Section 1: Institutional GBA Plus governance and capacity
Governance
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada's (AAFC) approach to ensure that gender-based analysis (GBA) Plus was integrated into departmental governance and decision-making processes during the 2022–23 fiscal year included:
-
Departmental Policy Statement on GBA Plus: AAFC's GBA Plus policy statement is included in the department's updated GBA Plus Policy, which also outlines the roles and responsibilities of all AAFC employees to apply GBA Plus to their work. The policy statement reads as follows:
"Agriculture and Agri-food Canada (AAFC) is committed to applying gender-based analysis plus (GBA Plus) as an analytical tool to consider the experiences and needs of diverse communities in all that we do and at every stage of the development of policies, programs, services, legislation, regulations, and research (that is, from concept to proposal to implementation to reporting to evaluation). AAFC is committed to evidence-based decision-making that promotes equitable and inclusive outcomes for Canadians and diverse groups within the sector, including those that are underrepresented or marginalized, allowing for the fullest participation possible.
Through the application and integration of GBA Plus, AAFC will ensure that the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusiveness are also applied, and will strive to harness the value and strength of Canada's diversity within the agriculture and agri-food system."
- GBA Plus Champion: The Assistant Deputy Minister of Strategic Policy Branch is the Department's GBA Plus Champion and provides leadership and coordination in the promotion, implementation, and monitoring of GBA Plus in the development of effective policies, programs, and legislation.
- GBA Plus Responsibility Centre: The Sector Diversity Policy team in Strategic Policy Branch houses the Department's GBA Plus Responsibility Centre and GBA Plus Focal Points. This team provides guidance and builds capacity across the portfolio on the application of GBA Plus within the Department, acts as a challenge function to ensure robust analyses, and contributes to departmental planning and reporting on GBA Plus. In their work, they ensure key GBA Plus considerations are reflected throughout the policy and program development cycle. The Responsibility Centre also acts as departmental representatives on GBA Plus collaboration with other government departments, including Women and Gender Equality Canada.
- Development of GBA Plus Data Collection and Reporting Plans: AAFC's Finance and Resource Management Services Directorate oversees the Treasury Board submission process to ensure completion of all components, including the development of GBA Plus Data Collection and Reporting Plans, to assess the impact of proposed policies and programs on underrepresented and marginalized groups.
- GBA Plus Data and Analysis Working Group: This intradepartmental working group engages analysts across the department on GBA Plus to increase the data capacity and application for GBA Plus within the Department. Through the efforts of the working group, the series of intersectional data profiles on underrepresented and marginalized groups were maintained and further promoted to staff, which has been a key tool for GBA Plus. This data has strengthened AAFC's analysis of how, and to what extent, its initiatives may impact diverse groups across the value chain.
- GBA Plus Network of Advisors: The Network of Advisors, consisting of members from across AAFC, acts as a collaborative body that advances the incorporation of robust GBA Plus within policy and program development, GBA Plus training and tools for analysts, and supports the identification of data needs for GBA Plus assessments. Members act as GBA Plus contact points for their respective branches to guide the development of GBA Plus assessments early in the proposal process.
- Senior Management: A Director General, Assistant Deputy Minister, and Deputy Minister are responsible to approve GBA Plus information included in Memoranda to Cabinet, Treasury Board submissions, and budget proposals.
- Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada's Cabinet Affairs, Treasury Board and Budget proposal submission processes: The GBA Plus assessment questionnaire serves as a mandatory element in the development of Memoranda to Cabinet and policy and program proposals (for example, Treasury Board submissions and budget proposals). It also provides a framework to guide analysts in the consideration of possible diversity impacts related to proposed initiatives and identification of mitigation strategies to ensure all policies and programs are as effective as possible. Key considerations are reflected in Cabinet and other policy and program documents.
Capacity
Initiatives to advance AAFC's GBA Plus capacity during 2022–23 included:
- Dedicated Resources to Support GBA Plus: In 2021–22, the Sector Diversity Policy team was created within Strategic Policy Branch to enhance capacity and focus efforts to advance GBA Plus and support for underrepresented and marginalized groups in the sector. In 2022–23, the Department's GBA Plus Responsibility Centre was able to focus on advancing key initiatives, including to mainstream GBA Plus across the department, develop tools and resources to support GBA Plus, and develop a draft framework for supporting underrepresented and marginalized groups in the sector (see more information below).
- Recommended training: Completion of Women and Gender Equality Canada's GBA Plus online course is recommended to all employees, including subject matter experts that lead the development of, for example, Memoranda to Cabinet, Treasury Board submissions, and budget proposals. Ongoing promotion of and participation in skills building also takes place throughout the year, including those related to GBA Plus capacity enhancement training and GBA Plus boot camp.
- Established GBA Plus guidance: In addition to established guidance provided through the GBA Plus Responsibility Centre to lead pens on GBA Plus, an outline of the departmental resource hub was created in 2022 and refined throughout 2022–23. This serves as a central location for the whole Department, providing GBA Plus tools and resources related to underrepresented and marginalized groups in the agriculture and agri-food sector.
- A Framework to Support Underrepresented and Marginalized Groups in the Sector: AAFC continued the development of a Framework to support underrepresented and marginalized groups in the sector, as a means to identify barriers and establish goals and objectives to pursue work that enhances accessibility and equity of AAFC services and initiatives. Work to initiate the development of an action plan to support the Framework began in 2022–23 and will articulate specific commitments to advance the goals and objectives set out in the Framework.
- Mainstreaming GBA Plus Considerations Across AAFC Activities: The GBA Plus Responsibility Center collaborated with all AAFC Branches to identify internal mechanisms to embed GBA Plus considerations into day-to-day processes. A decision tree and toolkit are under development and were tested throughout 2022–23 to ensure they will meet the needs of AAFC employees. These efforts will help to integrate GBA Plus as common and regular practice outside of mandatory processes.
- Sector Engagement Tables (SETs): Diverse representation is an important consideration in the composition of all Sectoral Engagement Tables to support the inclusion of a diversity of perspectives in resulting advice, recommendations, and initiatives. The tables are divided fairly equally between men and women participants. Representing about 50% of the total membership across the Tables, 88 members identify as belonging to underrepresented and marginalized groups. Women make up a significant percentage of the number of underrepresented and marginalized group members on SETs. AAFC will continue exploring ways to increase participation form all underrepresented and marginalized groups.
The updated sector engagement structure includes the Canadian Agricultural Youth Council as a consultative body to ensure the perspectives of youth in agriculture are well-understood and directly inform policy, programs, planning, and decision-making for the agriculture and agri-food sector. The Council provided recommendations on various initiatives, including the: Agricultural Labour Strategy, Sustainable Agriculture Strategy, AgriCommunication, the National School Food Policy, emergency management planning for the sector, and policies and programs for young people in Agriculture. The Youth Council includes four working groups who meet intermittently to pursue focused, council led projects, on the topics of food security, agricultural careers and education, and climate change and the environment.
In 2022–23, planning continued for the creation of a distinct forum for women in the sector. In lieu of having a permanent forum in place, AAFC hosted four ad-hoc women's roundtables. These discussions brought together diverse women from across the sector to discuss barriers and opportunities for women in the sector such as increasing the availability of rural childcare, advancing training and skills development for women, developing more networking and mentorship opportunities for women, gaining access to financing for land acquisition and equipment purchases, and challenging female stereotypes in farming. Two of these roundtable discussions were used to gain women's perspectives to inform the Agricultural Labour Strategy.
Additional resources were dedicated to establishing a path forward to launching an Indigenous Sector Engagement Table, with an anticipated first meeting scheduled for winter 2023–24.
- Indigenous Policy Framework: Developed in 2018, the Framework provides an evolving outline that guides the department's efforts at contributing to reconciliation through support for the advancement of Indigenous-led agriculture and food systems and increased Indigenous representation within the department. Building on these efforts, work continued in 2022–23 to update the Framework and develop an action plan to ensure that the Framework took into account new branch-led Indigenous strategies and action plans, and Government of Canada commitments to reconciliation and laws, such as the implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (UNDA).
Section 2: Gender and diversity impacts by program
Core responsibility: domestic and international markets
Trade and Market Expansion
Program goals - Domestic and international markets
Trade and Market Expansion (TME) aims to support Canada's producers and processors by helping to improve market access, expand market opportunities and strengthen international trade rules. This broad program category includes contributions to the negotiation of free trade agreements (FTAs) and the AgriMarketing Program.
As part of TME, all FTAs are subject to GBA Plus. AAFC supports Global Affairs Canada (GAC) in assessing the impacts of Canada's FTA provisions related to trade in agricultural goods to ensure that the benefits and opportunities resulting from FTAs are more widely shared, including among Indigenous Peoples and other underrepresented and marginalized groups. In 2022–23, AAFC provided numerous sector specific GBA Plus assessments/input to GAC throughout the negotiation process of each FTA to ensure negotiators were aware of possible diversity impacts of proposed FTAs and potential inequitable outcomes to those engaged within Canada's agriculture and agri-food sector. AAFC findings fed into the analyses done by GAC as the lead department, and impacts were addressed as necessary.
