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2024-25 Departmental Plan: Gender-based Analysis Plus

2024-2025 Departmental Plan
Gender-based Analysis Plus

From: Environment and Climate Change Canada

General information: Institutional GBA Plus capacity

Governance

GBA Plus applies to all areas of ECCC’s work, including but not limited to:

To ensure that Gender-based Analysis (GBA) Plus is integrated into the Department’s decision-making processes, the Department has a GBA Plus Centre of Expertise (CoE) which resides in its Strategic Policy Branch. The Assistant Deputy Minister of this branch is the Department’s GBA Plus Champion, while the Director General of Strategic Policy oversees the operation of the CoE. Branch heads are responsible for the quality of the GBA Plus produced to support activities for which they are responsible. ECCC employees are required to undertake GBA Plus where it is mandatory and encouraged to use it in other areas of their work. The GBA Plus CoE is responsible for supporting the implementation of GBA Plus across the department.

The CoE provides the following support to the department:

These resources help advance the integration of GBA Plus across all departmental activities to support evidence-based inclusive decision-making and practices.

Capacity

Over the last year, GBA Plus capacity has grown across ECCC. For example, the GBA Plus Branch Advisory Network has increased in size and grown in capacity, allowing for the development of new tailored resources and training materials to further increase the capacity to implement GBA Plus across the department.

Additionally, the CoE launched a pilot GBA Plus Interdepartmental Working Group on Environment and Science (IWG) in September 2023. This group brings together GBA Plus focal points from departments and agencies whose mandates intersect with activities related to science and the environment. The IWG aims to enhance collaboration and coordination, leverage existing efforts to develop capacity and expertise on GBA Plus in science and environment-related issues, and provide a focused space to share lessons learned, best practices, and ongoing gaps or challenges in the implementation of GBA Plus in this context.

Highlights of GBA Plus results reporting by program

Core Responsibility: Taking Action on Clean Growth and Climate Change

Program: Clean Growth and Climate Change Mitigation

Expected GBA Plus Impacts

Intensifying climatic changes will transform the economy and significantly affect the daily lives of Canadians. Climate change affects all Canadians; however, experiences differ according to geographic location, gender, age, income level, ethnicity, and other socio-economic factors. For example, large urban centers can experience amplified heat waves that can have differing impacts depending on income level (e.g. access to cooling systems, poorly ventilated accommodation), while those in rural areas who depend on agriculture can experience loss of livelihood when crops fail during a heatwave (e.g. lower income famers having less access to coping mechanisms). People who experience systemic inequalities due to racism, colonialism and other systems of oppression and additional barriers due to their social, economic, cultural, and/or other identity factors, are subject to heightened risks and disproportionate impacts posed by climate change.

Studies demonstrate that women, seniors, people with lower income or living in marginalized communities, people with disabilities, Black and other racialized groups, and Indigenous Peoples tend to be disproportionately affected by climate change due to the ongoing legacy of systemic marginalization. Notably, First Nations, Inuit, and Métis experience intensified effects of wildfires and flooding, food insecurity, and health impacts due to the legacies of colonization (including displacement from traditional territories) and a unique relationship with the land, waters, and ice. Intensified negative effects include cultural, social, and economic impacts that directly compromise Indigenous Peoples’ health and wellbeing. In Canada, northern and coastal regions are particularly vulnerable to climate change. Minimizing the impacts of climate change on Canadians and the Canadian economy should contribute to the overall resilience of the country and benefit a wide range of Canadians, including these groups.

Policy responses to climate change can have both positive and negative impacts and may disproportionally affect some subgroups of the population. For example, in jurisdictions where the federal carbon pricing system applies, all direct proceeds are returned to the jurisdiction where they were collected, putting more money back into the pockets of Canadians. However, at the same time, low-income households, - which are more likely to be single, women-headed households and disproportionately include individuals with disabilities or mental illness, recent immigrants, and Indigenous persons, may be particularly sensitive to increased prices of pollution-intensive goods. The use of proceeds from carbon pollution pricing is an integral component of a well-designed carbon pricing system and can help mitigate the potential disproportionate burden placed on vulnerable groups.

To address affordability impacts from higher energy costs, the federal government returns most proceeds from the federal carbon pollution pricing system to households via quarterly Climate Action Incentive (CAI) payments. Most households (8 out of 10) receive more back than additional energy costs incurred. Low and middle-income households in these jurisdictions benefit the most. The government is moving ahead with doubling the CIA payment rural top-up rate, increasing it from 10 to 20 per cent of the baseline amount starting in April 2024 given their unique realities. The remaining federal fuel charge proceeds are returned to the jurisdictions of origin through various targeted initiatives, including the return of proceeds to Indigenous governments ECCC programming for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and a refundable tax credit for farms in provinces where the federal fuel charge applies.

ECCC has also incorporated measures into the design of the Canada’s GHG Offset Credit System to address potential barriers to participation by Indigenous communities and organizations. For example, low-income households, which are more likely to be headed by sole female parents and disproportionately include individuals with disabilities or mental illness, recent immigrants, and Indigenous persons, may be more impacted by pollution pricing due to socio-economic inequalities as expenditures on carbon-intensive goods make up a larger share of their expenses. Additionally, some of these groups and individuals may not be able to access the targeted measures aimed at mitigating the cost impacts of carbon pricing through Climate Action Incentive payments (CAIP) for example. Also, the mixture of federal-provincial-territorial carbon pricing systems, and different approaches to how proceeds are returned results in inconsistencies between jurisdictions where the federal backstop is applied and jurisdictions where provinces/territories have implemented their own systems. For example, in some jurisdictions where the federal backstop applies, the Government of Canada has committed to returning some of the fuel charge proceeds to Indigenous governments whereas not all provinces/territories with their own carbon pricing systems have made the same commitment.

Climate policy measures may also impact employment for many Canadians, with potential losses in the traditional energy sector, and gains in the environmental, clean technology, and renewable energy sector. When new jobs are created, certain demographic groups are more likely to benefit due to multiple factors, including higher representation in specific sectors. For example, research shows that jobs in the environmental and clean technology sector are predominantly filled by men, who made up 71.8% of workers in 2017. Additionally, the persistence of wage gaps along gender and race-based lines suggests that new job opportunities in this sector will yield fewer benefits for women, racialized and marginalized communities in Canada. As initiatives are implemented, efforts should be taken to mitigate and avoid, as much as possible, impacts on marginalized groups that are experiencing disproportionate impacts of climate change.

The proposed Clean Electricity Regulations (CER) would accelerate progress towards a net-zero electricity-generating sector, a key element of Canada achieving a net-zero GHG emissions economy by 2050. As some Canadian demographic groups are more impacted by the adverse effects of climate change than the broader Canadian population as outlined earlier, it is expected that these demographic groups may benefit more from any of the positive impacts from the successful mitigation of GHG emissions.

