2020-21 Departmental Results Report – Supplementary Information Tables
Gender-Based Analysis Plus (GBA Plus)
Section 1: Institutional GBA Plus Capacity
The Department of Justice Canada is dedicated to ensuring that its activities are aligned with the Government of Canada’s commitments to Gender-Based Analysis Plus (GBA Plus) to help foster fair outcomes for groups of women, men and people with diverse gender identities. In 2020-21, to support improved integration of GBA Plus considerations into decision-making processes, the Department continued to align its work with the key principles and responsibilities outlined in its departmental policy on GBA Plus, including:
- Requiring Justice Canada officials of all levels to apply GBA Plus in their work. For example, Assistant Deputy Ministers are responsible for ensuring their officials complete GBA Plus training and integrate GBA Plus into their work, to ensure that their work considers and reflects the needs of diverse groups of people;
- Encouraging integration of GBA Plus considerations and an intersectional approach in a systematic way, that is evidence-based, and cognizant of evolving social norms;
- Recommending that GBA Plus be conducted early and throughout key stages of initiatives, that GBA Plus assessment is clearly documented and that impacts on diverse groups are monitored and measured.
In 2020-21, the Department continued building its GBA Plus capacity, with the GBA Plus Unit playing a lead role, supported by a departmental GBA Plus Action Team, whose members contributed on an as needed basis to the development of GBA Plus activities and tools, and helped to raise awareness regarding GBA Plus across the Department.
The GBA Plus Unit continued to support the Department’s GBA Plus Champion in their role to actively encourage officials’ participation in capacity-building activities and promote new ways of improving GBA Plus in key areas of work. The GBA Plus Unit also provided advice and guidance on incorporating GBA Plus considerations into initiatives led by the Department. It developed resources and tools, such as guides for integrating GBA Plus into departmental Memoranda to Cabinet, Treasury Board submissions and Budget requests, to strengthen the application of GBA Plus. Furthermore, the GBA Plus Unit acted as a liaison across the Department and with other federal departments and agencies to foster consistent, high quality and coordinated approaches to GBA Plus.
The Senior Assistant Deputy Minister, Policy Sector, responsible for the GBA Plus Unit, provided leadership in the promotion, implementation and monitoring of GBA Plus in the Department. In addition, senior governance bodies continued to be regularly engaged in strategic discussions to strengthen and build GBA Plus capacity across the Department.
Justice Canada’s GBA Plus Indicators Project, which measures and reports annually on the application of GBA Plus to Department-led initiatives, was approved in June 2020 as a permanent initiative by the previous Deputy Minister of Justice and Deputy Attorney General of Canada. Progress on the application of GBA Plus is assessed through two indicators, which measure the timeliness and meaningful influence of GBA Plus on initiatives.
The Department continued to promote the importance of applying a GBA Plus lens at an early stage in an initiative’s development and continued to encourage the collection and use of disaggregated data to inform an initiatives’ development. In addition, an intersectional approach continued to be promoted as one methodology that can contribute to identifying and addressing barriers and systemic inequities in the justice system. By considering a range of identity factors, an intersectional approach can help to identify potential impacts of departmental policies, programs and initiatives on diverse groups and help ensure that inequities are not created or that existing inequities are addressed and not exacerbated. Specific examples as to the application of a GBA Plus lens and intersectional approach are provided below in program reporting under Section 2.
Section 2: Gender and Diversity Impacts, by Program
Core Responsibility: Legal Services
Program Name: Advisory Services
Target Population: Internal to Government of Canada (federal departments and agencies)
by Gender | Men | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Women | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
by Income Level | Low | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | High | ||
by Age Group | Youth | 1 | 2 | 3 | Senior |
Key Impacts - Other:
The Department of Justice Canada provides legal advisory services to federal government departments and agencies and contributes to the advancement of the overall outcomes included in the Departmental Results Framework.
The Department continues to support the Government’s ongoing commitment to reconciliation with Indigenous peoples. This includes providing legal advisory services to government departments and related agencies to introduce legislation to address systemic inequities in the criminal justice system.
GBA Plus Data Collection Plan:
The nature of the work conducted by the Legal Advisory Services program does not include providing grants and contributions funding, nor does it include reporting on impacts based on gender and diversity.