The AgriMarketing Program helps industry increase and diversify exports by supporting promotional activities that differentiate Canadian products and producers. GBA Plus considerations are applied to inform the design and delivery of the program, and the program is collaborating within the Department to determine how to further improve the application of GBA Plus to measure impacts. Analysis of GBA Plus data was used to understand the program reach, identify potential barriers, and seek opportunities for enhancing the participation of underrepresented and marginalized groups in the program.
Target population - Domestic and international markets
FTAs are intended to provide ultimate benefits to all Canadians. AAFC applies GBA Plus to these negotiations to ensure benefits also include people who are engaged in Canada's agriculture and agri-food sector.
The AgriMarketing Program is targeted towards specific industry/sectors by focusing on national agricultural sector organizations, such as the Canola Council of Canada, or Canada Beef.
Distribution of benefits - Domestic and international markets
| By gender | Predominantly men (for example, 80% or more men) |
|---|---|
| By income level | Somewhat benefits high income individuals (somewhat regressive) |
| By age group | Predominantly impacts seniors or the baby boom generation |
Specific demographic group outcomes - Domestic and international markets
The AgriMarketing Program's direct beneficiaries would be those operating and/or overseeing agri-businesses directly engaging in or planning to engage in export activities in the primary agriculture and food processing sectors. In 2022–23, the GBA Plus assessment conducted for this program helped identify potential barriers to the programming and informed the plans for the design and delivery of the next iteration of the program under the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (Sustainable CAP) policy framework (2023–28). As a result, starting in 2023–24, the program design will include the option to offer favourable cost share ratio for businesses owned and led by underrepresented and marginalized groups.
| Statistics | Observed results (2022–23 or most recent) |
Data source | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proportion of recipients who state their project benefits underrepresented or marginalized groups |
4/22 projects (18%) Of the 22 projects approved in 2022–23, 4 identified expected benefits for underrepresented and marginalized groups. |
Program data |
Other key program impacts - Domestic and international markets
Not available
GBA Plus data collection plan - Domestic and international markets
Under the Canadian Agricultural Partnership policy framework (2018–23), the AgriMarketing Program application form asked applicants voluntary questions in support of GBA Plus. In 2022–23, analysis of program data was used to inform future program design and delivery under Sustainable CAP. As a result, AAFC designed an enhanced data collection plan for GBA Plus under the next iteration of programs, including AgriMarketing, beginning April 1, 2023.
The enhanced plan will include collecting additional voluntary data from applicants on the majority ownership of their business and information regarding business planning to support diversity, equity and inclusion. This enhanced data collection will allow the program to further disaggregate applicant information to identify who is accessing the program and determine the overall reach and impact on underrepresented and marginalized groups. Furthermore, plans were made to start measuring the participation of Indigenous Peoples, women, and youth across programs under Sustainable CAP, including AgriMarketing. In addition to the applicant data collected, AAFC will access data from Statistics Canada's Linkable File Environment, starting as early as 2025, to prepare demographic profiles and measure progress.
Sector engagement and development
Program goals - Sector engagement and development
In 2022–23, the broad Sector Engagement and Development program category included four programs:
- The AgriCompetitiveness Program assists industry-led efforts to provide producers with information needed to build capacity and support the sector's development.
- The AgriDiversity Program supports activities that strengthen Canada's agriculture sector to better leverage the potential offered by youth, women, Indigenous Peoples, people with disabilities, and official language minority communities.
- The Youth Employment and Skills Program (YESP) contributes to projects that employ youth and youth facing barriers.
- The Wine Sector Support Program aims to provide short-term financial support to licensed Canadian wineries as they transition and adapt to ongoing and emerging challenges impacting the financial resilience and competitiveness of the wine industry.
Across the Sector Engagement and Development programs, GBA Plus considerations are applied to inform their design and delivery. Analysis of GBA Plus data was used to understand the program reach, identify potential barriers, and seek opportunities for enhancing the participation of underrepresented and marginalized groups in the program.
Target population - Sector engagement and development
Sector Engagement and Development broadly targets specific regions or sectors of the economy (that is, the agriculture and agri-food sector). Its sub-programs target the following populations:
- The AgriCompetitiveness Program is designed to target not-for-profit associations in the agriculture and agri-food sector to leverage, coordinate, and build on existing capacity, enhance safety, adapt to changing commercial and regulatory environments, seize new opportunities, share best practices, and provide mentorship opportunities.
- The AgriDiversity Program is designed to assist particular sub-groups of diverse people within the agriculture and agri-food sector, including women, youth, Indigenous Peoples, and persons with disabilities.
- The YESP is designed to assist particular sub-groups of diverse people, including youth, Indigenous Peoples, and persons with disabilities by providing a wage subsidy to employers who hire them.
- The Wine Sector Support Program is designed to assist specific sub-sectors of the economy (that is, licensed Canadian wineries) within the agricultural sector.
Distribution of benefits - Sector engagement and development
| By gender | Broadly gender-balanced |
|---|---|
| By income level | No significant distributional impacts |
| By age group | Impacts the generations between youth and seniors |
| By gender | 60 to 79% women |
|---|---|
| By income level | No significant distributional impacts |
| By age group | Primarily benefits youth, children and/or future generations |
| By gender | Broadly gender-balanced |
|---|---|
| By income level | Somewhat benefits low income individuals (somewhat progressive) |
| By age group | Primarily benefits youth, children and/or future generations |
| By gender | Predominantly men who benefit (for example, 60 to 79% men) |
|---|---|
| By income level | Benefits middle income individuals |
| By age group | Primarily benefits middle-aged persons (35 to 64) |
Specific demographic group outcomes - Sector engagement and development
AgriCompetitiveness programming is focused on building the capacity of the sector, which includes projects encouraging participation of underrepresented and marginalized groups such as Indigenous Peoples, women and youth. Given that farming is dominated by an older male demographic, building capacity and interest in participating/leading in the agri-food sector will help ensure that a new generation of capable, competent, producers and processors enter the field or continue their family legacy.
The expected outcome of AgriDiversity is that more underrepresented and marginalized groups (youth, women, Indigenous Peoples, and persons with disabilities) have the resources to build their entrepreneurial capacity and business skills, allowing them to better participate in the sector. In 2022–23, GBA Plus considerations were applied to inform the design, such as offering a favourable cost share ratio under this program to help address financial barriers underrepresented and marginalized groups may face. Based on the analysis, the design for the next iteration of the program was adapted to further enhance the reach of the programming by including racialized groups and 2SLGBTQI+ communities.
The YESP's primary beneficiaries (Canadian youth aged 15 – 30) are gaining work experience, as well as an opportunity to develop their work-related skills enhancing their ability to join the workforce. The demographic groups most likely to benefit are youth who face physical or social barriers (for example, systemic bias, family care responsibilities, etc.) which can include women, Indigenous persons, racialized persons and their intersection. To further promote access for marginalized youth, a more favourable cost share is provided when hiring Indigenous youth, and additional costs are given to address needs of youth facing barriers to employment.
The WSSP directly supports licensed Canadian wineries that are typically owned by older, male farmers; however, there are indirect benefits to the communities where wine production and wine tourism occur. These benefits include employment in the accommodation and food service industry that provides significant employment to youth (15-24) and women.
| Statistics | Observed results (2022–23 or most recent) |
Data source | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
|
AgriCompetitiveness: Proportion of recipients who state their project benefits underrepresented or marginalized groups |
In 2022–23, 1 of the 2 approved projects identified benefits for youth, women, and Indigenous Peoples. | Program data | |
| AgriDiversity: Proportion of recipients who state their project benefits underrepresented or marginalized groups | In 2022–23, 2 projects were approved, though performance data is not yet available. One of the projects identified expected benefits for Indigenous Peoples, and both identified benefits for youth. | Program Data | |
| YESP: Number of youth supported, and proportion of recipients who state their project benefits underrepresented and marginalized groups |
In 2022–23, the program supported approximately 271 youth (aged 15-30). Of the approved projects in 2022–23, recipients identified the following beneficiaries from underrepresented and marginalized groups:
|
Program Data | The Program falls under the Government's Youth Employment and Skills Strategy (YESS) and follows the horizontal priorities and results requirements of the YESS. |
| WSSP: Proportion of projects by organizations majority-owned by underrepresented and marginalized groups |
The program approved 454 projects in 2022–23, of which 37% of the organizations were women-owned, 6% visible minority-owned, and 2% Indigenous-owned. Of the approved projects, organizations identified that their mandates included support for the following underrepresented and marginalized groups:
|
Program Data |
Other key program impacts - Sector engagement and development
The Department actively includes participants from underrepresented and marginalized groups as part of its Ministerial outreach activities. This includes participation by youth, women, and Indigenous leadership who provide insight on barriers and opportunities facing the sector as a whole, and those specific to underrepresented and marginalized groups.
GBA Plus data collection plan - Sector engagement and development
The AgriCompetitiveness Program, AgriDiversity Program, YESP, and WSSP all collect GBA Plus data to enable them to monitor and/or report program impacts by gender and diversity. The application form asks applicants voluntary questions in support of GBA Plus. In addition, employers and interns who participate in the YESP are asked to complete a survey that asks them to voluntarily identify additional information that helps with GBA Plus and other analysis such as program results.
The AgriDiversity Program made efforts to include performance measures within Contribution Agreements that can be used to collect GBA Plus data and will continue to incorporate these performance measures where applicable.