Regional steps to implement the clean energy transition could have cost impacts on the generation of electricity, which could translate into incremental rate impacts that can be attributed to the regulations, primarily in fossil-fuel reliant provinces. However, the actual impact of the CER on rates would depend on provincial and territorial decisions for the electricity sector, such as on grid planning and rate-setting, which lies under their jurisdiction. The regulations have been designed to be flexible, which enables provinces and territories to design their grids according to their circumstances. More than $40 billion has been committed over the next decade, including measures introduced in the Fall Economic Statement 2022 and 2023, and in Budget 2023, to support the transition to clean electricity, with the aim to help provinces and territories reduce incremental costs associated with the draft CER and the potential impacts on rates.

Nevertheless, in an anticipated decarbonized world economy with increasing demands for sustainable energy, clean growth and climate mitigation efforts can equally better position Canadians in a more robust job market. In this regard, the ability of Canadians to access jobs in the low-carbon economy requires investments that provides workers with the skills they need to succeed, including opportunities to access re-training and education programs.

As climate-related initiatives are implemented, efforts are taken to minimize and avoid, as much as possible, impacts on marginalized groups, with due consideration given to those factors that may impede or undermine their experience in the transition to a low-carbon economy. For example, under the Net Zero Challenge initiative, net-zero planning guidance will be developed using a GBA Plus lens and different participation streams will be developed to facilitate participation from all Canadian businesses. To seek broader perspectives and to be more accessible, diverse, and inclusive, stakeholder outreach on Net-Zero Challenge program design has targeted women and marginalized groups, where possible. Program outcomes will have benefits for all Canadians who stand to be impacted by climate change; however, the resulting reductions in GHG emissions would help alleviate the climate change impacts that will be disproportionately felt by certain groups including women, Indigenous Peoples, low-income individuals and newcomers.

Overall, mitigating the effects of climate change in a balanced and inclusive manner will benefit many Canadians and help alleviate the impacts that may be disproportionally felt by certain groups.

GBA Plus Data Collection

This program does not currently collect sufficient data to enable it to monitor and/or report program impacts by gender and diversity.

However, the program acknowledges that GBA Plus assessments and intersectional considerations are integral to the design and implementation of climate change mitigation plans, policies, and programming. The Clean Growth Climate Change Mitigation Program comprises several policy and regulatory tools and programs that are all designed to mitigate, or to support mitigation, of the emissions of greenhouse gases and encourage clean growth in a way that maximizes benefits and minimizes disproportionate impacts on marginalized groups. GBA Plus data collected and published by federal partners and other agencies and institutions is leveraged by initiatives under this program. Certain programming under the recapitalized Low Carbon Economy Fund suite of programs will collect information that is assessed to inform future delivery and design of climate change programing as well as monitor and/or report program impacts by gender and/or diversity. In addition, planned activities and engagement sessions to advance Indigenous Climate Leadership will enable the federal government to identify barriers and implement measures that support self-determined climate action by First Nations, Inuit, and Métis in response to their climate priorities.

The program will continue to implement further improvements to data collection efforts in support of GBA Plus, in recognition of the importance of GBA Plus data to inform decision-making on clean growth and climate priorities. Continued coordination of efforts to address GBA Plus considerations and data (including information published by partners and other agencies and institutions) will facilitate the design of climate change and clean growth policies and initiatives that aim to mitigate possible disproportionate impacts. Future policies and programming will continue to be viewed through a GBA Plus lens to determine how diverse and intersecting groups of people are impacted.

Program: International Climate Change Action

Expected GBA Plus Impacts

Canada’s international engagement on climate change, including our climate finance pledge for developing countries, serves to reduce the impacts of climate change on the frontlines of climate change (women, Indigenous Peoples, youth, etc.). The repercussion from droughts, floods, extreme weather events, and food and water insecurity have a greater and differentiated effect on these groups, especially low-income communities. At the same time, these groups also have an essential role to play in mitigation and adaptation. As such, international climate finance programming specifically focuses on women, girls, and Indigenous Peoples, and other diverse groups, including through projects to promote their leadership and participation that build on their expertise. This includes providing training for women climate negotiators and to support the implementation of the UNFCCC’s Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform, by integrating GBA Plus considerations into climate change actions alongside developmental considerations, such as health and education. In line with Canada’s Feminist International Assistance Policy, projects under Canada’s climate finance aim to integrate GBA Plus in the design, implementation and monitoring and evaluation of projects by applying a gender-responsive and intersectional approach to leverage the experience and knowledge of all stakeholders and promote opportunities for increased leadership and decision-making of marginalized groups and those most impacted by climate change such as women, Indigenous Peoples, and youth.

In line with Canada’s Gender Results Framework Goals, GBA Plus is considered during the negotiation and implementation of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) as well as in other bilateral and regional environmental cooperation agreements with strategic partners, including the United States and Europe. Multilateral and bilateral engagement is expected to continue to increase throughout 2024-25. Canada’s international environmental cooperation has the potential to have positive impacts on individuals and groups, including, women, Indigenous Peoples, youth, outside of Canada by improving environmental conditions in developing countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. GBA Plus considerations are also integrated through the development of bilateral environmental cooperation activities with international partners, to provide women and Indigenous Peoples equitable access to and benefits from the opportunities created by green growth.

Canada will continue supporting the implementation of the Gender Action Plan adopted under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which aims to increase women’s participation and leadership in climate action and to better integrate gender considerations in national climate plans and policies. Applying a GBA Plus lens to climate investments will help create better social and economic opportunities for groups disproportionately impacted by climate change. In addition, such actions promote the engagement of women and marginalized groups in the design, decision-making, and implementation of programs and projects while facilitating cooperative solutions and knowledge transfer.

GBA Plus Data Collection

This program collects sufficient data to enable it to monitor and/or report program impacts by gender and diversity.

Data is collected on participants for targeted programming through the relevant project processes (e.g. collecting data on country of origin of participants in annual workshops for women climate negotiators), and impacts are monitored through regular reporting and evaluation of project outcomes. The International Affairs Branch (IAB) also collects qualitative data on Government of Canada domestic and international initiatives with links to gender and climate change through collaboration and reporting with other implicated departments with a view to report on Canada’s progress in international fora.

Related to the international climate finance program, one of the program’s performance indicators at the ultimate outcome level also tracks the cumulative number of people in developing countries who benefited from Canada’s adaptation finance; where possible, data on beneficiaries is disaggregated by gender to measure the differential impact of the project. Results of this performance indicator will be reported in the Departmental Results Report annually. Additionally, the program has immediate and intermediate performance indicators. Project level data on these indicators will be collected to understand the program level impact. Disaggregation by gender, and other identity factors as relevant and possible, will be considered by the program’s monitoring. The program also collects qualitative data on the results narrative of projects to understand and report on the expected and achieved outcomes, including any potential gender-related impact, as well as impacts on other identity groups as relevant. Project level information is updated on ECCC’s Climate Finance Initiatives and Programs website annually. The climate finance program also has a management indicator to track progress towards reaching the program’s target of integrating gender equality consideration in at least 80% of projects. This target will be tracked based on the project’s gender equality policy marker that assesses the project’s objective in targeting gender.

