Thank you very much.
I'm with people you know: Nanci-Jean Waugh, Florence Ievers, and Hélène Dwyer-Renaud.
It is an honour to appear before you, members of the Standing Committee on the Status of Women, as you conclude your study of gender-based analysis. I look forward to your report. I am also pleased to be here to discuss Status of Women Canada's Main Estimates for 2005-2006.
My colleague Florence Levers and I will answer your questions to the extent we are able to do so. Otherwise, we'll be pleased to send you supplementary answers should you require.
As you know, the Standing Committee is playing a key role in keeping gender equality front and centre, both inside and outside of government.
Your report in February addressed increases to Women's Program funding—we're well aware of that—which is a key means of supporting the work of women's and other equality-seeking groups. I very much appreciate your input; the government as well.
In 2005-2006, Status of Women Canada
will do its part to sustain that momentum by promoting equitable public policy by performing gender-based analysis; coordinating federal government activities and reporting on progress; building knowledge and organizational capacity on gender equality by gathering, generating, and disseminating gender equality information; and funding research and community-based action.
Last month, with a few of you, I led the Canadian delegation to the United Nations Beijing +10 meeting in New York, where the UN looked at progress made on gender equality around the world. I was pleased to have parliamentarians and representatives of non-governmental organizations in our delegation. They are integral to advancing Canada's domestic and international work in gender equality. To be effective, our work must involve a commitment from across governments and civil society.
Canada's international commitments, such as Beijing and its follow-up meetings, Canada's ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, CEDAW, and others, spur on domestic activity. In Canada, these commitments are reflected in the Federal Plan for Gender Equality, launched in 1995, and in 2000, the Agenda for Gender Equality.
Positive results have been realized and we are committed to achieving further successes. For example: the introduction of a policy on gender-based analysis in government, the development of training, tool development, policy case studies and pilot projects; criminal law reforms aimed at providing increased protection for victims of sexual assault and other violent offences, and the introduction of trafficking as an offence in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act;
the inclusion of sexual orientation as a prohibited ground of discrimination in the Canadian Human Rights Act; initiatives including increases to the Canada child tax benefit, the doubling of parental leave, the introduction of compassionate care leave, and the recent commitment to a national child care program; and in the area of health, the creation of centres of excellence for women's health, the establishment of the Institute of Gender and Health, and the launch of Health Canada's women's health strategy.
I am pleased and proud that with Canada's strong support, all countries unanimously reaffirmed the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. At Beijing +10, countries shared experiences and best practices on how they are integrating Beijing and CEDAW commitments. They are all making progress on gender equality, and while Canada compares well, we can learn from others.
For example, the Government of Norway has a legislative framework, which includes a human rights act and a Gender Equality Act.
And the World Bank is an example of an institution that seeks to advance gender equality within its operations. Its initiatives include an operational policy for Gender Mainstreaming and a Gender Mainstreaming Strategy.
At Beijing +10, a resolution was adopted on gender mainstreaming at the national level, setting out what is required to achieve gender equality results—for example, government plans and accountability mechanisms.
In this framework, gender mainstreaming ensures that responsibility for all legislation, policies and programs is shared across government. It also underscores the fact that gender-based analysis is a key tool to accomplish this strategy, bringing a gender lens to the work of government, and ensuring the impacts on diverse groups are fully considered and reflected in federal initiatives.
To remain the world leader, Canada must continue to advance a federal strategy on gender equality. We must also continue to address key gaps: poverty among those groups of women, the situation of aboriginal women, and the need for greater accountability mechanisms across government to advance gender equality. Toward that end, Status of Women Canada is preparing a diagnostique to examine patterns and trends among women and men and to determine where greater efforts are needed to identify and address gender equality policy gaps.
In establishing the strategy direction for the next five-year cycle, Status of Women Canada will be guided by the CEDAW recommendations, along with Canada's Beijing +10 experience. Status of Women Canada will also maintain its leadership in coordinating the development and implementation of a new federal strategy to address this critical gap in Canada and achieve further progress with its partners.
Our federal strategy objectives are to achieve measurable results toward the Government of Canada, to engage Canadians more systematically in the policy process, and to strengthen transparency and accountability.
The Government of Canada now has the opportunity to demonstrate accountability and build on the Agenda for Gender Equality in a more structured way. We will look to address outstanding inequities—particularly for women who face the greatest barriers to equality, including Aboriginal women, immigrant women and lone parents—with relevant targeted initiatives; improve compliance and reporting mechanisms through better coordination and data collection; integrate GBA in policy planning and design; and ensure women's perspectives contribute to future planning.
As we develop a new federal strategy on gender equality, there is a need for ongoing consultations and dialogue, both inside and outside government. This will be a priority over the next few months.
Status of Women Canada will continue to work with government departments to address the challenges women face. Particular concerns include the situations of lone-parent women, women who must balance paid work and caregiving, and women who experience multiple barriers due to the combination of gender and other factors. These could include measures to improve access to benefits, support children and families, and improve the circumstances of women who are disadvantaged in the labour market.
In addressing issues of particular importance to aboriginal women, Status of Women Canada will continue working with their organizations on economic, social, legal, and political concerns. Status of Women Canada will work with key partners at local, regional, and national levels to support initiatives that increase public awareness, create institutional change, increase the capacity of aboriginal women's organizations, and influence public policy in areas such as violence and poverty.
In creating a federal strategy on gender equality, we have a solid foundation to build upon—the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and other legislation give us a strong legal framework for equality. Gender-based analysis gives life to our ability to follow both the letter and the spirit of the Charter. We are recognized world leaders in the development of gender-based analysis tools and training, and in gender statistics and indicators.
We also have well-established and internationally recognized coordination mechanisms through Status of Women Canada and other focal points, and through our federal-provincial/territorial network of Ministers responsible for Status of Women and we have strong advocates in women's organizations.
We are ideally positioned to establish key federal policy priorities to address the most critical needs, to improve coherence through horizontal coordination, to accelerate mainstreaming and gender-based analysis of all policies and to ensure stronger accountability for results.
We have achieved varying levels of success in applying gender-based analysis across the government. We now need to dig deeper to consider the lessons learned, and the pros and cons of existing accountability mechanisms.
For determining how to achieve our goals, the work of this committee will be critical. Indeed, your study on gender-based analysis will be an important document for this government to review.
We must also continue our dialogue in consultation with women's and other equality-seeking groups and with government departments and agencies.
We must remain focused on ending violence against women, increasing the economic security of women and improving the situation of Aboriginal women. We must strengthen gender-based analysis, so that we find gaps and emerging issues, and address them with strong government policies. We might also wish to look at our policy-making structures to determine whether gender-based analysis is properly established in the central agencies of Government.
The old challenges remain and a new one arises. It is a question of individual people, organizations, communities, governments, and nations accepting their responsibilities and getting involved from the grassroots level up. Gender equality is everyone's business. This standing committee is a key element in keeping gender equality on the agenda of parliamentarians and other Canadians and in their hearts and minds too.
Florence, my team, and I are happy to take your questions. I think we'll have certain things we would like to suggest to the committee to have this dialogue go on.