In 2022–23, analysis of AgriDiversity program data was used to inform the future program design and delivery under Sustainable CAP (2023–28). As a result, AAFC designed an enhanced data collection plan for GBA Plus under the next iteration of programs, including AgriDiversity, beginning April 1, 2023. The enhanced plan includes collecting additional voluntary data from applicants on the majority ownership of their business and information regarding business planning to support diversity, equity and inclusion.
This enhanced data collection will allow the program to further disaggregate applicant information to identify who is accessing the program and determine the overall reach and impact on underrepresented and marginalized groups. Furthermore, plans were made to start measuring the participation of Indigenous Peoples, women and youth across programs under Sustainable CAP, including this program. In addition to the applicant data collected, AAFC will access data from Statistics Canada's Linkable File Environment, starting as early as 2025, to prepare demographic profiles and measure progress.
Farm Products Council of Canada
Program goals - Farm Products Council of Canada
The Farm Products Council of Canada oversees the agencies created under the Farm Products Agencies Act. It reviews the agencies' operations, marketing/promotion and research plans, and proposed orders and regulations, and inquiries into the merits of establishing an agency and recommends to the Minister accordingly.
Target population - Farm Products Council of Canada
The Council is designed to support specific sectors of the economy (that is agriculture and agri-food sector) by acting as the regulatory system for agricultural products and promotion and research agencies.
Specific demographic group outcomes - Farm Products Council of Canada
Not available
Key program impacts on gender and diversity - Other key program impacts - Farm Products Council of Canada
Not available
GBA Plus data collection plan - Farm Products Council of Canada
Nothing to report for 2022–23. Given the nature of the work, the Farm Products Council of Canada does not collect data to monitor or report program impacts by gender and diversity.
Supply Management Initiatives
Program goals - Supply Management Initiatives
Supply Management Initiatives broadly capture the following programs:
- The Dairy Farm Investment Program was established to help Canadian cow's milk producers improve productivity through upgrades to their equipment.
- The Dairy Processing Investment Fund was established to provide funding to dairy processors for investments that will improve productivity and competitiveness, and help them prepare to market changes resulting from the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA).
- The Dairy Direct Payment Program aims to help dairy producers transition to new market realities by reducing the impact of market access to the Canadian dairy market as a result of recent international trade agreements, namely the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership and CETA. The program provides grant payments over a ten year period to compensate Canadian cow's milk producers for their foregone income growth as a result of the recent trade agreements.
- The Poultry and Egg On-Farm Investment Program aims to help supply-managed poultry and egg producers adapt to market changes resulting from the implementation of recent international trade agreements.
- The Market Development Program for Turkey and Chicken will help increase domestic demand and consumption of Canadian turkey and chicken products through industry-led promotional activities that differentiate Canadian products and producers, and leverage Canada's reputation for high quality and safe food.
- The Supply Management Processing Investment Fund provides non-repayable contributions to support investments in dairy, poultry, and egg processing facilities that improve productivity and/or efficiency through the purchase of new automated equipment and technology.
GBA Plus considerations are applied across the Supply Management Initiatives to inform the design and delivery of its programming. Analysis of GBA Plus data was used to understand the program reach, identify potential barriers, and seek opportunities for enhancing the participation of underrepresented and marginalized groups in the program.
Target population - Supply Management Initiatives
The sub-programs under this program category are designed to target specific regions, sectors or sub-sectors within agriculture:
- The Dairy Farm Investment Program, Dairy Direct Payment Program, and Dairy Processing Investment Fund were designed to target a specific sub-sector of supply management within agriculture (for example, producers and processors in the dairy sector).
- The Poultry and Egg On-Farm Investment Program was designed to target a specific sub-sector of supply management within agriculture (that is, producers in the chicken, turkey, egg and broiler hatching egg sub-sectors).
- The Market Development Program for Turkey and Chicken was designed to target a specific sub-sector of supply management within agriculture (for example, producers and processors in the turkey and chicken sub-sectors).
- The Supply Management Processing Investment Fund introduced in 2022–23, was designed to target a specific sub-sector of supply management within agriculture (for example, processors in the dairy, poultry, and egg sub-sectors).
| By gender | 60 to 79% men |
|---|---|
| By income level | Somewhat benefits high income individuals (somewhat regressive) |
| By age group | Primarily benefits seniors or the baby boom generation |
Specific demographic group outcomes - Supply Management Initiatives
The programs are designed to benefit supply management sub-sectors; therefore, the programming benefits producers and processors of dairy, chicken, turkey, eggs, and hatching eggs. While these sub-sectors are unique in a variety of ways, diversity is limited.
GBA Plus considerations were applied to the program design, such as offering a favourable cost share ratio where applicable to help address financial barriers underrepresented and marginalized groups may face. For example, under the PEFIP, subject to certain conditions, AAFC may provide up to 85% (instead of 70%) of eligible project costs for young producers who were 35 years old or younger on January 1, 2021 (and are actively engaged in farming).
Under the SMPIF, priority is given to small- and medium-sized enterprises as these processors are less likely to benefit from a tariff rate quota allocation due to a variety of factors, including the market share approach to the allocation, or lack the capacity (for example, expertise) to import the allocation. The following groups may benefit from a 10% increase to their cost-sharing ratio if a member or members of the following groups are majority owners of an organization approved for funding: women, Indigenous Peoples, visible minorities, persons with disabilities, youth (aged 35 and under).
| Statistics | Observed results (2022–23 or most recent) |
Data source | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Poultry and Egg On-Farm Investment Program: Proportion of recipients that are majority owned/led by underrepresented or marginalized groups | In 2022–23, 85 of 514 recipients (17%) identified that their operations are majority owned or led by young producers | Program data | Under PEFIP, a young producer is defined as a person who was 35 years old or younger on January 1, 2021 and who is actively engaged in farming in Canada. |
| Market Development Program for Turkey and Chicken: Proportion of recipients who state their project benefits underrepresented or marginalized groups | In 2022–23, 2 projects were approved, and 1 (50%) of the projects identified benefits for underrepresented and marginalized groups | Program data | |
| Supply Management Processing Investment Fund: Number of investments awarded, disaggregated by underrepresented and marginalized group |
Of the 25 investments awarded by the SMPIF, the number of funded organizations owned by a majority of a specific sub-group of diverse people are as follows:
|
Program data |
Other key program impacts - Supply Management Initiatives
Not available
GBA Plus data collection plan - Supply Management Initiatives
Supply Management Initiatives collect and analyze applicant and recipient data to understand the program reach, identify potential barriers, and seek opportunities for enhancing the program's support for underrepresented and marginalized groups.
The following programs included voluntary self-identification questions on the application: Dairy Farm Investment Program, Dairy Processing Investment Fund Program, Supply Management Processing Investment Fund, and Market Development Program for Turkey and Chicken. The Poultry and Egg On-Farm Investment Program also included targeted questions related to whether or not the program participant is led by a young producer / young producers, and whether or not the program participant is majority owned by a young producer / young producers. This data is assessed to determine the program's impact and inform the design and delivery of future supply managed programs.
In 2022–23, the Dairy Direct Payment Program did not collect sufficient data to enable it to monitor and/or report program impacts by gender and diversity. Although it is a compensatory program meant to benefit all eligible dairy farmers to mitigate impacts of recent trade agreements, decisions were made in 2022–23 to include voluntary self-identification questions starting in 2023-24 to collect data in support of GBA Plus.
Canadian Pari-Mutuel Agency
Program goals - Canadian Pari-Mutuel Agency
The mandate of the Canadian Pari-Mutuel Agency is to advance the integrity of pari-mutuel betting conducted in Canada on horse racing. By enforcing the Pari-Mutuel Betting Supervision Regulations, and Section 204 of the Criminal Code, the CPMA's operational/program areas evaluate and issue authorizations for various betting systems and products, supervise licensees (Canadian racetracks and betting theatres), and provide drug testing of race horses.
While part of the department's program inventory, the activities under CPMA are not suited for the purpose of monitoring and reporting on impacts by gender and diversity.
Target population - Canadian Pari-Mutuel Agency
The activities of the CPMA advance the interests of all Canadians that either enjoy or participate in the conduct of horse racing, and related gambling
Specific demographic group outcomes - Canadian Pari-Mutuel Agency
Not applicable
Key program impacts on gender and diversity - Other key program impacts - Canadian Pari-Mutuel Agency
Not available
GBA Plus data collection plan - Canadian Pari-Mutuel Agency
The nature of the Canadian Pari-Mutuel Agency's operational/program areas do not provide an opportunity to advance the objectives of GBA Plus initiatives. Its mandate is solely to establish compliance with the Pari-Mutuel Betting Supervision Regulations, and Section 204 of the Criminal Code.
Food Policy Initiatives
Program goals - Food Policy Initiatives
The vision for the Food Policy Initiatives is for all people in Canada to be able to access a sufficient amount of safe, nutritious, and culturally diverse food, and for Canada's food system to be resilient and innovative, to sustain our environment and support our economy. This broad program category captures three programs:
- The Local Food Infrastructure Fund (LFIF) aims to improve access to healthy, nutritious and local food while promoting community development, improve health outcomes for Canadians most at risk of food insecurity, and promote environmentally sustainable food systems. The fund supports community-based, not-for-profit organizations to improve their food systems through investments in infrastructure that are directly related to addressing food insecurities and increasing the accessibility of healthy, nutritious and local foods within their community.