Program: Climate Change Adaptation

Expected GBA Plus Impacts:

Climate change can transform the economy and significantly affect the daily lives of people in Canada. Climate change is influencing the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, is altering ecosystems and habitats, has the potential to affect the economy across all sectors, and poses risks to human health and safety. Certain populations are disproportionately affected by a changing climate depending on region of residence, sex, gender, age, income, employment status, family status, Indigenous identity, visible minority status, and disability status. Prevailing social norms, attitudes and behavioural habits may also exacerbate the impacts and responses to climate change for certain populations. The Government of Canada is committed to ambitious action to build climate resilience and ensuring people in Canada have the information and tools to adapt. Proposed climate change adaptation activities will advance climate change adaptation to support more climate-resilient communities, ecosystems, and sectors.

To address these issues and build on recent efforts to include diverse perspectives in adaptation policy development, a GBA Plus lens has been and will continue to be applied to the ongoing development of adaptation policy advice and in the work of the Canadian Centre for Climate Services. For instance, in 2021-22, ECCC engaged with a diverse group of partners, including Indigenous Peoples, to develop Canada’s first National Adaptation Strategy (NAS). The NAS has a shared vision for climate resilience that is guided by respect for different jurisdictions, Indigenous rights, and equity perspectives. In turn, new programs in the Government of Canada’s Adaptation Action Plan (GOCAAP), one step in implementing the NAS from 2023-24 onwards, will be developed from the outset with equity perspectives from a diverse range of partners and stakeholders. While both new and current adaptation programming will benefit many people in Canada, it is likely to have the greatest impact on populations who are disproportionately affected by climate change.

GBA Plus Data Collection

The Canadian Centre for Climate Services (CCCS) recognizes the importance of GBA Plus data. Although it does not collect its own disaggregated GBA Plus data, the CCCS is supportive of GBA Plus objectives. While the CCCS is a national climate service provider, it works closely with regional climate expert organizations and Indigenous partners to ensure that services are delivered in way that is accessible and meets the needs of users. For example, the CCCS considers many different audiences and regional particularities when delivering its services in collaboration with its partners.

Core Responsibility: Preventing & Managing Pollution 

Program: Air Quality

Expected GBA Plus Impacts

Although poor air quality can have detrimental health impacts on all people, certain populations experience greater impacts from air pollution depending on sex, gender, age, income, employment status, family status, geography, race, previous health status and other factors. These health effects can be compounded in individuals who have multiple risk factors. For example, a person could be disproportionately affected by air pollution if they are elderly, have chronic health conditions, and live in an area that has a higher degree of air pollution, compared to someone who has only one risk factor.

A GBA Plus lens has been applied to the development of some policy recommendations, programs, and measures to address air pollution and improve air quality. ECCC will build on this approach by exploring ways to ensure that marginalized groups are considered in future air quality work, such as Indigenous communities in geographic areas located downwind of large industrial complexes or those affected by smoke during wildfires.

GBA Plus Data Collection

ECCC works with provinces and territories to monitor ambient (outdoor) air quality daily through the National Air Pollution Surveillance (NAPS) Program. The NAPS Program is the main source of ambient air quality data in Canada. ECCC uses the NAPS data, for example, to assess air quality trends, determine the effectiveness of measures aimed at addressing air pollution, and report the Air Quality Health Index (AQHI).

The AQHI includes information from Health Canada on the health risks of air pollution and personal actions to reduce these risks to the public and the impacted populations. The impacted populations include individuals with existing respiratory or cardiovascular health problems. Age is also considered a factor. In 2023-24, the AQHI program is planning to conduct its national omnibus survey that will include metrics on the effectiveness of program communication as well as additional data points, which include GBA Plus.

Health Canada uses the NAPS data to study the impacts of air quality on human health and to calculate the result of the indicator percentage of the population living in areas where air pollutant emissions are less than or equal to the Canadian Ambient Air Quality Standards. This indicator is reported at the national level and compares air quality measurements to population data in Canada.

ECCC will continue to expand its reach with the Purple Air pilot program, which uses new technology to improve monitoring of particulate matter from wildfire smoke emissions. The program is testing the usefulness of these small air quality sensors as complementary instruments to traditional monitoring stations to see whether the data they generate can be used to improve air quality forecasts for northern, rural, and remote areas including Indigenous communities. This program also promotes stronger community involvement, whereby community members are involved in collecting and submitting data, as well sharing the data and health impacts of wildfire smoke with their communities.

Program: Water Quality and Ecosystems Partnerships

Expected GBA Plus Impacts

In general, the Program is expected to affect Canadians positively by providing cleaner freshwater for drinking, fishing, swimming and other uses, and healthier freshwater ecosystems.

Certain elements of the Program will positively affect Indigenous Peoples. Specific targeted activities under this Program seek to improve the technical capacity and engagement of Indigenous governments, organizations, individuals, and communities. These activities aim to address Indigenous Peoples’ particular concerns regarding freshwater ecosystems; to include Indigenous representation and Indigenous Knowledge at key decision-making tables, where appropriate; and, to build capacity in understanding and addressing freshwater issues, especially those that have implications in Indigenous communities.

Indigenous Peoples will be involved in all steps of the implementation of the Freshwater Action Plan, through greater engagement, and seeking Indigenous advisory expertise, especially from women who are the traditional “water carriers” in Indigenous communities. Indigenous Peoples will also be engaged early in work to advance the modernization of the Canada Water Act.

Other major beneficiaries would be the people and industries dependent on the waterbodies that are the focus of the Freshwater Action Plan Freshwater Ecosystem Initiatives. This includes diverse groups of people in both rural and urban settings.

Many Canadians would benefit from the spinoff environmental effects of the freshwater activities, such as improved biodiversity, and carbon capture. Youth and future generations would benefit as the activities would address emerging and long-term freshwater issues, enhancing freshwater outcomes for years to come.

Ecosystem-specific Key Impacts

GBA Plus Data Collection

This program report program impacts on Indigenous engagement for the Great Lakes Freshwater Ecosystem Initiative (GL FEI) and the Lake Winnipeg Basin Program (LWBP) but similar data collection does not occur for the St. Lawrence Action Plan (SLAP) and other Freshwater Ecosystem Initiatives.

The LWBP collects sufficient data to enable it to monitor/report program impacts on diverse groups. Specifically, the LWBP collects data to enable reporting on how the program has enabled Indigenous governments, organization, and communities in being engaged on efforts to reduce nutrient loading and protect water quality in the Lake Winnipeg Basin. In particular, the number of Indigenous communities and organizations that are meaningfully engaged in activities supported by the LWBP (e.g., through funding support for community-based projects, or partnerships with water governance organizations in the Lake Winnipeg basin) is tracked.

The GL FEI collects sufficient data to enable it to monitor/report program impacts on diverse groups. Progress on the number of Indigenous communities and organizations that are meaningfully engaged under the GL FEI (e.g., through funding support for community-based projects, or participation in Great Lakes decision-making processes) is tracked.

