Question Period Note: Mandate Overview

What are WAGE's priorities with respect to advancing gender equality?

• Women and Gender Equality Canada will continue to advance equality through the inclusion of all women and members of 2SLGBTQI+ communities in Canadian society.

• WAGE is committed to advancing gender equality through key commitments, including:

o Advancing the National Action Plan to End Gender-Based Violence;
o Implementing the first federal 2SLGBTQI+ Action Plan;
o Improving the approach across government for Gender-Based Analysis Plus so that it better captures and addresses the lived experiences of all people in Canada;
o Developing and approach for sustainable historic funding commitments to Canadian women’s organizations and equality-seeking groups; and
o Creating a national pilot for a Menstrual Equity Fund to make available menstrual products to those who need support in accessing them.

• WAGE will also support other government departments and agencies in advancing gender equality with respect to economic participation and prosperity, including economic recovery, reconciliation with Indigenous people leadership and democratic participation, and poverty reduction, health and well-being, including supports such as child care.

Investment

• Budget 2022 investments for Women and Gender Equality Canada include:
o $539.5M over 5 years to work with provinces and territories to enhance services and supports to prevent gender-based violence and support survivors.
o $100M over 5 years to support the implementation of the Federal 2SLGBTQI+ Action Plan, to support a more equal Canada for 2SLGBTQQIA+ people.
o $25M over 2 years to establish a national pilot project for a Menstrual Equity Fund to help make menstrual products available to Canadians in need.

• On February 2, 2022, an additional $7.5M was announced to extend the LGBTQ2 Community Capacity Fund for another year for existing recipients.

• Budget 2021 announced a $15M LGBTQ2 Projects Fund to address barriers to equality with community-informed solutions.

Results

• Since 2015, WAGE has funded over 1,100 projects, providing more than $490M, to help ensure that everyone can participate fully in Canadian society.
• The Government continues to build on progress made towards gender equality with historic achievements and initiatives. Key achievements and investments include:
o Since April 2020, over $235M in emergency COVID-19 funding has been provided to 1,400 organizations across Canada, including women’s shelters, sexual assault centres, and other organizations providing critical supports and services to those experiencing gender-based violence. This funding ensures the continuity of services and enhances the capacity of organizations that provide critical and often life-saving services and supports for women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people experiencing violence. Because of this funding, more than 1.3 million individuals experiencing violence had a safe place to go and access supports.
o On December 8, 2022, bill C-4: an Act to Amend the Criminal Code (Conversion Therapy) received Royal Assent.
o On April 28, 2022, Health Canada announced that it had authorized Canadian Blood Services’ (CBS) submission, with a target of implementation by September 30, 2022. Under this new approach, CBS will introduce a sexual behaviour-based screening questionnaire that will apply to all donors of blood and plasma. A similar submission was recently put forward by Héma-Québec to Health Canada, which is currently under review.
o In August 2022, the Government of Canada launched the first Federal 2SLGBTQI+ Action Plan. The action plan will guide work throughout the federal government to address key priority areas that support 2SLGBTQQIA+ communities.

• The gender wage gap closed by 3 cents between 2016 and 2020 (from 86 to 89 cents).
o In 2021, women earned 88 cents for every dollar earned by men, 1 cent less than they earned in 2020.

• Since 2015, the Government of Canada has made GBA Plus mandatory in all federal decision-making. Since that time, the capacity of departments to apply GBA Plus has improved, as evidenced in the Budget 2022 GBA Plus analysis.
o Most (78%) GBA Plus were initiated early or mid-stage of the initiative, which is indicative of the continuous efforts to better integrate GBA Plus earlier and throughout the budget process.
o The GBA Plus of Budget 2022 includes reports of 12% of budget measures where a potential barrier to access or participation for a specific group was identified. Of these, the vast majority (85%) included steps to reduce barriers or facilitate access and participation.

BACKGROUND:

• Women and Gender Equality Canada is mandated to advance equality with respect to sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity or expression through the inclusion of people of all genders. Its mandate also formalizes the promotion and increasing understanding of GBA Plus, an intersectional tool for developing responsive and inclusive initiatives that meet the needs of diverse groups of people, and for advancing equality and inclusion.

• WAGE is committed to advancing gender equality through key commitments, such as:
o Advancing the National Action Plan to End Gender-Based Violence, beginning provincial and territorial negotiations, and accelerating the creation of a dedicated Secretariat;
o Launching the Federal 2SLGBTQI+ Action Plan;
o Developing an approach for sustainable historic funding commitments to Canadian women’s organizations and equality-seeking groups, with a focus on Indigenous women, women with disabilities, members of the 2SLGBTQQIA+ communities and newcomer, racialized and migrant women;
o Establishing a national pilot for a Menstrual Equity Fund for women’s shelters, not-for-profits, charities, community-based organizations, and youth-led organizations across Canada to make menstrual products available to Canadians in need; and
o Improving the approach for GBA Plus with particular attention to the intersectional analysis of race, Indigeneity, rurality, disability and sexual identity, among other characteristics, so that the tool better reflects the lived experiences of all people in Canada.

• The department will also support other federal departments and agencies as they advance gender equality with respect to economic participation and prosperity, including economic recovery, leadership and democratic participation, and poverty reduction, health and well-being, particularly as it relates to:
o Implementing the 2021 Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls and the 2SLGBTQQIA+ National Action Plan;
o Accelerating action to reform the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP);
o Expanding Canada’s efforts to advance gender equality and 2SLGBTQ2QI+ rights abroad;
o Accelerating the review of the Employment Equity Act and ensuring the timely implementation of improvements;
o Introducing amendments to the Income Tax Act to make anti-abortion organizations that provide dishonest counselling to pregnant women about their rights and options ineligible for charitable status;
o Expanding the Medical Expense Tax Credit to include costs reimbursed to surrogate mothers for IVF expenses;
o Working to ensure that all people in Canada have access to the sexual and reproductive health services they need, no matter where they live;
o Creating a community stream to the Women Entrepreneurship Strategy’s Ecosystem Fund to support smaller community-level organizations providing mentorship to diverse women; and,
o Advancing the creation and sustainability of a Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care system.

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