Executive Summary
Introduction
The Evaluation of the Anti-Racism and Anti-Discrimination Secretariat (ARADS) was part of the Department of Justice Canada (Justice Canada)’s 2021-22 to 2024-25 Integrated Audit and Evaluation Plan and was conducted in accordance with the Treasury Board’s Policy on Results (2016). The evaluation examined the continued relevance, design and delivery and effectiveness of the activities of ARADS.
Program Description
ARADS was established in 2020 to address issues of systemic racism and discrimination at Justice Canada and is considered an umbrella group for equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) matters in the Department. ARADS is responsible for:
- Providing strategic advice on approaches to anti-racism and EDI and on human resources policies, initiatives, and strategies.
- Creating and delivering Justice Canada’s Anti-Racism and Anti-Discrimination Results Framework (Results Framework) and Employment Equity Plan (EE Plan).
- Co-ordinating the work of five equity and diversity advisory committees.
- Organizing departmental learning and professional development activities and initiatives to raise awareness and develop skills related to diversity, inclusion and other interrelated topics.
Findings
Relevance
ARADS and its activities are mostly perceived to be relevant as they reflect the increased focus on EDI-related topics within the Government of Canada and society at large over the last few years. Additionally, the environment in which ARADS operates is evolving, which has a direct impact on its mandate and activities and may affect the future relevance of ARADS.
Design and Delivery
ARADS has implemented many activities aligned with the Results Framework but faced challenges related to its organizational structure. ARADS’ activities and role were found to have expanded and evolved in response to new expectations and increasing demands placed on ARADS. During the evaluation period, the levels of coordination, communication and collaboration increased over time to manage ongoing relationships between ARADS and other areas within Justice Canada. However, the roles and responsibilities of ARADS are not clear, which together with increased demands placed on ARADS have led to unmet needs and negatively affected the perceived relevance of ARADS. Additional efforts are needed to clarify and communicate the roles and responsibilities of ARADS both within ARADS and within Justice Canada.
Effectiveness
ARADS is effective in collecting and reporting on data and on tracking progress towards expected results. No major data gaps were identified. Further, decision-making through the Department is informed by the data and analytics collected by ARADS.
ARADS effectively contributed to Justice Canada’s response to anti-racism and EDI priorities through each of its four main activities. However, the expanded role and increased number of requests made to ARADS impacted its capacity to support activities in a timely and consistent fashion. This led to challenges in coordinating consultations and in particular, providing administrative support to equity-seeking and diversity advisory committees. Further, there is a need for ARADS to provide additional support to these committees such as: providing strategic advice; supporting forward planning efforts; and providing guidance to transitioning co-chairs of the committees.
Recommendations
Based on the evaluation findings described in this report, the evaluation offers the following two recommendations:
- ARADS, in collaboration with its partners, should clarify and communicate its mandate, roles and responsibilities to improve coordination and collaboration in the area of anti-racism and EDI-related matters.
- ARADS should strengthen the support it provides to the equity-seeking and diversity advisory committees and ensure it is consistently applied to enhance the Secretariat’s relevance and effectiveness.
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