At the time where the latest SLAP 2011–2026 and its Community Interaction Program (CIP) and Zones d’interventions prioritaires (ZIP) programs were developed, no indicators were integrated to monitor and report on the CIP’s and ZIP’s impacts by gender and/or by diversity. Considering the fixed terms of the SLAP 2021-2026, the integration of such indicators will not be possible in the short-term until the renewal of the agreement.

The Atlantic Ecosystems Initiatives (AEI) has an internal program review and update planned for 2022-23, which will include the consideration of additional questions that could be added to the application process to address GBA Plus components. Other grant and contribution programs within Water Quality Ecosystems Partnership and Preventing & Managing Pollution will be consulted to ensure consistency.

The Canada Water Agency currently within ECCC will continue to apply a GBA Plus lens in the development of policy recommendations, programs, and measures to advance freshwater management and ecosystem health.

Program: Funding Programs

Expected GBA Plus Impacts

The Eco-Action Community Funding Program and the Environmental Damages Fund programs aim to affect Canadians and their communities positively by funding projects that benefit the environment. The Programs’ eligible funding recipients include environmental non-governmental organizations, community groups, youth and student groups, and Indigenous organizations.

The programs allocate funding using Calls for Proposals that are open to all eligible applicants. French and English information on how to apply for funding is available widely on program websites and social media. Staff are also available to answer inquiries and provide advice on proposal development to all organizations, including those that are underrepresented or have less capacity or experience in applying for funding. Concrete actions are taken to recognize various cultures and languages through the engagement of Indigenous Peoples to build awareness of funding opportunities, and with a linguistic lens when evaluating projects involving Official Language Minority Communities. This includes: ensuring different subgroups of the population are eligible and aware of funding opportunities; using a linguistic lens when answering inquiries and evaluating proposals that involve Official Language Minority Communities; translating program material in both official languages and considering translation in Indigenous languages when appropriate; funding projects in communities negatively impacted by climate risks; directing funding to diverse communities as appropriate; and including members of diverse backgrounds, cultures, and regions in the review process. Both programs compile data on funding to Indigenous communities, some of which are in remote regions.

The Science Horizons Youth Internship Program provides wage subsidies to eligible employers across Canada to hire university, college, and polytechnic graduates between the ages of 15 to 30 for internships in the job environmental science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. Up to $25,000 in funding for wage subsidies and up to $5,000 in funding for wrap around services for skills development, training, job accessibility, and more are available to eligible employers. Internship opportunities lasting 6 to 12 months provide youth with hands-on experience in environmental and clean technology sector.

The Science Horizons program has a focus on serving under-represented youth in specific areas include young women in STEM, racialized youth, Indigenous youth, and youth with disabilities. Furthermore, wrap around supports, which include a broad range of tailored direct and indirect interventions, including work placements, training opportunities, transportation, and telecommunication costs. The program can allocate additional funds towards services and supports to youth with disabilities, such as ergonomic assessments for adapted workstation set-up and computer software to assist reading and writing in the workplace, enhanced supports for youth in rural or remote locations, and official language minority communities, as well as offsetting the additional cost of living in the North. The program aims to increase the proportion of women in STEM fields, and through the experience acquired “on the job,” it is expected that this program will facilitate easier transitions into the labour market and will lead to an improvement of wages for program recipients in STEM fields Youth who identify as 2SLGBTQI+ can face various forms of discrimination that affect them in many facets of their lives, including their employment. Science Horizons work experiences provide “quality” work placements, which include safe and inclusive work environments and practices.

GBA Plus Data Collection

This program collects sufficient data to enable it to monitor and/or report program impacts by gender and diversity for the Eco-Action, Science Horizons Youth Internship Program but does not for the Environmental Damages Fund (EDF).

The Eco-Action Community Funding Program has put together a Program Working Group who have discussed with the GBA Plus Centre of Expertise at ECCC to identify methods to generate crucial information and better results for the range of needs, priorities, capacities, experiences, interests, and views of differently situated communities and groups in Canada. The Eco-Action Community Funding Program is working to facilitate the inclusion of GBA Plus factors to gather intersectional information that will help identify barriers and impacts of the program related to underrepresented populations. GBA Plus questions were added to the 2022-23 application and will be included in the 2023-24 application and will provide additional details on: knowledge transfer (e.g., Indigenous Knowledge), minority language communities, and participation of persons with disabilities. Additionally, Eco-Action has taken into consideration its accessibility to potential recipients. While the submission of an online application is strongly encouraged throughout Eco-Action Call for Proposals products, a paper application can be made available to applicants requiring an alternative submission process. Quantitative data related to the Eco-Action Community Funding Program will be collected through the application form. It is anticipated that both quantitative and qualitative data will be collected through annual and final project reporting forms. As listed above, the Eco-Action Community Funding Program has added additional questions to the application to begin collecting data related to GBA Plus factors. Continued work with the GBA Plus Centre of Expertise at ECCC will guide the Eco-Action program to ensure gaps and limitations continue to be addressed.

The Science Horizons Youth Internship Program collects disaggregated administrative data on participants’ gender (soft target is 55% women), internship city and province/territory, intern education level (must be post-secondary graduate), racialized youth (target is 20%), youth with disability (target is 2.1%), age (program requirements are under age 30), Indigenous status (target is 2.1%), employment status before and after internship, first official language, legal status (Canadian citizen, permanent resident, refugee), member of official language minority community (baseline target to be set), youth living in rural and remote areas (baseline target to be set), percent of youth who are employed after the internship (target is 80%), and percent of interns who return to school after the internship (target is 6%). This is to inform performance measurement and program objectives. As part of its data collection process ECCC collects detailed outcomes tracked by indicators that are impacted by gender and diversity. Since the Science Horizons program is continuously expanding upon its program to better support youth furthest from employment and facing barriers, ECCC regularly assesses its employment equity targets through annual analysis of program data and reports. This analysis takes into consideration the barriers and challenges faced by various groups within Canada’s youth demographic. The purpose is to regularly increase the number of underrepresented youths in employment equity groups served by the program, including youth living with a disability, Indigenous youth, visible minority youth, and young women in STEM.

The EDF collects data on four categories of eligible applicants (which includes Indigenous organizations) but does not yet have an established data collection plan to monitor potential impacts by gender and diversity. In the creation and implementation of Large Award Strategies, and where socio-economic or cultural impacts are significant, the program collaborates with stakeholders, Indigenous organizations, partners, and other orders of government to incorporate, when possible, their feedback into Large Award Strategies to avoid or mitigate disproportionate impacts on certain groups. The EDF is currently updating its policy suite. In doing so, the program will apply a GBA Plus lens throughout the policy update process to ensure that data collection and analysis for gender, income, age, employment status, education, family status, region of residence, disability status and of Indigenous and visible minority communities are considered to the extent possible. Recent EDF intakes under the Climate Action and Awareness Fund have provided an opportunity for applicants to identify the community type that will be impacted by the proposed project. Applicants may also describe how work with the community will be culturally relevant and/or easily related to the geographic location and purpose of the project. The next EDF intake will also provide an opportunity for applicants to identify if their proposal will engage different priority groups such as Indigenous Peoples. This best practice will continue to be incorporated into future EDF intakes.