However, while the program does not collect disaggregated data, it does have a role in supporting the implementation of GBA Plus across the public service by integrating GBA Plus considerations, as relevant, into legal advice provided to its Government of Canada client departments and agencies. This includes, for example, files in which departmental professionals deliver legal advisory services to help advance the Government’s commitment to address gaps in our social systems for diverse groups of individuals, which were made even more apparent throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Another example is the work conducted by departmental legal advisory services professionals, in close collaboration with clients, to introduce amendments to the Public Service Employment Act aiming to increase diversity and inclusion in the federal public service and reduce bias and barriers experienced by equity-seeking groups during staffing processes.
Program Name: Legislative Services
Target Population: Internal to Government of Canada (federal departments and agencies)
by Gender | Men | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Women | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
by Income Level | Low | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | High | ||
by Age Group | Youth | 1 | 2 | 3 | Senior |
Key Impacts - Other:
The Department of Justice Canada provides legislative and regulatory drafting services to federal government departments and agencies and contributes to the advancement of the overall outcomes included in the Departmental Results Framework.
During 2020-21, the Department continued to support the Government’s ongoing commitment to reconciliation with Indigenous peoples. This included providing legal advisory and legislative services to Public Safety Canada and related agencies to introduce legislation to address systemic inequities in the criminal justice system. In addition, the Department worked in close collaboration with Employment and Social Development Canada to introduce amendments to the Public Service Employment Act aiming to increase diversity and inclusion in the federal public service and reduce bias and barriers experienced by equity-seeking groups during staffing processes. Finally, the Department continued to support the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada in preparing Charter Statements, which set out the potential effects of proposed legislation on the rights and freedoms set out in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
GBA Plus Data Collection Plan:
The nature of the work conducted by the Legislative Services program does not include providing grants and contributions funding, nor does it include reporting on impacts based on gender and diversity.
However, while the program does not collect disaggregated data, it does have a role in supporting the implementation of GBA Plus across the public service by integrating GBA Plus considerations, as relevant, into legislative and regulatory services provided to its Government of Canada client departments and agencies. In addition, the Department continues to monitor the improvements in data collection by partner departments, such as Statistics Canada, which will help contribute to better monitoring and reporting on GBA Plus implementation, including at Justice Canada, where relevant and applicable to legislative services.
Program Name: Litigation Services
Target Population: Internal to Government of Canada (federal departments and agencies)
by Gender | Men | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Women | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
by Income Level | Low | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | High | ||
by Age Group | Youth | 1 | 2 | 3 | Senior |
Key Impacts - Other:
The Department of Justice Canada provides litigation services to federal government departments and agencies and contributes to the advancement of the overall outcomes included in the Departmental Results Framework.
The Department continues to support the Government’s ongoing commitment to reconciliation with Indigenous peoples. This included providing litigation services delivered in accordance with the Attorney General of Canada’s Directive on Civil Litigation Involving Indigenous Peoples. GBA Plus principles are also applied in the litigation context, as appropriate.
GBA Plus Data Collection Plan:
The nature of the work conducted by the Litigation Services program does not include providing grants and contributions funding, nor does it include reporting on impacts based on gender and diversity.
However, while the program does not collect disaggregated data, it does have a role in supporting GBA Plus across the public service by integrating GBA Plus considerations, as relevant, into litigation services provided to its Government of Canada client departments and agencies. As a legal service provider to instructing clients, advice is concentrated on legal risks (i.e. likelihood of adverse outcome), while other impacts on a litigation file, including GBA Plus analysis, falls under the responsibility of client departments. With respect to providing legal advice on a file, litigators may indicate that the client take into account GBA Plus considerations. Examples of files where this may take place include Charter litigation, gender-based or diversity litigation (e.g. harassment, exclusion) and settlement discussion, as appropriate.
Core Responsibility: Justice System Support
Program Name: Contraventions Regime
Target Population: Canadians who have received a federal contraventions ticket
by Gender | Men | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Women | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
by Income Level | Low | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | High | ||
by Age Group | Youth | 1 | 2 | 3 | Senior |
Key Impacts - Other:
The federal government established the Contraventions Act Fund to ensure the implementation of the Contraventions Act in a manner consistent with all applicable constitutional and legislative language rights and obligations. The fund aims to provide provinces and territories with the ability to deliver judicial activities and extra-judicial services in both official languages. Those services are specifically related to the enforcement of designated federal minor offences listed in the Contraventions Act.