- The Food Waste Reduction Challenge supports innovation in reducing food waste in three key sub-sectors: food processing, food retail, and food services.
- The AgriCommunication Program focuses specifically on supporting activities which increase appreciation and pride in the contributions of farmers and the food industry and enhance public trust.
Across all Food Policy Initiatives, GBA Plus considerations are applied to inform the design and delivery of the program. Analysis of GBA Plus data was used to understand the program reach, identify potential barriers, and seek opportunities for enhancing the participation of underrepresented and marginalized groups in the program.
Target population - Food Policy Initiatives
The Food Policy Initiatives broadly target all Canadians to ensure they have access to safe, nutritious and culturally diverse food within a food system that is resilient, innovative and sustainable. The sub-programs under this broad program category target the following populations:
- LFIF is designed to target particular demographic groups including Indigenous Peoples, youth and seniors, rural and isolated communities, and people at risk of food insecurity.
- Food Waste Reduction Challenge is designed to target a specific sector of the economy (that is the agriculture and agri-food sector).
- AgriCommunication Program is designed to increase consumer awareness, appreciation and pride in the contributions of farmers and the food industry, as well as sector awareness of consumer preferences.
Distribution of benefits - Food Policy Initiatives
| By gender | 60 to 79% women |
|---|---|
| By income level | Somewhat benefits low income individuals (somewhat progressive) |
| By age group | No significant inter-generational impacts or impacts generation between youth and seniors |
Specific demographic group outcomes - Food Policy Initiatives
All Canadians will indirectly benefit from the Food Policy Initiatives, though specific sub-populations of underrepresented and marginalized groups that are more vulnerable to the impacts of food insecurity may benefit more. For example, LFIF targets those vulnerable to and at-risk of food security, including, but not limited to, Indigenous Peoples, rural and Northern communities, Black or other racialized persons, youth, women, low income households, etc.
| Statistics | Observed results (2022–23 or most recent) |
Data source | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| LFIF: Number of investments made for 2022–23, disaggregated by sub-population |
Of the 79 investments made, 100% of the projects benefit underrepresented or marginalized groups in some capacity. The number of funded organizations supporting specific sub-groups of diverse people are as follows:
|
Program data | |
| AgriCommunication Program: Proportion of recipients who state their project benefits underrepresented or marginalized groups |
In 2022–23, 12 of the 16 approved projects identified benefits for underrepresented and marginalized groups (10 of those 12 identified benefits for more than one group). The breakdown is as follows:
|
Program Data | |
| Food Waste Reduction Challenge: Proportion of applicants with businesses majority-owned by an underrepresented or marginalized group |
Out of the 343 applications received under the Business Models Streams of the FWRC:
Out of the 238 applications received under the Novel Technologies Streams of the FWRC:
|
Program Data | |
| Food Waste Reduction Challenge: Proportion of finalists with businesses majority-owned by an underrepresented or marginalized group |
Out of the 12 Business Models finalists, half of the businesses are women-led/founded/owned and many identify as belonging to visible minority groups. Out of the 6 Novel Technologies finalists, 4 out of the 6 are businesses led/founded/owned by women of colour. |
Program Data |
Other key program impacts - Food Policy Initiatives
Not available
Supplementary information sources - Food Policy Initiatives
Household Food Insecurity in Canada, 2021
GBA Plus data collection plan - Food Policy Initiatives
The Food Policy Initiatives collect and analyze applicant and recipient data to understand the program reach, identify potential barriers, and seek opportunities for enhancing the program's support for underrepresented and marginalized groups. All programs collected data to support GBA Plus; the Food Waste Reduction Challenge and AgriCommunication Program collected data at the application stage, and LFIF collected data both at the application stage and through performance reports submitted to the department following project completion. These data are assessed to determine the program's impact and inform the design and delivery of future iterations, including for the upcoming Food Policy renewal (2023-24).
In 2022–23, LFIF data was analyzed to assess the program's impact on underrepresented and marginalized groups. The analysis found that there was no overarching relationship between underrepresented groups served and project results. No consistent themes emerged when applying a demographic lens to the analysis of percent changes in the quantity of food produced/distributed, or regarding the project's impact. That is, projects serving the underrepresented and marginalized groups identified did not tend to be more or less successful than the average LFIF project.
Analysis of the Food Waste Reduction Challenge showed that having a low-barrier application process, a jury made of diverse expertise and lived experience, non-financial supports for networking and business development, a program team that strives towards equity, inclusion and diversity, and stakeholder engagement in the initial stages, have all been instrumental in the Challenge's success.
A data gap that was identified within the Challenge is understanding if and/or how innovators consider ways to ensure the benefits of their solutions reach underrepresented and marginalized groups. In order to help address this gap, a webinar has been organized for fall 2023 that will focus on supplier diversity, the 50-30 challenge, and diversity and inclusion in general.
Analysis of the data collected under the Food Waste Reduction Challenge provides lessons learned to inform the design and structure of the next Challenge, which focuses on agricultural methane reduction.
Water Infrastructure Divestiture
Program goals - Water Infrastructure Divestiture
GBA Plus is not applicable to this program, which involves the divestiture by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada of its legacy water infrastructure projects through Government-to-Government transfers with no change in operation. While part of the Department's program inventory, it simply constitutes a change in governance and is therefore not applicable to the purpose of monitoring and reporting impacts by gender and diversity.
Federal, Provincial, and Territorial (FPT) Cost-Shared Markets and Trade
Program goals - Federal, Provincial, and Territorial (FPT) Cost-Shared Markets and Trade
Under the Canadian Agricultural Partnership (CAP), FPT Cost-shared Markets and Trade programming continued to leverage funding and mobilize the agriculture and agri-food sector through provincial/territorial governments' Markets and Trade Programs among producers, processors, organizations, and small and medium enterprises. FPT Cost-shared Markets and Trade Programs contributed to CAP priority areas through market access by removing obstacles to capitalize on market opportunities, such as non-tariff trade barriers and the need for adapting products for international markets.
Under CAP, this program did not apply a GBA Plus lens; however, in 2022–23, negotiations with FPT governments occurred to plan the design and delivery of the next iteration of the program under the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (Sustainable CAP) policy framework (2023–28), including considerations for applying GBA Plus.
Target population - Federal, Provincial, and Territorial (FPT) Cost-Shared Markets and Trade
The programs captured here are designed to target specific regions or sectors of the economy (agriculture and agri-food sector). Provinces and Territories deliver programming for the agriculture and agri-food sector specific to their regions.
Specific demographic group outcomes - Federal, Provincial, and Territorial (FPT) Cost-Shared Markets and Trade
Not available
Key program impacts on gender and diversity- Federal, Provincial, and Territorial (FPT) Cost-Shared Markets and Trade
Not available
GBA Plus data collection plan - Federal, Provincial, and Territorial (FPT) Cost-Shared Markets and Trade
While this program did not have the means to measure and report on the impact on underrepresented and marginalized groups during the 2022–23 year, notable progress was made in planning for future data collection in support of GBA Plus. In 2022–23, negotiations with FPT governments occurred to plan the design and delivery of the next iteration of the program under the Sustainable CAP (2023–28). This included measures to collect data (voluntary self-identification) on the participation of women, youth, and Indigenous Peoples, as well as the integration of GBA Plus considerations into performance reporting by measuring the proportion of underrepresented and marginalized groups accessing programs under the Sustainable CAP framework. In addition to the applicant data collected, AAFC will access data from Statistics Canada's Linkable File Environment, starting as early as 2025, to prepare demographic profiles and measure progress.
Core responsibility: science and innovation
Foundational Science and Research
Program goals - Foundational Science and Research
The Foundational Science and Research Program is designed to transfer, or make available for transfer, scientific knowledge (that is, products, technologies, beneficial management practices) to the agricultural sector and the science community.
Target population - Foundational Science and Research
The program targets specific industries and sub-sectors within the agricultural sector and the science community.
Specific demographic group outcomes - Foundational Science and Research
Not available
Key program impacts on gender and diversity- Foundational Science and Research
Not available
GBA Plus data collection plan - Foundational Science and Research
A question on GBA Plus considerations was included in the 2022-2023 Call For Proposals process, asking researchers whether they anticipate GBA Plus impacts related to their project outcomes based on gender, age, ethnicity, income, region, culture, or other factors. Researchers were also asked to consider the differences between sex and gender data whenever a project involves humans or human-derived samples.
For the 2022-2023 Full Proposal stage, researchers were required to further explore the GBA Plus considerations in their proposal design. This is a first step towards strengthening the use of GBA Plus information to inform project design and assess the impacts of projects.
Agriscience
Program goals - Agriscience
The AgriScience Program, under the Canadian Agricultural Partnership (CAP) from 2018–23, provided support for industry-led research, development and knowledge transfer, with the aim of developing innovative agriculture, agri-food and agri-based practices, processes and products to address agricultural sector challenges and increases market opportunities. The Program includes two components: (a) Clusters, which support national not-for-profit, industry-led entities that assemble scientific expertise from industry, academia and government, to address sector or commodity-specific priority issues with a 5-year strategy; and (b) Projects, which are individual, sector-led research activities or small groups of projects that are local or regional in scope.
