Gender-Based Analysis Plus

Institutional GBA Plus Capacity

Public Safety Canada remains committed to ensuring the application of Gender-Based Analysis Plus (GBA Plus) in the development and implementation of its policies and programs, and management of its operations. The Department's GBA Plus Responsibility Centre will continue to build capacity across the organization and monitor the quality and consistency of application of GBA Plus to inform its work to keep all Canadians safe.

In 2023-24, Public Safety Canada will continue to:

Highlights of GBA Plus Results Reporting Capacity by Program

National Security Leadership

The Research Security Centre is being established and is a new initiative. The program will have a better sense of its contribution next year; after a year of operation. The program also collect data in coordination with the National Security Guideline for Research Partnership's partners to monitor any adverse effects introduced by the security reviews.

Critical Infrastructure

In modernizing Canada's approach to critical infrastructure (CI), Public Safety Canada will identify and assess GBA Plus implications in the development of potential approaches to strengthen CI security and resilience. The collection of GBA Plus data will be considered as new programs and services are being developed for stakeholders; however, specific methods for GBA Plus data collection in unknown at this time.

Cyber Security

National Cyber Security Strategy (NCSS) Renewal

Public Safety Canada is the coordinating lead on the National Cyber Security Strategy (NCSS) for the Government of Canada.

The 2018 NCSS Mid-Term Review recommended the cyber security community continue to build GBA Plus capacity to ensure that the initiatives under the Strategy reach all Canadians.

To further build GBA Plus capacity in the cyber security policy community, Public Safety Canada established an interdepartmental working group in 2022. The objective of this working group is to leverage best practices from other areas of the Government of Canada, take part in case studies, discuss scenarios and approaches to GBA Plus and Bias Sensitivity, Diversity and Identity BSDI application in policy work, identify data gaps and share and/or build toolkits to aid in GBA Plus application of work. As a result, all participating departments/agencies can better apply GBA Plus for the NCSS renewal and Action Plan(s) and for collection/tracking.

Data Strategy

One of the findings stemming from the 2018 NCSS Mid-Term Review is that there is a lack of diversity and inclusion data available to the federal cyber security policy community.

The above-mentioned GBA Plus working group is looking at identifying key data sets that would benefit the community. Assessment of data needs is underway. Public Safety Canada will continue to work with Statistics Canada to increase disaggregated data collection in future iterations of cybersecurity-related surveys.

Identifying research needs and publishing data would help address the diversity and inclusion data gaps and strengthen the evidence base informing policy-making in the cyber security space.

Ransomware

Public Safety Canada is leading and coordinating with other government departments to encourage all Canadians and businesses to improve their cyber security posture and to report cyber incidents. As the lead for the domestic Ransomware Working Group, Public Safety Canada acknowledges the barriers to cyber incident reporting. The department continues to discuss policy options with government departments and agencies that collect cyber incident reports to better enable their ability to analyze and provide advice and guidance.

Public Safety Canada does not have a mandate to collect information contained within cyber incident reports. Data that may be contained within these reports, including the impacts by gender and diversity, are complicated by the anonymity of malicious cyber actors; the obfuscation of ransom payments; and the underreporting of ransomware incidents. Additionally, the government has identified challenges around cyber incident reporting due, in part, to the number of reporting entities and their legislative and organizational barriers.

An Act Respecting Cyber Security

On June 14, 2022, Bill C-26, An Act Respecting Cyber Security (ARCS), was introduced in the House of Commons. The proposed legislation continues to move through the legislative process. If passed, a GBA Plus analysis will be conducted as part of the regulations development process. Currently, there is no program tied to ARCS. A program would only be introduced after the bill's passage.

Federal Cyber Incident Response Plan

The Federal Cyber Incident Response Plan (FCIRP) is a federal information sharing and coordination framework for the Government of Canada's management of cyber incidents that affects assets that are not owned or operated by the Government of Canada and are essential to the health, safety, security, defense, or economic wellbeing of Canadians.

Taking timely, coordinated action in response to significant cyber events helps bolster Canada's overall cyber security posture, which has a direct impact on those who are particularly vulnerable to cybercrime victimization, including seniors and new Canadians. In addition, if malicious cyber activity were to target an organization and/or resulting in negative outcomes for a specific demographic population group or communities, this information could be reflected in post-event reporting for the consideration of policy makers.