GBA Plus Data Collection Plan:
The Contraventions Act-related program (Contraventions Regime program) is different from other Department of Justice Canada programs as its objective is limited to enabling the use of both official languages in proceedings instituted under the Contraventions Act.
The Contraventions Act Fund is intended to ensure the fulfillment by the provinces and the municipalities of the federal official languages obligations under Part IV of the Official Languages Act (communication with the public) and sections 530 and 530.1 of the Criminal Code (language of the accused) within the context of prosecuting designated federal minor offences by means of contraventions tickets.
Jurisdictions administering the ticketing regime on behalf of the federal government in conformity with the Contraventions Act and the Application of Provincial Laws Regulations collect information about the number of tickets issued, number of fines paid, or number of court hearings. However, data related to identity characteristics of the accused is not currently collected. Also, since the offenders may choose to plead guilty and pay a fine online without providing personal information, any data on gender and diversity would be very inconsistent.
Program Name: Drug Treatment Court Funding Program
Target Population: Non-violent offenders who committed a crime as a result of a substance use disorder
by Gender | Men | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Women | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
by Income Level | Low | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | High | ||
by Age Group | Youth | 1 | 2 | 3 | Senior |
Key Impacts:
Statistics | Observed Results | Data Source | Comment |
---|---|---|---|
New participants in the program in 2020-21 that identified as male or female | 67% were male33% were female | Drug Treatment Court Information System (DTCIS) | Based on the availability of information in the DTCIS |
New participants in the program in 2020-21 that identified as Indigenous or Inuit | 38% | DTCIS | Based on the availability of information in the DTCIS |
Key Impacts - Other:
Drug treatment court programs are available to all Canadians who meet the selection criteria. However, they have a greater beneficial impact for males between 20-49 years of age with a serious dependence on the illicit use of opiates, who form the majority of participants. The general public and community members are expected to benefit indirectly as the program contributes to making communities healthier and safer as a result of a reduction of crime committed because of drug dependency.
GBA Plus Data Collection Plan:
The Drug Treatment Court Funding Program (DTCFP) uses the Drug Treatment Court Information System to collect program client data, including disaggregated data on the gender, age, and Indigenous identity of program participants.
The DTCFP will continue working with provincial and territorial partners currently participating in the program to improve the quality of the data collection process. Future agreements with provinces and territories will contain data reporting requirements including gender and diversity data to enable monitoring impacts from a gender and diversity perspective. In addition, the application process will include questions about how GBA Plus considerations will be integrated into the implementation of new funding, to ensure programs are tailored to the needs of diverse populations.
Program Name: Family Justice
Target Population: Canadian families experiencing separation and divorce
by Gender | Men | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Women | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
by Income Level | Low | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | High | ||
by Age Group | Youth | 1 | 2 | 3 | Senior |
Key Impacts - Other: Not Available
GBA Plus Data Collection Plan:
During 2020-21, the Canadian Family Justice Fund (CFJF) continued to place a particular emphasis on extending the reach of family justice programs, services and information to meet the needs of diverse and underserved populations. Furthermore, the CFJF received an additional $8.6 million in project funding (2020-21 to 2024-25) to assist provinces and territories with the implementation of official language provisions under the Divorce Act. This funding will support provinces and territories to enhance their capacity to deliver family court and family justice services in both official languages to ensure that Canadians can exercise their right to divorce proceedings in the official language of their choice. Funded organizations are required to report on their activities, including training, services, public legal education and information products and materials provided to, and outcomes for, diverse groups and official language minority communities. Information is collected on: population group(s) targeted by the projects, communities, number of individuals reached, as well as specific information on vulnerable populations reached through the project activities.