In 2022–23, GBA Plus considerations were applied to inform the design and delivery of the next iteration of the program under the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (Sustainable CAP) policy framework (2023–28). Analysis of GBA Plus data was used to understand the program reach, identify potential barriers, and seek opportunities for enhancing the participation of underrepresented and marginalized groups in the program. As a result, AAFC included plans for enhanced data collection for programs under Sustainable CAP.
Target population - Agriscience
The AgriScience Program is designed to target a specific sector of the economy (that is, the agriculture and agri-food sector) by providing funding and support for pre-commercial science activities and cutting-edge research.
Specific demographic group outcomes - Agriscience
In 2022–23, the GBA Plus assessment conducted for this program helped identify potential barriers to the programming and informed the plans for the design and delivery of the next iteration of the program under Sustainable CAP. The program will include the following measures:
- More favourable cost-share ratios for Indigenous organizations.
- A dedicated carve-out in the Projects Component to promote and support Indigenous science initiatives.
- No stacking limitations for Indigenous organizations.
- Adjusted application and reporting requirements for certain projects.
- Ongoing assistance, coaching and capacity building related activities to support Indigenous Persons.
| Statistics | Observed results (2022–23 or most recent) |
Data source | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of highly qualified personnel (HQP) working on funded initiatives |
Of the 241 HQP reported to date (2020-21, 2021–22, and 2022–23 reporting periods):
|
Recipient Final Performance Reports | Only partial data is available for 2022–23 as not all of the performance reports have been approved |
GBA Plus data collection plan - Agriscience
The AgriScience Program collects GBA Plus data at the application stage. Under CAP, the application form included voluntary questions in support of GBA Plus. In addition, as of the 2020–21 reporting period, recipients were required to report on the gender and diversity of the highly qualified personnel (HQP) who were working on funded activities in the final performance report.
In 2022–23, analysis of program data was used to inform the future program design and delivery under Sustainable CAP (2023–28). As a result, AAFC designed an enhanced data collection plan for GBA Plus under the next iteration of programs, including AgriScience, beginning April 1, 2023. This will include collecting additional voluntary data from applicants on the majority ownership of their business and information regarding business planning to support diversity, equity and inclusion. This enhanced data collection will allow the program to further disaggregate applicant information to identify who is accessing the program and determine the overall reach and impact on underrepresented and marginalized groups. Furthermore, plans were made to measure the participation of Indigenous Peoples, women and youth across programs under Sustainable CAP, including AgriScience. In addition to the applicant data collected, AAFC will access data from Statistics Canada's Linkable File Environment, starting as early as 2025, to prepare demographic profiles and measure progress.
The collection of disaggregated HQP data under Sustainable CAP will utilize the SimpleSurvey platform. In the new survey, the demographic categories are: location, Indigenous (First nations, Metis, Inuit Unknown), disability, visible minority and/or racialized group, woman, 2SLGBTQI+ communities, official language minority communities, and if they are between the ages of 18 to 35. Additionally, for the applications under the Cluster stream that lacked involvement of underrepresented groups, in particular Indigenous organizations, approvals include the condition that the recipient develop an approach to strengthen the involvement of these groups as part of the research and outcomes. This approach will be part of the funding agreement they enter into with AAFC.
AgriInnovate
Program goals - AgriInnovate
AgriInnovate is a business-facing innovation program that aims to accelerate the demonstration, commercialization, and adoption of innovative technologies, processes or services that will make the agri-food sector more competitive and sustainable, while also driving demand for Canadian inputs, addressing priority issues facing the sector, and expanding the availability of cutting edge technologies for real-world adoption.
In 2022–23, GBA Plus considerations were applied to inform the design and delivery of the next iteration of the program under the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (Sustainable CAP) policy framework (2023–28). Analysis of GBA Plus data was used to understand the program reach, identify potential barriers, and seek opportunities for enhancing the participation of and support for underrepresented and marginalized groups in the program. As a result, AAFC included plans for enhanced data collection for all programs under Sustainable CAP.
Target population - AgriInnovate
The AgriInnovate Program is designed to target a specific sector of the economy (that is, agriculture and agri-food sector), by supporting projects that develop and introduce innovative, processes, practices, services and technologies to the market and improve the productivity and competitiveness of the sector.
Specific demographic group outcomes - AgriInnovate
In 2022–23, the GBA Plus assessment conducted for this program helped identify potential barriers to the programming and informed the plans for the design and delivery of the next iteration of the program under Sustainable CAP. As a result, the program will include the following measures:
- Potential for favourable cost-share ratios for underrepresented and marginalized groups
- Up to 100:0 stacking for priority groups (Indigenous Peoples)
- Conditional repayability to help mitigate the risk with small enterprises, start-ups, and emerging innovators undertaking projects to commercialize or demonstrate significant innovations
| Statistics | Observed results (2022–23 or most recent) |
Data source | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proportion of applicant organizations who state their mandate focuses on underrepresented or marginalized groups |
In 2022-2023, of the 4 full applications received:
|
Program Data |
GBA Plus data collection plan - AgriInnovate
Under the Canadian Agricultural Partnership (2018-23), the AgriInnovate Program application form asked applicants voluntary questions in support of GBA Plus.
In 2022–23, analysis of program data was used to inform the future program design and delivery under Sustainable CAP (2023–28). As a result, AAFC designed an enhanced data collection plan for GBA Plus under the next iteration of programs, including AgriInnovate, under Sustainable CAP beginning April 1, 2023. This includes collecting additional voluntary data from applicants on the majority ownership of their business and information regarding business planning to support diversity, equity and inclusion. This enhanced data collection will allow the program to further disaggregate applicant information to identify who is accessing the program and determine the overall reach and impact on underrepresented and marginalized groups. Furthermore, plans were made to start measuring the participation of Indigenous Peoples, women and youth across programs under Sustainable CAP, including this program. In addition to the applicant data collected, AAFC will access data from Statistics Canada's Linkable File Environment starting as early as 2025, to prepare demographic profiles and measure progress.
Environment and Climate Change Programs
Program goals - Environment and Climate Change Programs
The Environment and Climate Change Program is a broad program category capturing the following two programs:
- Agricultural Climate Solutions Program (ACS) has two streams:
- Living Labs aims to accelerate co-development, testing, adoption, dissemination and monitoring of technologies and practices, including beneficial management practices (BMPs), that sequester carbon and/or mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
- On-Farm Climate Action Fund supports producers in adopting BMPs in the areas of nitrogen management, cover cropping, and rotational grazing practices, in order to reduce net GHG emissions and provide environmental co-benefits.
- Agricultural Clean Technology (ACT) has two streams:
- The Adoption Stream supports the purchase and installation of commercially available clean technologies and solutions that address priority areas (for example, green energy and energy efficiency, bioeconomy, and precision agriculture) to reduce greenhouse gas, fertilizer and methane emissions.
- The Research and Innovation Stream supports pre-market innovation activities to help develop transformative clean technologies and enable the expansion of current technologies in priority areas (for example, green energy and energy efficiency, bioeconomy, precision agriculture) to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Across all Environment and Climate Change Programs, GBA Plus considerations are applied to inform the design and delivery of the program. Analysis was used to identify potential barriers and seek opportunities for enhancing the participation of underrepresented and marginalized groups in the program. As a result, where applicable, the programs were designed with measures to further support underrepresented and marginalized groups.
Target population - Environment and Climate Change Programs
The Environment and Climate Change programs category includes programs that are designed to target specific sub-sectors within agriculture and agri-food by supporting the research, development, and adoption of beneficial management practices and technologies that reduce GHG emissions or increase carbon sequestration.
Distribution of benefits - Environment and Climate Change Programs
| By gender | Predominantly men (80% or more men) |
|---|---|
| By age group | No significant intergenerational impacts or impacts on generations between youths and seniors |
Specific demographic group outcomes - Environment and Climate Change Programs
GBA Plus considerations were applied to the design and delivery of Environment and Climate Change Programs to include measures to mitigate potential barriers for underrepresented and marginalized groups.
Under the ACS Program, the Living Labs stream offers:
- Flexible design to facilitate equitable participation
- Targeted calls for proposals to address gaps in regional and recipient group distribution
- Dedicated funding and support for collaborations with Indigenous organizations and communities across the country
Under the ACS Program, the OFCAF stream offers several flexibilities that may be beneficial to Indigenous recipients, including:
- allowing in-kind contributions as eligible for cost-share
- providing flexible application timelines
- providing flexibility with cost-share ratios, including facilitating more favourable cost-share ratios for Indigenous recipients.
For both streams under ACS, the contribution agreements include a clause that asks recipients to provide all project-related services in both official languages to ultimate recipients (the program financially supports this).
Under the ACT Program, both streams offer the possibility of a more favourable cost-share ratio (60:40) where the majority of the recipient organization (more than 50%) is owned or led by one or more underrepresented or marginalized groups.
