Section 1: institutional GBA Plus governance and capacity
Governance
The Canadian Human Rights Commission (the Commission) is pleased to have an executive Gender-based analysis plus (GBA Plus) Champion, who is responsible for the promotion of GBA Plus at the Commission, including disseminating relevant information to support GBA Plus awareness and implementation across the organization. The Commission also has a GBA Plus Focal Point, who is responsible for participating in the GBA Plus Focal Points Meetings and sharing relevant updates, resources, and events.
Capacity
The Commission is particularly sensitive to GBA Plus issues in general, enabling us to integrate this knowledge into our day-to-day operations and apply an intersectional lens to all areas of our work.
The nature of the Commission's work as Canada's national human rights institution puts us in a unique position. As the grounds of discrimination enumerated in the Canadian Human Rights Act include sex and gender identity or expression, as well as race, religion, age, disability and others, many employees have robust expertise in gender-based and intersectional analysis and assessment.
Additionally, the Pay Equity Commissioner, who is supported by the Office of the Pay Equity Commissioner within the Commission, is entirely focused on addressing systemic gender-based discrimination in the compensation practices and systems of federally regulated employers.
The Commission is committed to ensuring that the differential impacts on diverse groups of people are considered when policies, programs and initiatives are developed. The Commission's GBA Plus Champion is responsible for the application and monitoring of this approach.
We have also established an Inclusion, Diversity, Equal Access, and Anti-Racism Unit within the Commission, successfully staffed with a director.
Lastly, in both the implementation of the Commission's Accessibility Plan and Anti-Racism Action Plan, an intersectional lens is applied, including race, sexual expression, and gender identity.
Human resources (full-time equivalents) dedicated to GBA Plus
During the 2023–2024 fiscal year, 1FTE was dedicated to working on GBA Plus in the Commission.
Section 2: gender and diversity impacts, by program
Core responsibility: Engagement & Advocacy
Program name:
Promotion Program
Program goals:
The Promotion Program contributes to a more inclusive Canada by raising awareness about Canadian human rights and responsibilities through its public advocacy and engagement efforts. The program engages civil society, governments, employers and other stakeholders to work together in identifying approaches to eliminate barriers to social inclusion that people in vulnerable circumstances face in today's society. The program advances human rights by developing statements, positions, approaches, and tools to influence public debate on emerging, immediate, and long-term human rights issues and represents the public interest in courts and tribunals to support the advancement of human rights, pay equity and accessibility. The program uses GBA Plus in all its activities as the Commission is committed to ensuring that the differential impacts on diverse groups of people are considered when policies, programs and initiatives are developed.
Target population:
All Canadians
Key program impacts on gender and diversity
Other key program impacts
The Policy team of the Commission employs an intersectional approach in all its policy advising and development work, ensuring that the differential impacts on diverse groups of people are considered.
In 2023–2024, the Commission, led by the Policy team and in consultation with the Complaints, Legal, and Human Resources departments, developed a comprehensive suite of resources for federally regulated employers to prevent and address workplace harassment and support workplace accommodation.
These resources include a guide for employers, a policy template, and a document on good practices for human rights-based workplace investigations. Additionally, a separate suite of resource documents was developed to guide federally regulated employers on accommodating employees, promoting inclusive workplace practices that treat all workers with dignity and support their full participation. These resources also emphasize the importance of adopting a human rights approach and considering the intersectionality of employees' identities in addressing their needs.
As a centre of human rights knowledge and policy development, the Commission regularly provides expertise on federal laws, initiatives, and policies. This expertise is informed by consultations with stakeholders, individuals with lived experiences, complaints and case law, and thorough research and analysis.
Over the past year, the Commission's policy and research efforts have focused on addressing human rights issues affecting marginalized groups. The International and Policy teams have similarly taken an intersectional approach in their advocacy for Canada's implementation of its international human rights obligations. Notable submissions in 2023 include contributions to the UN Human Rights Council, the UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, the UN Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights regarding the rights of persons with disabilities, and the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation. These submissions highlight the unique experiences of people with disabilities and other intersecting identities, reinforcing the Commission's commitment to intersectional human rights advocacy.
GBA Plus data collection plan
The work of the Federal Housing Advocate (FHA) benefits the Canadian population overall. However, the FHA puts particular focus on those with the greatest housing need, these groups include people experiencing homelessness; Indigenous peoples; women, adults and children fleeing domestic violence; seniors; people who identify as 2SLGBTQQIA+ people with disabilities; people with mental health or addiction issues; veterans; young adults; racialized groups; newcomers to Canada; post-incarcerated individuals and other groups.