Program: Substances and Waste Management

Expected GBA Plus Impacts

Although persistent organic pollutants (POPs) can pose a risk to anyone exposed to them, women and children experience greater impacts from exposure. These pollutants can be passed on to offspring through effects on sperm and ova before conception, prenatally through the placenta to the fetus, or postnatally through breastmilk. While Canadians in all regions of Canada are potentially exposed to POPs, northern Indigenous Peoples are the most susceptible to a higher exposure to POPs due to cultural reliance on traditionally harvested foods in which POPs have been shown to bioaccumulate. Exposure to POPs is linked mainly to consumption of marine mammal or other species in which biomagnification of POPs has taken place over many years. In certain regions in northern Canada, regional health authorities advise limiting consumption of a particular traditional food among certain members of the population, such as women of child-bearing age, when levels of POPs exceed blood guidance values. As such, these demographics are differentially impacted by POPs in this indirect manner as well. The Chemicals Management Plan uses scientific information to assess and manage, where needed, the risks posed for vulnerable groups from exposure to chemicals and products that contain them.

In the next phase of the Oceans Protection Plan, ECCC will positively impact Indigenous communities and coastal communities by supporting their enhanced participation in Canada’s marine emergency preparedness, response, and recovery regime. OPP 2.0 has prioritized enabling coastal and Indigenous communities to be able to play a significant role in influencing positive health and environmental outcomes in their communities. Specifically, under several OPP initiatives, Indigenous communities will be able to access funding to participate in training and co-development programs related to environmental data collection and monitoring related to their own communities. Coastal and Indigenous communities will be able to be involved in location-specific planning for spills to directly influence the decision-making that affects the health of their communities and the surrounding environments. ECCC will also be encouraging a continuous improvement approach throughout the life of these initiatives to increase the diversity of individuals partnering and taking part in these initiatives, to provide much fulsome benefits for their communities. Over the long-term broad environmental and health benefits are expected for coastal and Indigenous communities due to increased prevention, preparedness, and response efforts for environmental emergencies, thereby leading to an overall increase in environmental health, and subsequently community health.

GBA Plus Data Collection

ECCC does not collect data on the impact posed to humans by chemicals and other substances in the environment. This is the mandate of our partner department and will be more appropriately reported in the Departmental Results Report of Health Canada.

In the next phase of the Oceans Protection Plan, ECCC has committed through the Treasury Board Submission to track how Indigenous Peoples participated in or benefitted from ECCC-led initiatives. As part of this commitment, ECCC will track engagement activities, especially interactions with Indigenous communities, as well as other activities such as training and workshops. ECCC will engage a contractor to develop a standardized method to support programs collect GBA Plus data. The information collected will be reported according to the reporting requirements in the Treasury Board Submission and will identify differential impacts of ECCC-led initiatives on Indigenous Peoples.

Program: Compliance Promotion and Enforcement – Pollution

Expected GBA Plus Impacts

The objective of this Program is to minimize damage to the environment from pollution by actively promoting compliance with and applying a risk-based approach to enforce environmental laws, regulations and other instruments administered by Environment and Climate Change Canada.

The Compliance Promotion program continues to tailor compliance promotion material to the target audience’s needs, considering cultural and linguistic profile of the regulated community. The program continues to work with various Indigenous communities and organizations to deliver compliance promotion activities that meet the needs of their communities.

Inspections and intelligence contribute to the detection and identification of non-compliance which is then addressed by an array of enforcement measures ranging from warnings, tickets, and administrative monetary penalties, to orders to comply, and directions. For more serious offences, prosecution may be sought following the results of investigations, which may involve referrals to the Public Prosecution Service of Canada. Compliance is secured to protect air, water and land from harmful substances, and offenders are held accountable for their wrongdoing.

Enforcement is aware that enforcement activities can have different impacts on different Canadian communities, including specific equity seeking groups, such as visible minorities, linguistic groups, and/or Indigenous Peoples. Enforcement will continue to adapt its hiring practices to ensure its workforce is more representative. Additional training will be provided regarding Treaty rights and the unique legal status and rights of Indigenous Peoples in Canada to facilitate better engagement initiatives. Enforcement officers will continue to adapt their engagement approaches when conducting enforcement activities with diverse communities using translators, for instance. Adjusting hiring practices and creating a workforce more representative of Canadians will help to foster trust with Canadians. Providing additional training opportunities will give officers the tools needed to interact in a constructive manner with different communities in support of its mandate to reduce non-compliance.

In 2019, Enforcement developed guidelines for Entry and Engagement on Indigenous Lands, where one of the objectives is to support Enforcement’s ability to build and maintain relationships with Indigenous Peoples. Since their development, the guidelines have supported staff by:

Further, in FY 2022-2023, Enforcement planned and developed a GBA Plus survey for distribution in FY 2023-2024. The survey will be completed by EB’s General Technician (GT) staff (Environment and Wildlife Enforcement Officers) to identify barriers and biases and develop an action plan to help address them.

Compliance promotion and enforcement activities contribute to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment for all Canadians, including disproportionally impacted populations. In the future, Enforcement will continue to engage provinces and territories and work with industry and other stakeholders through standard departmental regulatory processes to determine potential impacts to all Canadians, regardless of gender, race, or linguistic profile.

GBA Plus Data Collection

Enforcement collects data on the type, outcomes, and location of its enforcement activities, which is overlaid with geographically based data from other sources, including with respect to demographics and socio-economic indicators like income level and the relative presence of equity seeking groups, where available to monitor for potential bias.

Enforcement will conduct additional analysis of census, geographical, and enforcement data to verify where correlations between non-compliance detection rates and gender, income levels, and equity seeking groups exist. Where correlations are identified, additional qualitative research will be conducted to better understand why they exist. Where correlations are determined to be inconsistent with ECCC’s Compliance and Enforcement policies, Enforcement will review and modify its planning as required.

Core Responsibility: Conserving Nature

Program: Species at Risk

Expected GBA Plus Impacts

Preserving biodiversity is necessary for maintaining strong ecosystems, which in turn, deliver important and diverse ecosystem services to Canadians. The performance indicators considered in the Species at Risk Program reflect not only the ability to protect species at risk, but also examine how the Program might impact, either directly or indirectly, demographic groups who may be more vulnerable due to a combination of socio-economic factors. Other groups may also be impacted including private landowners, industry, other orders of government, non-governmental organizations, and Indigenous Peoples.