Key program impacts on gender and diversity - Environment and Climate Change Programs
| Statistics | Observed results (2022–23 or most recent) |
Data source | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| ACS Program: Proportion of participants who self-identify as belonging to an underrepresented or marginalized groups |
Living Labs Stream: 11.5% of core producers who participated in the Living Labs projects. This includes:
On Farm Climate Action Fund Stream: 26.5% of producers who were supported by the projects. This includes:
|
Annual performance reporting |
Please note these results are not final, as some performance reports have not been finalized and approved. Therefore, these results may be modified once all the reports are finalized and approved. For ACS-Living Labs, there were no results for other underrepresented and marginalized groups, such as persons with disabilities, official language minority communities, and new entrants for the first year, as some recipients did not have enough time to collect the data in the first year of the program. However, the Department is expecting more results in future performance reports. |
| ACT Program: Proportion of applicants who state their project benefits underrepresented or marginalized groups |
Research and Innovation Stream: Out of 61 projects, 18 (30%) identified benefits for underrepresented and marginalized groups. Of those 18 projects, 11 listed three or more groups with the most popular combination being Indigenous Peoples, women, and visible minorities. Adoption Stream: Out of 205 projects, 82 (40%) identified benefits for underrepresented and marginalized groups. Of those projects:
|
Program data |
GBA Plus data collection plan - Environment and Climate Change Programs
Environment and Climate Change Programs collect and analyze applicant and recipient data to understand the program reach, identify potential barriers, and seek opportunities for enhancing the program's support for underrepresented and marginalized groups. This allows reported performance data to be disaggregated and assessed to measure the programs' impact on specific groups and inform the design and delivery of future iterations of programming.
- The ACS–Living Labs application form asks applicants questions in support of GBA Plus. In the final performance-reporting stage, recipients are required to report on the gender and diversity of the highly qualified personnel who were working on funded activities, and the breakdown of underrepresented and marginalized groups in the partnerships established with core producers.
- The ACS–On-Farm Action Fund application form asks applicants several questions in support of GBA Plus. In addition, results for some of the program's performance indicators (for example, number of producers implementing new practices or expanding practices on new acres of land with support from the Fund) were disaggregated by underrepresented and marginalized group.
- The ACT–Adoption Stream project summary and application forms ask candidates one question in support of GBA Plus
- The ACT–Research and Innovation Stream collects GBA Plus data at the application stage. In addition, the gender and diversity of the highly qualified personnel working on funded activities will be collected through a survey as part of the recipient performance reporting process, once performance reports have been approved.
Canadian Agricultural Strategic Priorities Program
Program goals - Canadian Agricultural Strategic Priorities Program
The objective of the Canadian Agricultural Strategic Priorities Program is to help the agriculture, agri- food, and agri-based products sector ('agricultural sector') seize opportunities, respond to new and emerging issues, and pathfind and pilot solutions to new and ongoing issues in order to adapt and remain competitive.
Target population - Canadian Agricultural Strategic Priorities Program
The Canadian Agricultural Strategic Priorities Program is designed to benefit a specific sector in the economy (that is agriculture and agri-food sector).
Specific demographic group outcomes - Canadian Agricultural Strategic Priorities Program
Not available
Key program impacts on gender and diversity - Canadian Agricultural Strategic Priorities Program
| Statistics | Observed results (2022–23 or most recent) |
Data source | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proportion of applicants who state their project benefits underrepresented or marginalized groups | N/A | No applicants elected to complete the voluntary self-identification questions for this program |
GBA Plus data collection plan - Canadian Agricultural Strategic Priorities Program
The Canadian Agricultural Strategic Priorities Program collects GBA Plus data at the application stage so that performance data can be disaggregated to examine the impact of the program on specific underrepresented and marginalized groups. The application form includes voluntary questions in support of GBA Plus. However, the 2022–23 program data show that applicants did not complete the voluntary self-identification questions, representing a data gap.
To address this gap and further improve GBA Plus data collection and analysis, the program will plan to adjust its data collection approach through the upcoming program renewal, expected for April 2024. The new approach will align with data collection efforts for programs under Sustainable CAP, which include an enhanced range of questions to capture the demographics of a wider range of applicants. Further, the questions will be mandatory for applicants to respond to, with the option for them to decline to identify or select not applicable. This enhanced data collection plan is expected to increase the data available to determine the overall reach and impact of the program on underrepresented and marginalized groups.
Federal, Provincial, and Territorial (FPT) Cost-Shared Science, Research, Innovation and Environment Program
Program goals - Federal, Provincial, and Territorial (FPT) Cost-Shared Science, Research, Innovation and Environment Program
FPT Cost-shared Science, Research, Innovation and Environment Programs contributed to the Canadian Agricultural Partnership (CAP) through:
- investments in discovery and applied science for major commodities within the sector
- support for minor commodities within the sector, along with emerging and transformative areas
- enhanced efforts in clean growth, environment and climate change, accelerating the growth of the sector, particularly in agri-food and agri-based value-added processing
- strengthening knowledge transfer and adoption activities, as well as support for environmental sustainability and climate change initiatives to address agriculture's impacts on natural resources, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and mitigate and adapt to the anticipated impacts of climate change.
Under CAP, this program did not apply a GBA Plus lens; however, in 2022–23, negotiations with FPT governments occurred to plan the design and delivery of the next iteration of the program under the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (Sustainable CAP) policy framework (2023–28), including considerations for applying GBA Plus.
Target population - Federal, Provincial, and Territorial (FPT) Cost-Shared Science, Research, Innovation and Environment Program
The programs captured here are designed to target a specific sector of the economy (agriculture and agri-food sector). Provinces and Territories deliver programming for the agriculture and agri-food sector specific to their regions.
Specific demographic group outcomes - Federal, Provincial, and Territorial (FPT) Cost-Shared Science, Research, Innovation and Environment Program
Not available
Key program impacts on gender and diversity - Federal, Provincial, and Territorial (FPT) Cost-Shared Science, Research, Innovation and Environment Program
Not available
GBA Plus data collection plan - Federal, Provincial, and Territorial (FPT) Cost-Shared Science, Research, Innovation and Environment Program
While the program did not have the means to measure and report on the impact on underrepresented and marginalized groups during the 2022–23 year, notable progress was made in planning for data collection in support of GBA Plus. In 2022–23, negotiations with FPT governments occurred to plan the design and delivery of the next iteration of the program under Sustainable CAP. This included measures to collect data (voluntary self-identification) on the participation of women, youth, and Indigenous Peoples, and integration of GBA Plus considerations into performance reporting by measuring the proportion of underrepresented and marginalized groups accessing programs under the Sustainable CAP framework. In addition to the applicant data collected, AAFC will access data from Statistics Canada's Linkable File Environment, starting as early as 2025, to prepare demographic profiles and measure progress.
Core responsibility: Sector risk
AgriStability
Program goals - AgriStability
As part of the suite of Business Risk Management (BRM) programs, AgriStability is a whole-farm margin-based program that protects Canadian producers against large declines in farming income for reasons such as production loss, increased costs, and market conditions. While the program is available to all Canadian producers, AAFC is continuing efforts to promote all of its activities to underrepresented and marginalized farmers.
Under the Canadian Agricultural Partnership (CAP) policy framework (2018–23), BRM programs did not apply a GBA Plus lens; however, in 2022–23, negotiations with federal, provincial, and territorial (FPT) governments occurred to plan the next iteration of BRM programs under Sustainable CAP (2023–28), including considerations for applying GBA Plus.
Target population - AgriStability
The AgriStability Program is designed to target a specific sector in the economy (that is, agriculture and agri-food sector). AgriStability is open to Canadian farm businesses that have completed at least six months of farming activities and that would normally file an annual income tax return reporting farming income (loss) to the Canada Revenue Agency. Status Indians farming on a reserve in Canada are exempt from the requirement to file an income tax return.
Distribution of benefits - AgriStability
| By gender | 60 to 79% men |
|---|---|
| By income | No significant distributional impacts |
| By age | Primarily benefits seniors or the baby boom generation |
Specific demographic group outcomes - AgriStability
AgriStability, like other BRM programs, is demand-driven and the program provides support to producers who experience significant income decline in any given year. As a result, funding distribution varies every year based on individual farm circumstances and sector conditions.
The program overall is not expected to have differential impacts that are driven by demographics. Rather, participants benefit from the program proportional to the size of their income loss. Program data shows that overall participation in AgriStability is less than 40% of eligible producers and that the participation rate is lower for small farms (with gross revenue less than $250,000). Given that underrepresented and marginalized groups tend to operate smaller farms, it is expected that they are less likely to participate in and therefore benefit from the program. On the other hand, the benefits of the program are also restricted for very large farms as the maximum annual payment to an operator is $3 million.
Key program impacts on gender and diversity - AgriStability
Not available
Supplementary Information Sources - AgriStability
GBA Plus data collection plan - AgriStability
While the program did not have the means to measure and report on the impact on underrepresented and marginalized groups during the 2022–23 year, notable progress was made in planning for data collection in support of GBA Plus. In 2022–23, negotiations with FPT governments occurred to plan the next iteration of BRM programs under Sustainable CAP (2023–28), and included data sharing clauses that include the collection of GBA Plus data for the BRM suite of programs, where that information is voluntarily provided by BRM participants. The Department is currently working with the Canada Revenue Agency on collecting demographic information (for example, gender, age, Indigeneity, etc.) through the AgriInvest program forms to enable this data collection for this and other BRM programs. The details of the data collection approach will be confirmed in 2023-24.
AgriInsurance
Program goals - AgriInsurance
As part of the suite of Business Risk Management (BRM) programs, AgriInsurance is a federal-provincial-producer cost-shared program that stabilizes producer income by minimizing the economic effects of production or assets losses. The program is administered by the provinces. The program does not have specific goals related to GBA Plus.
Under the Canadian Agricultural Partnership (CAP) policy framework (2018–23), BRM programs did not apply a GBA Plus lens; however, in 2022–23, negotiations with federal, provincial, and territorial (FPT) governments occurred to plan the next iteration of BRM programs under Sustainable CAP (2023–28), including considerations for applying GBA Plus.
Target population - AgriInsurance
The AgriInsurance Program is designed to target a specific sector in the economy (that is agriculture production). The program is open to Canadian farmers who produce eligible agricultural products as established by each province. The program is currently available to a large number of producers in all provinces.
Specific demographic group outcomes - AgriInsurance
For the 2022–23 year, no specific GBA Plus data was collected which makes it difficult to identify demographics that face barriers. However, the program is available in all provinces to Canadians based on the crop they produce.
Key program impacts on gender and diversity - AgriInsurance
Not available
GBA Plus data collection plan - AgriInsurance
While the program did not have the means to measure and report on the impact on underrepresented and marginalized groups during the 2022–23 year, notable progress was made in planning for data collection in support of GBA Plus. In 2022–23, negotiations with FPT governments occurred to plan the next iteration of BRM programs under Sustainable CAP (2023–28), and included data sharing clauses that include the collection of GBA Plus data for the BRM suite of programs, where that information is voluntarily provided by BRM participants. The Department is currently working with the Canada Revenue Agency on collecting demographic information (for example, gender, age, Indigeneity, etc.) through the AgriInvest program forms to enable this data collection for this and other BRM programs. The details of the data collection approach will be confirmed in 2023-24.
AgriRisk
Program goals - AgriRisk
As part of the suite of Business Risk Management (BRM) programs, the AgriRisk program supported the development and adoption of industry led producer-paid agricultural risk management tools (such as insurance that responds to diseases in livestock and crops, protecting producers from severe market price fluctuations, etc.). Under the Canadian Agricultural Partnership (CAP) policy framework (2018–23), BRM programs did not apply a GBA Plus lens, as it was not included in the negotiations with provinces and territories.
Target population - AgriRisk
The AgriRisk Program was designed to target a specific sector in the economy (producers in the agriculture sector). AgriRisk supported Canadian producers to address risk by supporting research and development as well as the implementation and administration of new risk management tools for use in the agriculture sector.
Specific demographic group outcomes - AgriRisk
Collecting GBA Plus data was not a requirement under CAP, and thus BRM programs did not collect sufficient data to enable monitoring or reporting of program impacts by gender and diversity. However, AgriRisk did collect some GBA Plus data.
Key program impacts on gender and diversity - AgriRisk
| Statistics | Observed results (2022–23 or most recent) |
Data source | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proportion of applicants who state their project benefits underrepresented or marginalized groups | Of 65 projects, 16 (25%) noted expected benefits. | Program data | The majority (10/16) of these sixteen projects stated that their project is expected to benefit two or more underrepresented and marginalized groups (most often the combination of women and youth). |
Other key program impacts - AgriRisk
Not available
GBA Plus data collection plan - AgriRisk
The AgriRisk Program collected GBA Plus data at the application stage. The application form asked applicants to identify if any underrepresented or marginalized groups (Indigenous farmers and land managers; women; young and beginning farmers; official language minorities; and farmers with disabilities) are expected to directly benefit from the project.
AgriInvest
Program goals - AgriInvest
As part of the suite of Business Risk Management (BRM) programs, AgriInvest is a self-managed government-matched savings account designed to help producers manage small income declines and make investments. A portion of a producer's savings is matched by the government and the money in these accounts can be withdrawn at any time and for any reason. While the program is available to all Canadian producers, AAFC is continuing efforts to promote all of its activities to underrepresented and marginalized farmers.
Under the Canadian Agricultural Partnership (CAP) policy framework (2018–23), BRM programs did not apply a GBA Plus lens; however, in 2022–23, negotiations with federal, provincial, and territorial (FPT) governments occurred to plan the next iteration of BRM programs under Sustainable CAP (2023–28), including considerations for applying GBA Plus.
Target population - AgriInvest
The AgriInvest Program is designed to target a specific sector in the economy (producers in the agriculture sector). AgriInvest is open to Canadian farm businesses who earn income from the primary production of agricultural commodities, except those covered under supply management (dairy, poultry and eggs), in Canada and file the appropriate forms with Canada Revenue Agency.
Distribution of benefits - AgriInvest
| By gender | 60 to 79% men |
|---|---|
| By income level | Somewhat progressive (somewhat benefits low income individuals) |
| By age group | Primarily benefits seniors or the baby boom generation |
Specific demographic group outcomes - AgriInvest
AgriInvest, like other BRM programs, is a demand-driven program and, as a result, funding distribution varies every year based on individual farm circumstances and sector conditions. Payments to AgriInvest accounts are not linked to demographic factors.
While the program overall is not expected to have negative differential impacts, program participation is limited to producers that earn Allowable Net Sales higher than $25,000. This restriction on access could have an impact on farms operated by people of underrepresented and marginalized groups, given that these farms tend to be smaller. On the other hand, the benefits of the program are restricted for very large farms (with Allowable Net Sales greater than $1 million ) as well because the governments' maximum matching contribution is $10,000.
Status Indians farming on a reserve in Canada that are exempt from filing income tax returns are eligible to participate in the program, provided they submit the information they would have otherwise reported for tax purposes.
Key program impacts on gender and diversity - AgriInvest
Not available
GBA Plus data collection plan - AgriInvest
While the program did not have the means to measure and report on the impact on underrepresented and marginalized groups during the 2022–23 year, notable progress was made in planning for data collection in support of GBA Plus. In 2022–23, negotiations with FPT governments occurred to plan the next iteration of BRM programs under Sustainable CAP (2023–28), and included data sharing clauses that include the collection of GBA Plus data for the BRM suite of programs, that information is voluntarily provided by BRM participants. The Department is currently working with the Canada Revenue Agency on collecting demographic information (for example, gender, age, Indigeneity, etc.) through the AgriInvest program forms to enable this data collection for this and other BRM programs. The details of the data collection approach will be confirmed in 2023-24.
AgriRecovery
Program goals - AgriRecovery
As part of the suite of Business Risk Management (BRM) programs, AgriRecovery is a federal-provincial-territorial disaster relief framework intended to work together with the core suite of BRM programs to help agricultural producers recover from natural disasters.
Under the Canadian Agricultural Partnership (CAP) policy framework (2018–23), BRM programs did not apply a GBA Plus lens; however, in 2022–23, negotiations with federal, provincial, and territorial (FPT) governments occurred to plan the next iteration of BRM programs under Sustainable CAP (2023–28), including considerations for applying GBA Plus.
Target population - AgriRecovery
The AgriRecovery Framework is designed to target a specific sector in the economy (that is, producers in the agriculture sector). AgriRecovery is a framework that enables governments to create initiatives to provide support to Canadian producers impacted by severe natural disaster events.
Specific demographic group outcomes - AgriRecovery
Not available
Key program impacts on gender and diversity - AgriRecovery
Not available
GBA Plus data collection plan - AgriRecovery
While the program did not have the means to measure and report on the impact on underrepresented and marginalized groups during the 2022–23 year, notable progress was made in planning for data collection in support of GBA Plus. In 2022–23, negotiations with FPT governments occurred to plan the next iteration of BRM programs under Sustainable CAP (2023–28) and included data sharing clauses that include the collection of GBA Plus data for the BRM suite of programs, where that information is voluntarily provided by BRM participants. The Department is currently working with the Canada Revenue Agency on collecting demographic information (for example, gender, age, Indigeneity, etc.) through the AgriInvest program forms to enable this data collection for this and other BRM programs. The details of the data collection approach will be confirmed in 2023-24.
Loan Guarantee Programs
Program goals - Loan Guarantee Programs
The Loan Guarantee Programs include three programs: the Advance Payments Program (APP), and the Price Pooling Program (PPP) under the Agricultural Marketing Programs Act; and the Canadian Agricultural Loans Act Program (CALA).
Through these programs, the federal government guarantees the repayment of loans (APP, CALA) or prices (PPP) in order to improve cash flow and improve marketing opportunities for Canada's agricultural producers (APP), encourage cooperative marketing (PPP), and provide access to the credit needed to establish and improve farming operations (CALA).
Target population - Loan Guarantee Programs
The Loan Guarantee Programs are intended to strengthen the Canadian agriculture and agri-food sector:
- The Advance Payments Program (APP), is open to Canadian citizens or permanent residents engaged in farming in Canada as either an individual, corporation, cooperative, or partnership.
- The Canadian Agricultural Loans Act Program (CALA), is open to all farmers engaged in farming in Canada as individuals, partnerships, cooperatives, or cooperative associations.
- The Price Pooling Program (PPP), is open to Canadian agricultural marketing agencies that market agricultural or value-added products under a cooperative plan.
Specific demographic group outcomes - Loan Guarantee Programs
The programs do not target specific demographics or sub-groups. Security requirements for the APP and CALA may result in barriers to access for Indigenous producers who live on reserve.
Key program impacts on gender and diversity - Loan Guarantee Programs
The department recently completed a legislative review of the programs under the Agricultural Marketing Programs Act (AMPA), a federal act establishing programs to facilitate and improve market opportunities for producers through the provision of loan and price guarantees, including the APP and the PPP. The review found that the APP is well positioned to help underrepresented groups and youth who may have relatively smaller farming operations with limited equity and assets. The Department is also investigating options to improve program access for Indigenous producers living on reserve.
GBA Plus data collection plan - Loan Guarantee Programs
These programs did not have data to enable the monitoring and reporting of program impacts by gender and diversity. However, the AMPA review noted above recommended that GBA Plus information be collected from program participants for future program analysis. As a result, in 2022–23, AAFC planned for the incorporation of a GBA Plus data collection and reporting plan for the Loans Guarantees Programs, beginning in the 2023-24 fiscal year. Collection and analysis of this data will inform future design and delivery of the program, and inform on the program's reach to and impact on underrepresented and marginalized groups.
Farm Debt Mediation Service
Program goals - Farm Debt Mediation Service
The Farm Debt Mediation Service is a legislated financial service that helps farmers in financial difficulties mediate solutions with their creditors. This work is led by neutral third-party financial experts and, as such, the Service does not share or report on this information beyond the number of farmers helped to ensure the privacy of all involved.
Target population - Farm Debt Mediation Service
The Farm Debt Mediation Service is a legislated financial service designed to target a specific sector in the economy (producers in the agriculture sector).
Specific demographic group outcomes - Farm Debt Mediation Service
Not available
Key program impacts on gender and diversity - Farm Debt Mediation Service
Not available
GBA Plus data collection plan - Farm Debt Mediation Service
The Farm Debt Mediation Service does not collect sufficient data to enable the monitoring and reporting of program impacts by gender and diversity. Applicants can choose to disclose gender on their application form, but it is not required.
Pest Management
Program goals - Pest Management
This program generates and reviews scientific data supporting the safe use and registration of minor uses of pesticides and biopesticides. Tools, techniques and practices to reduce the risk to human health and the environment associated with pesticide use are made available to producers.
Target population - Pest Management
The Pest Management Program is designed to target specific regions or sectors in the economy (that is, agriculture sector).
Specific demographic group outcomes - Pest Management
Not available
Key program impacts on gender and diversity - Pest Management
Not available
GBA Plus data collection plan - Pest Management
The Pest Management Center will continue to collect crop and pest information from grower groups to identify the top pest management priorities by region. Moving forward, the Centre will look into how to further deepen its GBA Plus monitoring/reporting on program impacts, research accessibility, and other areas of opportunity.
Assurance Program
Program goals - Assurance Program
The Assurance Program is designed to benefit the agriculture and agri-food industry, by helping them develop and adopt systems, along with standards and tools to support health and safety claims about Canadian agricultural and agri-food products. It is comprised of the AgriAssurance program which has a National Industry Association component, and a Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise component.
In 2022–23, GBA Plus considerations were applied to inform the design and delivery of the next iteration of the program under the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (Sustainable CAP) policy framework (2023–28). Analysis of GBA Plus data was used to understand the program reach, identify potential barriers, and seek opportunities for enhancing the participation of underrepresented and marginalized groups in the program. As a result, AAFC designed an enhanced data collection plan for programs under Sustainable CAP.
Target population - Assurance Program
The AgriAssurance National Industry Association component supports associations in a variety of production and processing sub-sectors to lead projects in the key categories of: food safety, traceability, animal welfare, market attributes and quality standards, and a greater demand for system integration. These projects support all aspects of the supply chain, across a myriad of sectors, to advance diverse priorities from food safety to public trust.
The AgriAssurance Small and Medium-sized Enterprise (SME) component is a pilot program representing a smaller proportion of the Program's funding. This pilot is aimed at supporting companies to implement third-party assurance certifications (quality, food safety, animal care, sustainability, etc.) and recognitions that address international market requirements, thus helping expand export opportunities for Canadian agricultural and agri-food products.
Distribution of benefits - Assurance Program
| By gender | Broadly gender-balanced |
|---|---|
| By income level | Somewhat benefits high income individuals (somewhat regressive) |
| By age group | Primarily benefits seniors or the baby boom generation |
Specific demographic group outcomes - Assurance Program
As these systems help producers, processors, and consumers, they benefit a diverse range of Canadians. The program is working to encourage participants to identify and support projects that more clearly benefit underrepresented and marginalized groups.
Key program impacts on gender and diversity - Assurance Program
| Statistics | Observed results (2022–23 or most recent) |
Data source | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proportion of recipients who state their project benefits underrepresented and marginalized groups |
National Association Component: Of the 6 projects approved in 2022–23, zero identified benefits for underrepresented and marginalized groups. Small to Medium Enterprise Component: Of the 9 projects approved in 2022–23, 7 (78%) identified benefits for underrepresented and marginalized groups. Of those 7 projects:
|
Program data | The projects are in a variety of sub-sectors so the benefits should be more diffuse. |
Other key program impacts - Assurance Program
Not available
GBA Plus data collection plan - Assurance Program
Under the Canadian Agricultural Partnership (CAP) policy framework (2018-23), the AgriAssurance Program collected data to enable it to monitor and/or report program impacts by gender and diversity. The application form included voluntary questions in support of GBA Plus. Applicants as associations and businesses choose to disclose diversity (that is, an Indigenous organization, women's association, etc.), but it is not required.
In 2022–23, analysis of program data was used to inform the future program design and delivery under Sustainable CAP (2023–28). As a result, AAFC designed an enhanced data collection plan for GBA Plus under the next iteration of programs, including AgriAssurance, beginning April 1, 2023. This includes collecting additional voluntary data from applicants on the majority ownership/leadership of their business, and information regarding business planning to support diversity, equity and inclusion.
This enhanced data collection will allow the program to further disaggregate applicant information to identify who is accessing the program and determine the overall reach and impact on underrepresented and marginalized groups. Furthermore, plans were made to start measuring the participation of Indigenous Peoples, women, and youth across programs under Sustainable CAP, including AgriAssurance. In addition to the applicant data collected, AAFC will access data from Statistics Canada's Linkable File Environment, starting as early as 2025, to prepare demographic profiles and measure progress.
Federal, Provincial, and Territorial (FPT) Cost-Shared Assurance
Program goals - Federal, Provincial, and Territorial (FPT) Cost-Shared Assurance
FPT Cost-shared Assurance programs contributed under the Canadian Agricultural Partnership (CAP) policy framework (2018–23) through support for assurance systems, the development of tools and resources to support public trust initiatives, innovation and transparency through evidence-based study, a better understanding of vulnerabilities and public sentiment, and communicating key finding, outcomes and industry activities to the public. These programs addressed animal or plant health surveillance, disease prevention and control in animal or plant production, control and surveillance of medication use and resistance, biosafety, plant and food safety, traceability, emergency measures, and animal welfare and were encouraged to support knowledge transfer activities for agriculture and agri-food stakeholders.
Under CAP, this program did not apply a GBA Plus lens; however, in 2022–23, negotiations with FPT governments occurred to plan the design and delivery of the next iteration of the program under the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (Sustainable CAP) policy framework (2023–28), including considerations for applying GBA Plus.
Target population - Federal, Provincial, and Territorial (FPT) Cost-Shared Assurance
The programs captured here are designed to target specific regions or sectors of the economy (agriculture and agri-food sector). The provinces and territories deliver programming for the agriculture and agri-food sector specific to their regions.
Specific demographic group outcomes - Federal, Provincial, and Territorial (FPT) Cost-Shared Assurance
Not available
Other key program impacts - Federal, Provincial, and Territorial (FPT) Cost-Shared Assurance
Not available
GBA Plus data collection plan - Federal, Provincial, and Territorial (FPT) Cost-Shared Assurance
While the program did not have the means to measure and report on the impact on underrepresented and marginalized groups during the 2022–23 year, notable progress was made in planning for data collection in support of GBA Plus. In 2022–23, negotiations with FPT governments occurred to plan the design and delivery of the next iteration of the program under Sustainable CAP (2023–28). This included measures to collect data (voluntary self-identification) on the participation of women, youth, and Indigenous Peoples, and integration of GBA Plus considerations into performance reporting by measuring the proportion of underrepresented and marginalized groups accessing programs under the Sustainable CAP framework. In addition to the applicant data collected, AAFC will access data from Statistics Canada's Linkable File Environment, starting as early as 2025 to prepare demographic profiles and measure progress.
Return of Payments
Program goals - Return of Payments
Return of Payments is used to record repayments to Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada for programs that have previously sunset. While part of the Department's program inventory, it is not applicable to the purpose of monitoring and reporting impacts by gender and diversity.
Internal services
Program goals - Internal services
The Department has added non-binary prefixes and personal pronouns to the personnel directory. In 2022, options were enhanced and included in the display for the full Microsoft Office suite. GBA Plus considerations will also be incorporated where possible as part of the Diversity and Inclusion components in the development and implementation of the Department's Digital Operational Strategic Plan.