Program Name: Indigenous Justice
Target Population: Indigenous individuals in contact with the criminal justice system, in particular accused persons and offenders
by Gender | Men | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Women | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
by Income Level | Low | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | High | ||
by Age Group | Youth | 1 | 2 | 3 | Senior |
Key Impacts:
Statistics | Observed Results | Data Source | Comment |
---|---|---|---|
Gender distribution of referrals to the Indigenous Justice Program | 44% Women55% Men>1% Other>1% Unknown | 2018-19 program data (the most recent available) | |
Age distribution of referrals to the Indigenous Justice Program | 81% Adult19% Youth>1% Unknown | 2018-19 program data | |
Gender distribution of clients served by the Indigenous Courtwork Program | 40% Women (adult and youth)60% Men (adult and youth) | 2018-19 program data |
Key Impacts - Other:
Both the Indigenous Justice Program (IJP) and the Indigenous Courtwork Program (ICW) have a direct positive benefit on Indigenous persons, including accused, offenders and victims. These programs contribute to improved access to justice for Indigenous people, increasing safety and security for Indigenous communities, and reducing the overrepresentation of Indigenous people in the criminal justice system.
Note:
There are far more men admitted to custody in Canada than women. There are also far more adults admitted to custody than youth. However, these gaps narrow when looking at the ICW and IJP data above. For example, women make up 44% of clients served by the IJP. This suggests that while adult Indigenous men account for a greater proportion of the accused/offender population, Indigenous women are more likely to receive court supports like those provided by Indigenous courtworkers and both women and youth are more likely to receive community-based justice services like those provided by Indigenous justice programs.
The IJP also collects some information on victims, however, the availability of disaggregated data is limited.
For the ICW, the disaggregated data is only for clients charged with an offence. Disaggregated data is not available for other ICW clients (i.e. witnesses, family members, victims).
Supplementary Information Sources:
- Evaluation of the Aboriginal Justice Strategy (2016)
- Evaluation of the Indigenous Courtwork Program (2018)
- State of the Criminal Justice System Dashboard
GBA Plus Data Collection Plan:
The IJP has adapted its data collection forms and continues to provide training to improve the reporting of disaggregated data on a broader range of program activities. IJP is also transitioning to a new online data collection tool, which is expected to further improve the quality of the data collected. Currently, disaggregated data on victims is not available; however, both IJP and ICW are working to improve and modernize data collection.
Program Name: Justice System Partnerships
Target Population: All Canadians
Official language minority communities bring together people of diverse identities and from various and complex backgrounds (e.g. age, sexual orientation, disability, education, language, geography, culture, income) and exemplify the “plus” aspect of GBA Plus.
by Gender | Men | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Women | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
by Income Level | Low | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | High | ||
by Age Group | Youth | 1 | 2 | 3 | Senior |
Key Impacts - Other:
Through the Access to Justice in Both Official Languages Support Fund, approximately $9.6 million in funding was provided to 72 projects in 2020-21, as part of the Government of Canada’s Action Plan on Official Languages 2018-2023: Investing in our Future. Among those, 40 projects raised awareness and supported public legal information activities, four projects helped to implement the official language provisions (former Bill C-78), four projects supported training in family justice, three projects supported the translation of judgements, four projects contributed to curriculum development, four projects helped develop linguistic tools, and 15 projects provided training to justice professionals. Among the projects raising awareness and supporting public legal information activities, three were specifically designed to support racialized members of official language communities. Thanks to these three projects approximately 865 persons, the majority of which were women, benefited from a series of free legal information services.
This funding, provided to 21 organizations/associations, five academic institutions, six provincial governments and one territorial government, helped increase the capacity of the justice system and its stakeholders to offer justice services in both official languages and increase the availability of legal information to official language minority communities.
The Department continued to encourage partner organizations to focus on underserved populations. For example, francophone immigrant populations, which encompass (in addition to language) many other cultural and identity factors such as ethnicity, residency status, socio-economic status.
During 2020-21, diversity, inclusion, and the application of a GBA Plus approach continued to be regular topics of discussion at the Advisory Committee on Access to Justice in Both Official Languages and the Federal-Provincial-Territorial Working Group on Access to Justice in Both Official Languages.