The FHA receives submissions from the public on systemic housing issues and unmet housing needs across Canada through a submission tool. This tool helps inform how identity factors such as socio-economic status, age, ethnicity, disability, and geography, intersect with gender to contribute to housing outcomes. As women face numerous barriers to accessing safe, affordable housing, they are more vulnerable and experience higher rates of core housing need than the overall population and their male counterparts.
Core responsibility: Complaints
Program name:
Protection Program
Program goals:
The Protection Program contributes to a diverse society that promotes social inclusion by providing People in Canada with a human rights complaint resolution system, so that people in vulnerable circumstances can bring forward the human rights issues or challenges they face.
Target population:
All Canadians
Key program impacts on gender and diversity
Supplementary information sources
The Commission's Anti-Racism Action Plan is the result of an ongoing commitment by the interim Chief Commissioner, our commissioners, our leadership team and all our staff to “walk the talk” of addressing the effects of societal systemic racism and discrimination across our three roles: employer, service provider and regulator, and human rights advocate. This plan incorporates a GBA Plus lens in its commitments and actions.
Additionally, to better understand and address human rights issues in Canada, we are asking each person who has filed a complaint with the Commission to complete a Complainant Survey. This data is used to assess any gaps using a GBA Plus lens.
GBA Plus data collection plan
As a key action in the Commission's commitment to gather more meaningful, disaggregated data, we have launched an integrated data collection strategy.
As part of this strategy an automated invitation is sent to complainants to participate in a survey seven days after they have submitted their complaint through our website. Participation in this survey does not affect the participant's complaint, nor any decision made by the Commission with respect to their complaint. The Commission keeps the data from these surveys separate from the complaint files. Data from the complainant survey allows us to know who is using our complaints process., identify trends, identify emerging and systemic issues that merit a coordinated organizational response, and assess any gaps using a GBA Plus lens.
Furthermore, to improve our data management and analysis more broadly, we have completed the integration of data collection within our current online system. Gaps and associated risks were identified to inform the next phase of this integration project. This enhancement will also help us consider possible barriers to those we serve and improve our processes as a national human rights organization committed to challenging discrimination.
In addition, the CHRC signed a MoU with Statistics Canada to participate in a Data Linkage Project led by the Department of Justice, in partnership with other human rights bodies across Canada. This collaboration provided a comprehensive assessment of our administrative data holdings and offered critical insights into how we can enhance our data collection processes. By identifying key areas for improvement, such as the need for additional unique identifiers, the project set the groundwork for future data integration efforts, which will support more accurate demographic reporting and a deeper understanding of our service population, supporting the Commission's goal of being a barrier-free human rights complaint process.
Core responsibility: Proactive Compliance
Program name:
Audit Program
Program goals:
The Audit Program contributes to the establishment of a diverse society that promotes social inclusion and a fair labour market by ensuring that federally regulated workplaces are free of barriers for women, Indigenous Peoples, persons with disabilities and racialized people. In conducting audits of federally regulated organizations for compliance with the requirements of the Employment Equity Act, the Pay Equity Act, and the Accessible Canada Act, the program helps them achieve reasonable progress toward the creation of environments that foster equality of opportunity and respect for human rights.
Target population:
All Canadians
Key program impacts on gender and diversity
Other key program impacts
The Proactive Compliance Branch supports the Pay Equity Commissioner and the Accessibility Commissioner in carrying out their mandates. This Branch also includes the Employment Equity Division.
In support of the Program Links identified in the Gender Results Framework in Section 3, the Pay Equity Act (PEA) has a direct impact on the economic participation and prosperity of diverse groups of women by reducing the portion of the gender wage gap that is due to the historic undervaluing of “women's work” in federally regulated workplaces. To amplify this impact, the Office of the Pay Equity Commissioner (OPEC) is working directly with workplace parties on tools, resources and training to ensure enforcement and compliance with the PEA.
In 2023–2024, the Pay Equity Commissioner and the OPEC:
- engaged with provincial and international counterparts to understand the gender wage gap from an intersectional perspective;
- met with stakeholders within the federal jurisdiction to learn about their challenges and to discuss promising practices in implementing pay equity, and participated in 24 events;
- developed a communication strategy to educate and inform federally regulated entities on their obligations and deadlines as part of Canada's PEA and promote educational resources developed; and
- developed and shared two (2) newsletters and developed eight (8) educational tools along with materials that meet the needs of diverse workplaces in the federal jurisdiction.
- These included the launch of a free online pay equity course in partnership with Université TÉLUQ, five (5) new Interpretations, Policies and Guidelines on how to compare compensation, a Promising Practice resource on developing value-of-work bands and a podcast series about pay equity in the trucking sector.
By utilizing educational materials, awareness, outreach and engagement activities, the goal is for the OPEC to promote equal pay for work of equal value while also highlighting the detrimental effects of occupational segregation and gender stereotypes in the workplace.