ECCC expects that the Program will have more direct effects on Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Peoples play an essential role in the conservation of wildlife and species at risk Indigenous Peoples are also the holders of Indigenous Knowledge (IK) essential to achieving the protection and recovery goals for many species. Additionally, the Program consults with Indigenous peoples to ascertain impacts to Treaty rights. Therefore, expected negative Program effects may be related to consultation fatigue and the continuous, repeated gathering of IK on species at risk. Efforts will be made to reduce these effects by focusing more on ecosystem-based and multi-species conservation approaches as well as improving coordination among federal departments and provincial/territorial governments.

GBA Plus Data Collection

This program collects sufficient data to enable it to monitor and/or report program impacts by gender and diversity.

In 2024-25, ECCC will continue its emphasis on the importance of data in conservation, both to advance protection and recovery outcomes for species at risk and to enhance communication to the public. ECCC will continue to improve the accessibility of open data on species at risk.

GBA Plus assessments were conducted on the Enhanced Nature Legacy initiative (2021) and for the Funding to Continue Efforts to Protect Species at Risk (2023). The assessments concluded that Canadians of all genders broadly benefit from nature and species at risk conservation, and that Canadians broadly support nature and species at risk conservation. However, identity factors will impact how and when Canadians access and experience these positive impacts. For example, women and men tend to demonstrate different patterns of behavior in nature recreation, urban and new Canadians are less likely to visit rural parks or protected areas than their rural counterparts, and lower-income Canadians are less likely to live close to protected areas and parks. Different regions also experience different opportunities for access to nature and participation in opportunities such as tourism, recreation, and sustainable wildlife harvesting.

Based on the assessment findings, and to help ensure equitable consideration of outreach, benefits and impacts of the Enhanced Nature Legacy initiative, the implementation approach will be to:

With respect to species at risk, some Canadians, particularly those employed in resource extraction, or those in rural areas, may experience negative impacts from SARA regulations. Ongoing efforts under the renewed Species at Risk program will encourage equal participation of diverse populations when consulting with different Canadians, including Indigenous Peoples and organizations in species at risk conservation. It was determined that care will be needed to deliver messages to targeted communities in a way that allows equal opportunity for people of all genders to participate in the process.

The Minister of the Environment provides advice to the Governor in Council with respect to species at risk. Such advice is based on science, including Indigenous Traditional Knowledge (ITK), and consultations with affected parties for expected socio-economic impacts. As a result, initiatives within the Species at Risk Program have been designed to ensure that all genders, visible minorities, and people of a variety of socio-economic statuses can reap the benefits of protecting nature across Canada. Given the government’s policy agenda and the GBA Plus factors implicated by the current approaches to implementing the Species at Risk Act (SARA), this Initiative will include the following elements:

ECCC Canada Nature Fund contribution agreements under the Enhanced Nature Legacy initiative will require large and medium-sized recipients of G&Cs funding to have Diversity and Inclusion Plans. The requirement may be voluntary for small organizations as they may find the requirement for a Diversity and Inclusion Plan overly burdensome. Indigenous organizations and communities may also be excluded from this requirement. G&C programs will collect data on GBA Plus considerations to assess the effectiveness of Diversity and Inclusion Plans and improve understanding of worker diversity and the associated workforce where possible.

Specifically, this would require collection and reporting of information by medium and large-sized organization funding recipients on the number of under-represented groups, such as women, immigrants, persons with disabilities, and racialized groups, in the workforce supported by G&C funding as well as a breakdown of jobs created in urban and rural/remote areas to the extent practicable. Contribution agreements will also, to the extent practicable, require reporting of whether funding recipients have: 1) provided training targeting to under-represented groups for career development; and 2) been involved in activities to promote workforce diversity. [Funding departments will also collect information on the number of Indigenous-led projects through G&C funding to support GBA Plus analysis.] Departments will only collect aggregate information and anticipate no privacy issues.

Program: Migratory Birds and other Wildlife

Expected GBA Plus Impacts

The primary aims of the Migratory Birds and Other Wildlife Program are to maintain and restore healthy populations of migratory birds and to address wildlife health needs. The Minister of Environment and Climate Change Canada provides advice to the Governor in Council with respect to migratory birds and other wildlife. This advice is based on science, benefits and risks analyses, and the results of consultations with partners and stakeholders most likely to be impacted, both positively and negatively, by such advice. The ubiquity, accessibility, and popularity of birds provides the Department the unique opportunity to engage diverse groups, through monitoring (e.g., citizen science programs), conservation (e.g., stewardship), and management (e.g., hunting) of migratory birds and other wildlife across Canada and the Americas. This program has the potential to benefit all sectors of society; socio-economic studies are increasingly demonstrating the importance of nature—birds in particular—to human happiness, life satisfaction, and well-being. The landscape properties that promote bird diversity are those that also promote human well-being, through improved access to clean water, healthy lands, recreational and hunting activities, as well as spiritual and cultural pursuits.

GBA Plus Data Collection

The program currently lacks performance indicators that can be disaggregated by gender or socio-economic factors and is considering how best to fill this data gap. The program intends to continue efforts to evaluate its current engagement with Indigenous Peoples and strive to increase engagement of Indigenous Peoples in migratory bird management and conservation. More specifically, the program will begin measuring its ability to engage Indigenous Peoples in migratory bird conservation through its monitoring and research projects, and in the collection of migratory bird harvest data. ECCC and Environmental Non-Government Organization collaborators also engage large numbers of the public in citizen science programs such as the North American Breeding Bird Survey, Breeding Bird Atlases, and other related programs. Efforts are continuing to evaluate participation in these programs by gender and diversity, the results of which will be used to identify ways to increase the program’s reach to diverse groups and communities.

Program: Habitat Conservation and Protection

Expected GBA Plus Impacts

The core outcome of this Program is the protection of important wildlife habitat through the regulation, purchase and/or donation of land and water areas for conservation purposes. Impacts and benefits would accrue to different demographic groups along the process of achieving this outcome. While the processes of land and water securement and protection tend to involve and favour specific groups of Canadians (landowners, governments, non-government organizations), the long-term ecosystem services and co-benefits, such as climate regulation, erosion control, tourism and recreation, education, knowledge systems, and cultural heritage, that are gained by conserving ecosystems and landscapes are most often to the benefit of lower-income, rural and Indigenous communities.

GBA Plus Data Collection

This program collects sufficient data to enable it to monitor and report program impacts by gender and diversity.

A GBA Plus assessment for the Natural Climate Solutions Fund (NCSF) initiative concluded that ECCC’s support for restoring, better managing, and conserving ecosystems will contribute to an overall reduction of GHG emissions, which will benefit a broad range of Canadians. Activities will occur in sectors where men are more likely to be employed (e.g., landscaping and forestry) as well as sectors in which women are more likely to be employed (e.g., environmental NGOs, policy and programming and conservation authorities). The work required to implement the proposal will be largely attributed to the working age population (defined as ages 15–64) and will primarily target people occupying medium and high-level program and administrative jobs, and those occupying field labour positions in the conservation sector. Coastal, Northern, Prairie and Indigenous communities are anticipated to benefit from this initiative. Long-term benefits are expected for young children and future generations with the successful implementation of this proposal.