Crime Prevention

National Crime Prevention Strategy

GBA Plus considerations are central to the work of the National Crime Prevention Strategy (NCPS). The NCPS draws on statistics and research to inform priority populations and determine the complex mix of risk factors that may put individuals at risk for contact with the criminal justice system. When setting priorities, the NCPS examines data regarding risk factors and looks closely at educational outcomes as well as the overrepresentation of youth in the criminal justice system based on race, gender, age group, income, family structure, and region.

For instance, the 2021 Call for Application through the Crime Prevention Action Fund (CPAF) sought applications for projects that deliver services through a multi-sectoral, gender-responsive and trauma-informed approach and designed to address the specific needs of priority populations, with a focus on Indigenous and Black youth. Additional GBA Plus related questions were added to the CPAF Application Form in 2021 to gather additional gender and race information about the participant target group.

The Strategy will continue to employ a GBA Plus approach in setting priorities, assessing applications and administering funding when launching new Calls for Applications under the CPAF, the Youth Gang Prevention Fund (YGPF), the Northern and Indigenous Crime Prevention Fund (NICPF), as well as the Security Infrastructure Program (SIP). Data gathering tools such as Annual Performance Reports, Public Safety Information Management System (PSIMS) attributes, as well as impact evaluations are being assessed in order to see if current capabilities for the production of demographically disaggregated programmatic data can be further enhanced.

In 2023-24 the Department is conducting an evaluation of the NCPS. Data on demographics, ages and gender will be considered, data gathering capabilities will be assessed and, where possible, findings will be used to inform next steps for the NCPS.

In 2023-24, Public Safety Canada will continue to implement initiatives assessed to best support priority youth, including Black and Indigenous youth, through multi-sectoral, client-centered service delivery, encompassing gender-responsive and trauma-informed approaches.

Law Enforcement and Policing

Reporting capacity for this program is limited due to the lack of sufficient individual recipient microdata information regarding program clients for the purpose of undertaking GBA Plus. GBA Plus, including trend analysis (for example, based on gender, sex, and socioeconomic characteristics) and net impact analysis is undertaken through the use of aggregate and disaggregated data collected and provided to Public Safety Canada by other departments and agencies such as the Canada Border Services Agency, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and Statistics Canada.

Funding to Enhance Canada's Firearm Control Framework: Activities under the Funding to Enhance Canada's Firearm Control Framework will help support the collection of data to enable better monitoring and/or reporting of program impacts by gender and diversity (i.e. age, gender, geographic location).

In 2023-24, Public Safety Canada will continue to leverage data from Statistics Canada, including data from their Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) survey and other sources to examine trends in firearm-related statistics related to firearm owners, victims of firearms-related violent crime, and persons accused of firearm-related violence.

GBA Plus considerations will also be taken into account in the development of a national awareness program for victims and at-risk groups of firearm-related violence. Additionally, GBA Plus considerations will be included with the public opinion research associated to this national awareness campaign to ensure the program achieves its desired results.

Serious and Organized Crime

Initiatives under Public Safety Canada's National Strategy for the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation on the Internet are informed by the findings of detailed GBA Plus. These elements align with the GBA Plus Framework as suggested by Women and Gender Equality Canada. Contribution agreements under the Contribution Program to Combat Serious and Organized Crime require applicants to outline and report on the results of their GBA Plus and how it will be integrated in their project. In addition, contribution agreements include indicators with disaggregated data where appropriate. In 2023-24, targeted awareness initiatives will continue to focus on the most vulnerable groups identified in the GBA Plus section as well as parents, teachers, caregivers, and other persons who come in contact with children and youth. The secondary prevention program initiative will continue to provide services to populations at-risk of online or offline sexual offences involving children.

Public Safety Canada's initiatives to combat child sexual exploitation online will continue to be founded on an intersectional approach, and informed by findings of GBA Plus. For example, targeted awareness initiatives will focus on the most vulnerable groups identified in the GBA Plus as well as parents, teachers, caregivers, and other persons who come in contact with children and youth. The funding for local Internet Child Exploitation (ICE) units will continue to enable Public Safety Canada and the Government of Canada to collect and monitor further data on victims and suspected offenders. In 2023-24, the reporting requirements will be adjusted to require ICE units to gather demographic data on victims and accused persons if within their capability to do so.