Projects funded in 2020-21 under the Justice Partnership and Innovation Program to address workplace sexual harassment included a gender-based approach and consideration of relevant intersectional factors, such as ethnicity, socio-economic status, sexuality, age, language. Furthermore, the projects have reported reaching diverse population groups including women, Indigenous, racialized, LGBTQ2+Footnote 1, and disabled persons. These projects were also delivered in urban, rural, and remote communities across Canada.
GBA Plus Data Collection Plan:
Funded organizations are required to report on their activities, including training, services, public legal education and information products and materials provided to, and outcomes for, diverse groups and official language minority communities. Information was collected on: population group(s) targeted by the projects, communities, number of individuals reached, and specific information on vulnerable populations reached through the project activities, if applicable.
Program Name: Legal Policies, Laws and Governance
Target Population: All Canadians
by Gender | Men | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Women | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
by Income Level | Low | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | High | ||
by Age Group | Youth | 1 | 2 | 3 | Senior |
Key Impacts - Other:
The Department of Justice Canada continued to develop and coordinate all federal justice legislative reforms, policy options and initiatives to promote a fair, accessible and relevant justice system for the benefit of all Canadians.
To support the application of GBA Plus to criminal justice programs, policies and legislation, the State of the Criminal Justice System initiative released several new data and analytical products assessing gendered experiences as victims, survivors, accused and offenders. The 2020 State of the Criminal Justice System Report, subtitled “Focus on Women”, explores criminal justice system performance through a gender lens. Where available, the analysis examined the intersection of gender and other characteristics such as age, Indigeneity, immigrant status, disability, sexual orientation and ethnicity.
During 2020-21, the Department continued its work to further the Government’s ongoing commitment to promoting and protecting human rights and the advancement of democratic values, including ongoing work in close collaboration with partner departments to develop policies that help ensure the protection of the health and safety of all Canadians during the pandemic, while respecting human rights and freedoms.
The Department has also led accessible, online public engagement on the modernization of the Privacy Act, including targeted outreach to Indigenous partners, to obtain a broad variety of perspectives and input from the public.
A GBA Plus approach was integrated early in the development of legislation to implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in Canada, to ensure those representing a variety of lived experiences participated in the engagement process, as the implementation of the Declaration may have different impacts on women, men, two-spirit and gender-diverse people.
Furthermore, over 70 virtual engagement sessions were held in 2020 with First Nations, Inuit and Métis Nation leaders, Modern Treaty signatories, regional Indigenous organizations, Indigenous women’s organizations and Indigenous youth, as well as discussions with natural resource industry sectors and all provinces and territories, to inform the development of Bill C-15, An Act respecting the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, introduced in December 2020.
The Department, with Public Safety Canada as co-lead, brought a GBA Plus lens to the development of responses to the Final Report of the National Inquiry into Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls and Calls for Justice, and to the development of the Justice theme of the Federal Pathway, representing the Government of Canada’s contribution to the National Action Plan. The Justice theme provides a framework through which to understand issues and barriers within the justice sector as they pertain to Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+Footnote 2 (two-spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex and asexual) people, and includes numerous proposed initiatives aimed at ending violence against Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people.
The Department continued to integrate a GBA Plus lens to the development of responses to the Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, such as co-developing a Covenant of Reconciliation coming out of the trauma of Indigenous residential schools, through engagement with Indigenous Survivors and Church stakeholders representing a diverse blend of spiritual (Indigenous and non-Indigenous), First Nations, Inuit, Survivor and youth points of view. Another example is the development of administration-of-justice agreements with Indigenous communities to strengthen community-based justice systems, including those based on Indigenous legal traditions that support self-determination. The approach used by negotiators includes applying a GBA Plus lens throughout the development, negotiation and implementation of the agreements.
Supplementary Information Sources:
- 2020 State of the Criminal Justice System Report: Focus on Women
- National Justice Survey 2018, Final Report
GBA Plus Data Collection Plan:
The Department’s legal policies are developed to support departmental programs and services. The impacts are measured by indicators included in the Departmental Results Framework, as well as other program indicators included in individual Performance Information ProfilesFootnote 3. The programs collect relevant data related to grants and contributions, including on gender and diversity, and report on impacts. For measuring and reporting on medium and long-term impacts related to increased access to justice, the programs rely on relevant data collected by Statistics Canada and other partner organizations.
