by women’s organizations.
RECOMMENDATION 20
The Committee recommends that Finance Canada publish, and that
the Minister of Finance table in Parliament, with all subsequent
federal budgets, Finance Canada’s gender-based analysis of the
measures included therein.

RECOMMENDATION 21
The Committee recommends that the Government of Canada, as part
of its implementation of gender responsive budgeting, abide by
Canada’s existing international commitments under the Beijing
Declaration and Platform for Action, and other international
conventions, and commit to advancing substantive equality for
women, defined as women having the conditions for realizing their
full human rights and potential to contribute to national, political,
economic, social and cultural development, and to benefit from the
results.
RECOMMENDATION 22
The Committee recommends that, in order to sensitize and inform
Parliament on the importance of consistent application of the
gender-based analysis from initial policy development to the
designing and implementation of policy, that all members of all
Standing Committees of the House of Commons receive gender-
based analysis training at the start of each session of Parliament.
RECOMMENDATION 23
The Committee recommends that the Treasury Board Secretariat
develop a policy requiring departments to report on gender-based
analysis through the Reports on Plans and Priorities and the
Departmental Performance Reports; and, that this policy be in place
by January 2009.
RECOMMENDATION 24
The Committee recommends that the Auditor General of Canada
regularly conduct audits to review Canada's implementation of
gender-based analysis in the federal government; and, that such
audits take into account all of the elements of Canada's framework
for equality, including the Beijing Declaration and Platform for
Action, and other international conventions to which Canada is a
signatory.


RECOMMENDATION 25
The Committee recommends that the Government of Canada create
the Office of the Commissioner for Gender Equality and appoint a
Commissioner for Gender Equality by December 2009; that this
Commissioner be appointed as an officer of Parliament, based on the
model of the Commissioner of Official Languages; and, that the
Commissioner be provided with all necessary resources to fulfil his
or her ma
RECOMMENDATION 26
The Committee recommends that the Government of Canada,
building on the work of the Expert Panel on Accountability
Mechanisms for Gender Equality, introduce legislation to promote
gender equality by April 2009; that this legislation set out the GBA
and gender budgeting obligations of federal departments and
agencies; that this legislation 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 clearly set
out the powers and responsibilities of the Office of the
Commissioner for Gender Equality; and, that this legislation define
the roles a
RECOMMENDATION 27
The Committee encourages the Prime Minister of Canada to
demonstrate leadership by ensuring the training of all members of
Cabinet in gender-based analysis and by clearly articulating the
Government of Canada’s commitment to gender equality in the next
Speech from the Throne.

As part of its undertaking to consider implementing this recommendation, Conservative Members of the Committee recommend that the Government consider the results and recommendations of any audit conducted by the Office of the Auditor General of Canada as contemplated in Recommendation 24, and the broader implications and potential unintended consequences of creating this new Officer of Parliament. As part of its undertaking to consider implementing this recommendation, Conservative Members of the Committee recommend that the Government consider the following: the government’s future Action Plan to advance the equality of women that is contemplated by Budget 2008, if available; the results and recommendations of any audits conducted by the Office of the Auditor General of Canada as contemplated in Recommendation 24; and the broader implications and potential unintended consequences of creating this new Officer of Parliament. REQUEST FOR GOVERNMENT RESPONSE
Pursuant to Standing Order 109, the Committee requests that the government table a comprehensive response to this Report. A copy of the relevant) is tabled.

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