Public Safety Canada works with federal partners to improve online child sexual exploitation data collection. Public Safety Canada has mandated Statistics Canada to develop Juristat bulletins focusing on further disaggregating Online Child Sexual Exploitation (OCSE) crime data. In 2023-24, Statistics Canada will publish a Juristat Bulletin on Online child sexual exploitation using both Uniform Crime Reporting Survey (UCR) and Courts data and publish an infographic. These bulletins will inform a GBA Plus lens for the National Strategy's performance measurement strategy which is currently being updated, with implementation beginning in 2023-24.

Public Safety Canada's Research Division is working to further inform the integration of GBA Plus in the OCSE initiative. In 2023-24, Public Safety Canada's Research Division will produce a GBA Plus research examining online child sexual exploitation. The GBA Plus report will touch on LGBTQ2+, Indigenous, and racialized minority groups.

The National Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking was developed through a robust GBA Plus analysis and considerations are incorporated into the design, delivery and implementation of initiatives. For example, for Human Trafficking related projects funded under the National Strategy, each organization has demonstrated how findings of their respective GBA Plus has been incorporated in their project design, including how members of Indigenous and northern communities, children and youth, LGBTQ2+ persons, as well as victims and survivors of human trafficking will be engaged and included in their approach and service delivery. These organizations also submit annual performance reports containing information about the demographic categories of their target population, and ages and gender of project participants where possible. An analysis of the data as provided via the projects' annual performance reports from the first year of funding will be completed in 2022-23 and at project end in 2023-24.

Biology Casework Analysis Program

A review of performance data revealed that GBA Plus indicators are not being collected by the Ontario and Quebec forensic laboratories under the Biology Casework Analysis Contribution Program (BCACP). Submissions for DNA analysis are anonymous and are often not clearly linked to a specific individual until a match is established. For these reasons, evidence of program impacts by gender and diversity has not been documented. Given the importance of preserving the anonymity of DNA samples in the National DNA Data Bank (NDDB), the Ontario and Québec forensic laboratories will continue to proceed with respect and consideration by preserving the anonymity of the DNA samples they analyze. It is however possible to make general observations on gender and diversity impacts of the program by comparing the type of crimes that are linked to the DNA submissions and the profiles of the victims of the same crimes.

First Nations Organized Crime Initiative

The purpose of the First Nations Organized Crime Initiative is to support addressing organized crime and cross-border criminality within two first nations communities and to protect vulnerable peoples.

Border Policy

Border Policy Division (BPD) does not collect any data related to the files that it follows or reports on. The role of the Division is to lead on immigration and border issues on behalf of the Department, and manage the relationship with the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA). As such, there are no plans to collect data on gender and diversity by the BPD directly. Instead, the Division relies on data collected by various other OGDs and portfolio partners, such as Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) and the CBSA. For example, BPD receives quantitative analysis from several groups in IRCC and CBSA that provide detailed information about the number of and information on irregular migrants crossing the border on a daily basis (e.g., source country, location, in addition to some information related to age, sex/gender trends), as well as qualitative analysis on migration patterns, which highlight a variety of issues across different countries, and which may prompt individuals to seek refuge in Canada.

In 2023-24, BPD will continue to monitor and analyze any qualitative and quantitative data from partners and ensure this information is taken into account throughout the policy development process, as well as in any policy advice provided to senior management.

Indigenous Policing

The Government of Canada continues to recognize the importance of effective policing in First Nation and Inuit communities to ensure the safety of at risk and underserved groups, including women, girls, youth and members of the Two-Spirit, LGBTQI+ community.

Public Safety Canada does not currently collect gender or social data as it relates to policing in First Nation and Inuit communities. However, Public Safety Canada officials will continue to engage with First Nations, Inuit, Métis, Women's organizations, law enforcement and criminal justice system stakeholders, academia/experts and service providers to include diverse perspectives and views are represented in the way forward for policing in Indigenous communities.

Comprehensive GBA Plus assessments will be completed for all policy initiatives. GBA Plus has been undertaken throughout the Government's efforts vis-à-vis the National Inquiry and will continue to inform all future responses, that are primarily intended to benefit Indigenous women, girls, youth Two-Spirit, LGBTQI+, survivors of violence and families of victims of violence.