Furthermore, the National Justice Survey (NJS) conducted by the Department, is a national public opinion survey used to inform policy development, departmental reporting, communications and public engagement on a variety of justice-related issues. In addition to collecting information on the gender of respondents, the NJS conducted in 2021 included an oversampling of Indigenous and racialized groups in order to assess perceptions of the impact of police enforcement practices on these groups. Survey questions were related to impaired driving and police traffic stops to inform the legislative review of former Bill C-46, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (offences relating to conveyances) and to make consequential amendments to other Acts.
Finally, in 2020-21, the Department explored different ways to address data collection challenges. For example, a Qualitative Look at Serious Legal Problems Study Series was developed to complement the traditional quantitative methods of the Canadian Legal Problems Survey, where there are often difficulties with reporting results on minority populations because the numbers are too small to publish without risking the confidentiality of respondents. During the survey, five streams were selected including LGBTQ2+Footnote 4 people, persons with disabilities, immigrants, Black and Indigenous people in different parts of Canada. The findings revealed that many participants in these studies faced barriers related to compounding social disadvantages (e.g. being both a woman and disabled, or Indigenous and two-spirit, or Black and an immigrant). Many participants reported experiencing discrimination and violence. In addition, the study on young Black Canadians revealed concerns over racial profiling and doubts about whether the legal system would be fair.
Program Name: Legal Representation
- Criminal legal aid: economically-disadvantaged adults and youth, including vulnerable populations (males 12 to 34, Indigenous peoples, racialized minorities, and individuals with mental health or substance abuse challenges);
- Immigration and refugee legal aid: economically-disadvantaged immigrants and refugees (individuals who do not speak either official language, racialized minorities, LGBTQ2+Footnote 5 persons);
- Workplace sexual harassment initiative: women, racialized women, youth, LGBTQ2+ persons, workers in low-wage or casual employment.
by Gender | Men | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Women | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
by Income Level | Low | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | High | ||
by Age Group | Youth | 1 | 2 | 3 | Senior |
Key Impacts:
Statistics | Observed Results | Data Source | Comment |
---|---|---|---|
Number of clients by gender (criminal, and immigration and refugee legal aid) | Male: 204,084Female: 63,875Other: 1,198 | Legal Aid in Canada 2019-20 | |
Number of Indigenous clients by gender (criminal legal aid) | Male: 31,789Female: 10,808Other: 622 | Legal Aid in Canada 2019-20 |
Key Impacts - Other: Not Available
Supplementary Information Sources:
GBA Plus Data Collection Plan:
The Legal Aid Client Satisfaction Survey assesses the level of satisfaction of clients with the services they have received from a legal aid office and the impact of legal aid on the outcome of their case. The second iteration of the survey is under development and additional GBA Plus questions will be incorporated to better understand the impact of legal aid on Canada’s diverse populations.
A client satisfaction survey has been developed for clients receiving legal advice under the workplace sexual harassment initiative. This survey collects disaggregated data (geographic area, gender, race/ethnicity, level of education and income) that will be shared with the funded organizations on a yearly basis. The activity report template for the workplace sexual harassment initiative was updated in 2021 to incorporate specific GBA Plus questions to assess the effectiveness of the organizations’ GBA Plus approach.
Enhancements to the Legal Representation program’s annual reporting, aimed at improving the program’s ability to better measure and report on GBA Plus impacts and outcomes, are ongoing. The program continues to work with service providers and legal aid plans to promote better data collection efforts that include the collection of data disaggregated by gender and other demographic characteristics. This includes encouraging providers to collect data on populations that are overrepresented in the justice system (i.e. Indigenous and racialized populations, as well as those with mental health challenges). The program’s future data collection plans also aim to collect additional data related to immigration and refugee legal aid, such as country of origin and basis of asylum claim (i.e. religious or political persecution, gender-based violence).