The GBA Plus data collection and reporting plan was developed as part of the NCSF Treasury Board Submission. ECCC-HCP will contribute to this plan as a supporting partner and lead on the Nature-Smart Climate Solutions Fund (NSCSF) stream. NSCS will require large and medium-sized organizations funded by NSCS to report on the development of Diversity and Inclusion Plans that support the inclusion of underrepresented groups in NSCS activities. This will be required after consultation with recipients in year 1 of the initiative, starting with funding recipients with more than 50 employees. This requirement will be voluntary for small organizations such as community-based groups since these organizations may find the requirement for a Diversity and Inclusion Plan overly burdensome. Indigenous organizations and communities may also be excluded from this requirement. ECCC will also collect information on the number of Indigenous-led projects through NSCS to support GBA Plus. This new requirement and the new indicator will provide information for the program to better understand diversity and inclusion outcomes.

As noted above under the Species at Risk Program section, GBA Plus assessments were conducted on the Enhanced Nature Legacy initiative (2021). Findings and activities through this assessment will also be implemented within the Enhanced Nature Legacy work completed through Habitat Conservation and Protection Program.

Program: Biodiversity Policy and Partnerships

Expected GBA Plus Impacts

The Biodiversity Policy and Partnerships Program aims to engage with domestic and international governments, Indigenous organizations, non-government organizations, businesses, and Canadians to develop and meet Canada’s biodiversity commitments. The conservation and protection of biodiversity are necessary for maintaining strong ecosystems, which in turn, deliver important and diverse ecosystem services to many Canadians. For example, healthy ecosystems can filter toxic substances from air, water, and soil, protect us against flooding, storm surges, and erosion, sequester carbon, maintain the water cycle, and help stabilize local climates.

To increase capacity to conserve biodiversity in Canada, the Program will continue to develop, review, and share Canadian positions and policy frameworks, provide targeted funding, conduct research, and maintain and share data and information. Indicators will be assessed to gauge the level of engagement of the population, and, in the case of Indigenous peoples, indicators include the level of satisfaction with the Department’s engagement on conservation. This information is used to adjust engagement activities as needed.

For 2024-25, the program will be focused on finalizing Canada’s 2023 National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan and preparations for the sixteenth Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (COP16). The program will consider GBA Plus considerations in planning the related consultations and engagement. Work will continue a domestic monitoring framework to report on Canada’s progress against the 23 targets of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, which includes a target related to gender equality.

The Biodiversity Policy and Partnerships Program is expected to positively impact Canadian biodiversity, and thus indirectly benefit Canadians. Canadians derive both ‘use values’ (e.g., recreation, cleaner air, and water) and ‘non-use’ values (e.g., existence and cultural values) from efforts to reduce the loss of biodiversity, and thus from the Program’s activities. With respect to use values, it is likely that groups with the least access to nature or greatest exposure to local environmental pollutants (e.g., lower-income individuals living in marginalized areas) would generally have lower ‘use’ values and thus benefit less from biodiversity conservation.

GBA Plus Data Collection

The program currently lacks corporate indicators that can be disaggregated by gender or socio-economic factors and is considering how to fill this data gap as indicators are updated or replaced. For example, the program still refers to the 2012 Canadian Nature Survey, as a newer version of the survey has not been conducted. To address the lack of disaggregated data, the program will continue discussions with Statistics Canada and others and consider how to update, replace, or supplement older indicators and background information sources.

ECCC administers an annual survey to Indigenous Peoples who ECCC has engaged on conservation to determine whether the engagement was meaningful. The survey results enable the Department to track progress on the Departmental Result, “Indigenous Peoples are engaged in conservation”, and provides critical information to guide engagement planning under the Conserving Nature core responsibility and by the Department, more generally. These data cannot be disaggregated by gender.

Program: Environmental Assessment

Expected GBA Plus Impacts

Resource development affects the environment and can have economic, social and health consequences that are felt more heavily by some demographic groups. ECCC provided expert advice and knowledge to decision-makers for subjects within its mandate, such as water quality and biodiversity. This engagement helped to determine potential impacts of development to Canadians, including impacted populations.

GBA Plus Data Collection

The Environmental Assessment Program recognizes the importance of the impacts by gender and diversity. Although the program does not target specific groups of Canadians and does not collect its own GBA Plus data, as provider of specialist and expert knowledge it provides a consolidated range of activities that support the assessment, evaluation, and management of Canada’s ecosystems with the goal of reducing the environmental impact of development projects subject to environmental/impact assessments. The Program collaborates continuously with government departments and agencies, Review Panels, Indigenous Peoples, industry, and considers potential impacts to diverse populations. Being part of the broad Horizontal Initiative led by the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (IAAC), the Program will align any future GBA Plus-type of data collection with IAAC.

There are no near-term plans to collect the GBA Plus-type of data within the Horizontal Initiative Data Collection led by the IAAC.

Program: Compliance Promotion and Enforcement – Wildlife

Expected GBA Plus Impacts

The objective of this Program is to protect plant and animal species in Canada, including migratory birds, by actively promoting compliance with, and applying a risk-based approach to enforce wildlife laws, regulations and other instruments administered by Environment and Climate Change Canada. These laws regulate human interventions, such as hunting or trade that could adversely affect long-term wildlife conservation. Canadian wildlife protection legislation is also aimed at conserving threatened or potentially threatened species nationally and internationally.

Inspections and intelligence contribute to the detection and identification of non-compliance which is then addressed by an array of enforcement measures including issuing tickets, administrative penalties, warnings, or compliance orders. For more serious offences, prosecution may be sought following the results of investigations, which may involve referrals to the Public Prosecution Service of Canada. Compliance is secured to reduce threats and damages to biodiversity for the benefit of all Canadians and the global community.

Enforcement is aware that enforcement activities can have varying impacts on different Canadian communities, including specific equity seeking groups, such as visible minorities, linguistic groups, and/or Indigenous Peoples. Enforcement will continue to adapt its hiring practices to ensure its workforce is more representative. Additional training will be provided regarding Treaty rights and the unique legal status and rights of Indigenous peoples in Canada to enhance engagement initiatives. Enforcement officers will continue to adapt their engagement approaches when conducting enforcement activities with diverse communities, for instance using translators. Adjusting hiring practices and creating a workforce more representative of Canadians will help to foster trust with Canadians. Providing additional training opportunities will give officers the tools needed to interact in a constructive manner with different communities in support of its mandate to reduce non-compliance.

In 2019, Enforcement developed guidelines for Entry and Engagement on Indigenous Lands, where one of the objectives is to support Enforcement’s ability to build and maintain relationships with Indigenous Peoples. Since their development, the guidelines have supported staff by:

Imagining new ways of working together, the department successfully implemented a service agreement for a Québec Collège d’enseignement général et professionnel (QC-CEGEP) to develop a college training program adapted to Indigenous students’ unique realities, culture, and history. The Program will continue to address the special considerations required to meet GBA Plus requirements through policy analysis and the development of service agreements with the affected groups.

Enforcement also continues to build and promote mutual understanding and partnership through a group of officers who meet regularly with Indigenous representatives, such as in wildlife co-management committees.

Further, in FY 2022-2023, Enforcement planned and developed a GBA Plus analysis survey for distribution in FY 2023-2024. The survey will be completed by EB’s General Technician (GT) staff (Environment and Wildlife Enforcement Officers) to identify barriers and biases and develop an action plan to help address them.

Compliance promotion and enforcement activities contribute to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment for all Canadians, including disproportionally impacted populations. In the future, Enforcement will continue to engage provinces and territories and work with industry and other stakeholders through standard departmental regulatory processes to determine potential impacts to all Canadians, regardless of gender, race, or linguistic profile.

GBA Plus Data Collection

Enforcement collects data on the type, outcomes, and location of its enforcement activities, which is overlaid with geographically based data from other sources, including with respect to demographics and socio-economic indicators like income level and the relative presence of equity seeking groups, where available to monitor for potential bias.

Enforcement will conduct additional analysis to verify where correlations between non-compliance detection rates and gender, income levels, equity seeking groups, and environmental quality exist. This analysis will be supplemented with additional work to determine where correlations exist between the above indicators and absolute inspection and investigation numbers. Where correlations are identified, additional qualitative research will be conducted. Where correlations are determined to be inconsistent with ECCC Compliance and Enforcement policies, Enforcement will review and modify its planning as required.

Core Responsibility: Predicting Weather and Environmental Conditions

Program: Weather and Environmental Observations, Forecasts and Warnings

Expected GBA Plus Impacts

ECCC provides authoritative information on weather, water, climate, marine, ice, and air quality to support decision-making by Canadians, provincial and territorial public authorities, and other specialized clients (e.g., other federal departments). To reach most Canadians and stakeholders, ECCC provides weather and environmental information through a wide range of platforms including the weather web site, WeatherCAN mobile application, automated telephone system Hello Weather, weather radios, tailored weather products focusing on potential impacts of a weather situation, and stakeholder engagement.

Weather forecasts and warnings can assist Canadians most impacted by adverse weather conditions, such as the elderly, children, or those with certain chronic illnesses or their caretakers, to make informed decisions in weather scenarios that may pose increased risks to these populations (e.g., extreme heat, extreme cold). This also applies to information that might be used to support other populations such as the homeless (e.g., extreme cold responses).

Weather forecasts and warnings can also support decision-making by Northern, Indigenous, and remote communities to safely undertake activities such as transportation across natural infrastructure (e.g., ice bridges) or aviation and marine navigation that are critical for resupply of remote communities.

An important aspect of providing weather forecasts and warnings is determining how best to communicate with Canadians, especially those who are most vulnerable. ECCC is looking to improve the accessibility and documentation of its weather and environmental data and services to increase the reach of weather forecasts and warning, better communicate risk to a wide variety of Canadians, and prepare them for the potential impacts of hazardous weather.

GBA Plus Data Collection

ECCC currently does not collect sufficient data on its broad user-base to enable it to monitor and/or report on this program’s impacts by gender and diversity. However, it recognizes the importance of collecting these metrics, and will consider the development and implementation of GBA Plus data collection for future efforts. In the meantime, MSC has recently introduced and conducts short post-event surveys that seek to evaluate the reach and impact of its services following a severe/extreme weather event(s). These surveys currently do not collect information related to GBA Plus, and do not target any specific groups beyond the spatial area(s) impacted by the environmental event. To supplement this, the MSC has planned to conduct an online survey for the fourth quarter of this fiscal year that will target 1000 Canadians, including 10 Canadians in each of the Territories, to solicit information on their response to recent weather warnings, and their main source(s) of weather information. Unlike the post-event surveys, this survey will collect baseline demographic information, such as language, gender, age, region, marital status, and employment status.

Program: Hydrological Services

Expected GBA Plus Impacts

Disasters in Canada, including water-related disasters such as floods and droughts, can have significant psycho-social impacts, especially on citizens who lack sufficient social infrastructure, or who were vulnerable prior to the event. Hydrometric data in combination with socio-economic data can be used to identify potential impacts of water hazards on various groups and implement mitigation measures. For instance, hydrometric data are key for developing flood maps, which (when combined with geo-referenced socio-economic data such as household revenue, age, and sex) can be used to generate detailed risk assessments that can be used to prioritize actions that target the most impacted groups.

GBA Plus Data Collection

ECCC currently does not collect sufficient data on its broad user-base to enable it to monitor and/or report on this program’s impacts by gender and diversity and is not currently developing a GBA Plus Data Collection Plan. However, it recognizes the importance of collecting these metrics, and will consider its development and implementation for future efforts.

Internal Services

Expected GBA Plus Impacts

ECCC is committed to integrating GBA Plus in evaluation engagements. A GBA Plus lens is applied, when appropriate, in designing the methodology for evaluations. Among other things, evaluations can consider how GBA Plus has informed program design and delivery as well as decision-making with respect to program amendments. Applying the GBA Plus lens consistently in evaluations enables the department to gather data and identify trends overtime that can better support management decisions in the future.

In its role as an enabler in the delivery of services by program branches, ECCC’s Corporate Services and Finance Branch (CSFB) is participating on interdepartmental working group committees that addresses the topic of social procurement. A pilot is currently being conducted by Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) on the integration of social procurement considerations as part of procurement processes. ECCC and other client departments are following progress on the pilot with a view towards greater integration into ECCC procurement practices when methodologies are clearly established by central agency leads.

To enhance inclusion, workplace solutions such as GCworkplace are considered and where feasible, implemented in new projects. The GCworkplace vision was formed and is oriented towards the following seven dimensions: flexible, digital, efficient, green, inclusive, collaborative, and healthy.

Corporate Services and Finance Branch also benefits from a high representation of women throughout the senior management cadre, enabling decision-making that incorporates balanced and diverse perspectives.

ECCC continues to support the overall implementation and promotion of the Diversity, Inclusion and Employment Equity: An ECCC Strategy for 2021–2024 and work through avenues such as the Leadership Council on Diversity & Inclusion, the Diversity & Inclusion Working Group, and the Taskforce on Diversity & Inclusion to ensure that ECCC works towards addressing key employment equity areas of under-representation. The Department will continue to contribute to a leadership culture that promotes and builds a healthy, harassment-free, accessible, respectful, and supportive work environment. ECCC will continue to use and develop tools and resources to support the mainstreaming of GBA Plus in all ECCC activities and build a culture of inclusiveness.

GBA Plus Data Collection

Human Resources

Human Resources collects various demographic information on employees that are sensitive and protected. Some notable actions are being taken to develop data collection and assessment within ECCC to support evidence-based decision-making and to continue to build a culture of care and inclusiveness, such as:

Various barriers were linked to data collection such as the protection by the Code of Confidentiality, access to technology access and timing related to the COVID-19 situation.

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