Corrections

National Flagging System Class Grant Program (NFSCGP): Through this program, assistance is paid to a province or territory. Data collection is done through the application process, financial reports, project activity reports, and policy discussions, etc. Public Safety Canada does not collect more granular details on the recipients' own clients or services. At this point in time, detailed information on program results by gender and other intersecting factors is not available. Nevertheless, the program remains committed to encouraging all its stakeholders to respect vulnerable populations regardless of identity factors or socio-economic status.

Grants and Contributions Program to National Voluntary Organizations (GCPNVO): Through this program, assistance is paid to various voluntary organizations. Data collection is done through the application process, financial reports, project activity reports, and policy discussions, etc. Public Safety Canada does not collect more granular details on the recipients' own clients or services. Nevertheless, the program remains committed to encouraging all its stakeholders to respect vulnerable populations regardless of identity factors or socio-economic status.

Emergency Prevention/Mitigation

Government Operations Centre

The Government Operations Center (GOC) will continue integrating Gender Based Analysis Plus into its cyclical planning materials, specifically investigating how to integrate socio-economic data such as vulnerable groups from Statistics Canada into its situational awareness products, risk analyses, exercises and web maps. Further, the GOC will continue to prioritize increasing representation of under-represented employment equity groups through its staffing actions.

Emergency Preparedness

The Government Operations Centre's (GOC) main clients are other federal departments, provincial and territorial governments. The GOC applies GBA Plus in the development of its exercises and subsequent after-action activities and reports. The GOC considers vulnerable, Indigenous and First Nation communities when it designs its emergency management exercises and plans, as these populations are often disproportionately impacted by emergencies. This focus comes from data collected related to the over 200 Requests for Federal Assistance (RFAs) the GOC coordinated over the past two years. This information points to communities that needed help and tend to be remote, elderly, and/or faced various social issues, in addition to facing the emergency hazard (COVID-19 outbreak, wildfire or flood) at hand.

In 2023-24, the GOC will be reviewing Statistics Canada's census data to determine which information will be valuable for inclusion in its situational awareness products, and which may help in planning and response. Past emergencies have demonstrated that Indigeneity, geographic location and socio-economic factors such as age impact how people are affected by emergencies. These factors are considered, identified and integrated into products such as risk analyses, cyclical planning for flooding, wildfires and hurricanes, and online geomatics products to support evidence-based decision making.

While the GOC integrates science-driven information, the nature of emergency preparedness is unpredictable and communities impacted vary by location annually. This is why the GOC seeks to integrate as much data as possible to inform its partners in preparation for and during an emergency. To address this, the GOC is modernizing its information technology infrastructure to better integrate with other federal partners to better inform its preparedness products and to support senior-level decision-makers. An example of this is the inclusion of communities at risk, including Indigenous and First Nation communities, in situation reports and common operating picture documents. The GOC also tracks the numbers of RFAs from Indigenous communities.

Following emergencies, the GOC conducts after-action review activities with relevant partners to learn from the coordinated response in order to better prepare for future events. During these consultations, issues around capabilities, services, gaps, and best practices are discussed. The information gathered includes strategic and operational horizontal elements that can be applied to emergency management planning and policy instruments to better respond to future emergencies. After-action reports (AARs) are circulated to partners which can lead to modifications to event-specific plans, standard operating procedures, and event team guidelines, reinforcing best practices and addressing areas for improvement.

The GOC coordinates whole-of-government emergency exercises where it simulates response to real emergencies. Within the design of these exercises, the GOC integrates elements from AAR components from past events and exercises involving vulnerable, Indigenous and First Nations communities, in order to ensure the emergency management community considers and develops scenarios for federal partners to simulate responding to those communities. For example, in February 2023, the GOC coordinated the National Priority Exercise, Coastal Response, which was a major exercise simulating a catastrophic earthquake impacting Vancouver's metropolitan area. Participants were required to consider urban, suburban, vulnerable, Indigenous communities (including those that are remote), various terrains such as coastal and mountainous regions. Following the exercise the GOC is conducting after-action activities and the results of which will be summarized and circulated to federal partners for their integration and application for future events in 2023-24.

Emergency Response/Recovery

During emergency response coordination, the GOC ensures that all manner of supports are considered and that gaps in service or needs such as lodging and social services are filled for Canadians affected by the emergency. Lessons learned during event response feed the GOC’s preparedness activities outlined above.

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