Program Name: Ombudsman for Victims of Crime
Target Population: All Canadians, with a specific focus on victims of crime
by Gender | Men | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Women | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
by Income Level | Low | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | High | ||
by Age Group | Youth | 1 | 2 | 3 | Senior |
Key Impacts - Other:
The Office of the Federal Ombudsman for Victims of Crime (OFOVC) serves those who have suffered physical or emotional harm and/or a financial loss as a result of a criminal offence. In addition, the OFOVC provides support for victims’ spouses, relatives or dependents. Currently, the OFOVC does not collect program data that reports specifically on impacts based on gender and diversity factors. For measuring and reporting on medium and long-term impacts related to access to justice and other victims’ services, the OFOVC relies on relevant data collected by Statistics Canada and other partner organizations working in the areas of criminal justice and victims’ services.
Supplementary Information Sources:
GBA Plus Data Collection Plan:
The OFOVC is currently working with the Department of Justice Canada to expand its capacity to collect gender and diversity disaggregated data through its client management system. The OFOVC will also be implementing a satisfaction survey to collect feedback from those who contact the OFOVC. Questions will be related to the services they received and disaggregated data on gender and diversity will be collected for all participants.
Program Name: Victims of Crime
Target Population: Victims of crime and, more broadly, all Canadians
by Gender | Men | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Women | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
by Income Level | Low | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | High | ||
by Age Group | Youth | 1 | 2 | 3 | Senior |
Key Impacts - Other:
Through its funding, this program supports provinces, territories and non-governmental organizations in designing and delivering specialized services and activities to support specific communities of victims. These communities include human trafficking victims, victims of sexual offences, child victims of crime, Indigenous victims and families, senior victims, and victims with disabilities.
In particular, funded public legal education and information (PLEI) organisations supported senior victims through the development and dissemination of PLEI materials that were specifically designed to reach seniors and those responsible for their care.
This program provides funding to Family Information Liaison Units (FILU), which serve as a central service point to support families of Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls seeking information about their loved ones. Through its funding, which was renewed for three years, the program is helping to increase the capacity for FILU development and delivery across Canada by supporting the creation of a national approach to facilitate collaborative and streamlined operations between FILUs and justice system professionals.
Supplementary Information Sources:
GBA Plus Data Collection Plan:
Organizations who receive funding are required to report on their activities on an annual basis. Under the Victims Fund, such activities include training, direct service delivery, resources and materials provided to, and outcomes for, diverse groups and official language minority communities. Information is collected on population groups targeted by the projects, communities, number of individuals reached, and specific information on vulnerable populations reached through the project activities.
Program Name: Youth Justice
The general youth justice population, aged 12 to 17 at the time of the offence, is the primary target population. However, the youth justice subpopulations that benefit the most from the programming are the subpopulations that are most overrepresented in the criminal justice system, i.e. males, Indigenous youth, and other racialized youth populations such as Black youth.
by Gender | Men | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Women | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
by Income Level | Low | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | High | ||
by Age Group | Youth | 1 | 2 | 3 | Senior |
Key Impacts - Other: See the Statistics Canada data tables on youth corrections.
Both the Youth Criminal Justice Act and funding agreements with the provinces and territories set out expectations that youth justice services and programs address gender, ethnic and cultural differences, as well as respond to the needs of young Indigenous persons and young persons with special requirements.
Supplementary Information Sources:
GBA Plus Data Collection Plan:
The Department’s Youth Justice Program works with provinces and territories, as well as community-based organizations, to collect client data with respect to the Intensive Rehabilitative Custody and Supervision Program and Youth Justice Fund projects, including GBA Plus-related data such as gender, age and Indigenous identity of youth participants. This information is submitted to the Department as part of the programs’ annual reporting requirements. For the Youth Justice Services Funding Program, the Department works with provinces and territories through their annual reporting, as well as uses Statistics Canada aggregate data, to assess GBA Plus considerations of youth admitted to youth correctional services.
Program Name: Internal Services
Target Population: Specific sectors of the economy: the public sector, federal level, Department of Justice Canada employees
by Gender | Men | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Women | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
by Income Level | Low | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | High | ||
by Age Group | Youth | 1 | 2 | 3 | Senior |
Key Impacts - Other:
In 2020-21, the Justice Canada Anti-Racism and Anti-Discrimination Secretariat developed a results framework in collaboration with stakeholders throughout the Department. The results framework is a comprehensive action plan to address racism and systemic discrimination to increase representativeness, equity, diversity and inclusivity within the Department and support equitable access to justice for all Canadians. The results framework focuses on four pillars: representation, career development, anti-racism training and culture, and measurement and leadership accountability. Each pillar includes a specific expected outcome and initiatives intended to drive progress towards the attainment of that outcome.
The Department’s division responsible for the learning and professional development programs for legal professionals offers accessibility options as part of every learning offering and efforts are made to meet accessibility needs on a case-by-case basis. Furthermore, a wide variety of training is provided, and equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) requirements of law societies are taken into account when planning the annual curriculum. The number of hours which meet EDI requirements can be tracked against individual courses.
Work is also underway with respect to the legal case management system templates which are used on a daily basis by Justice Canada employees to draft legal documents. Over 1,000 templates are being updated/reviewed to ensure they are gender neutral.
GBA Plus Data Collection Plan:
The Anti-Racism and Anti-Discrimination Secretariat’s results framework includes a results map which links initiatives to results and related indicators, and will support the Secretariat in reporting on progress against initiatives. Disaggregated data related to the representation and inclusiveness of Canada’s Black and other racialized groups, Indigenous communities, persons with disabilities, LGBTQ2+Footnote 6 and other equity-seeking groups will be collected and reported.
Section 3: Program Links to Gender Results Framework
Program Name | Education and Skills Development | Economic Participation and Prosperity | Leadership and Democratic Participation | Gender-based Violence and Access to Justice | Poverty Reduction, Health and Well-Being | Gender Equality around the World |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Core Responsibility: Legal Services | ||||||
Advisory Services | Yes | |||||
Legislative Services | Yes | |||||
Litigation Services | Yes | |||||
Core Responsibility: Justice System Support | ||||||
Contraventions Regime | Yes | |||||
Drug Treatment Court Funding Program | Yes | |||||
Family Justice | Yes | Yes | ||||
Indigenous Justice | Yes | |||||
Justice System Partnerships | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||
Legal Policies, Laws and Governance | Yes | |||||
Legal Representation | Yes | Yes | ||||
Ombudsman for Victims of Crime | Yes | |||||
Victims of Crime | Yes | |||||
Youth Justice | Yes | |||||
Internal Services | ||||||
Internal Services | Yes | Yes |
Section 4: Program Links to Quality of Life Framework
Program Name | Prosperity | Health | Environment | Society | Good Governance |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Core Responsibility: Legal Services | |||||
Advisory Services | Yes | ||||
Legislative Services | Yes | ||||
Litigation Services | Yes | ||||
Core Responsibility: Justice System Support | |||||
Contraventions Regime | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
Drug Treatment Court Funding Program | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
Family Justice | Yes | ||||
Indigenous Justice | Yes | Yes | |||
Justice System Partnerships | Yes | Yes | |||
Legal Policies, Laws and Governance | Yes | ||||
Legal Representation | Yes | Yes | |||
Ombudsman for Victims of Crime | Yes | ||||
Victims of Crime | Yes | ||||
Youth Justice | Yes | ||||
Internal Services | |||||
Internal Services | Yes |
Definitions
- Target Population: See Finance Canada definition of Target Group in the following document: User Instructions for the GBA Plus Departmental Summary – Budget 2020 - Canada.ca.
- Gender Scale:
- 1: Predominantly men (e.g. 80% or more men)
- 2: 60% - 79% men
- 3: Broadly gender-balanced
- 4: 60% - 79% women
- 5: Predominantly women (e.g. 80% or more women)
- Income Level Scale:
- 1: Strongly benefits low income individuals (Strongly progressive)
- 2: Somewhat benefits low income individuals (Somewhat progressive)
- 3: No significant distributional impacts
- 4: Somewhat benefits high income individuals (Somewhat regressive)
- 5: Strongly benefits high income individuals (Strongly regressive)
- Age Group Scale:
- 1: Primarily benefits youth, children and/or future generations
- 2: No significant inter-generational impacts or impacts generation between youth and seniors
- 3: Primarily benefits seniors or the baby boom generation
- Gender Results Framework Pillars: See definitions at the following page: Gender Results Framework - Women and Gender Equality Canada.
- Quality of Life Domains: See definitions in: Annex 5: Budget 2021 Impacts Report (budget.gc.ca).
- Date modified: