Whereas systemic inequities are present in all municipalities and prevent all citizens from fully participating in civic life, but numerous municipalities across British Columbia and Canada have made progress towards becoming more equitable by committing to embed equity in all government action through the use of analytical processes for the assessment of systemic inequities e.g. Gender-Based Analysis Plus; And whereas the Province of British Columbia and the Government of Canada have adopted Gender-Based Analysis Plus to assess how diverse Canadians experience policies, programs, and government initiatives: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM call upon the Province of British Columbia and the Government of Canada to provide resources and policy direction to enable local governments to implement analytical process for the assessment of systemic inequalities i.e. Gender-Based Analysis Plus across local government capital investments, operations and strategic initiatives to ensure all citizens can participate fully in civic life and to make measurable progress towards dismantling systemic inequality in our communities.
Ministry of Finance The BC government agrees that it is important to ensure policies, programs and services work for all people and there is a need to better understand the different ways people experience the world. GBA is a tool that can help governments better understand how diverse groups of people experience public policy and identify where changes should be made. We encourage all local governments to adopt GBA. Currently, there are resources and training available through the federal Ministry of Women and Gender Equality. The BC government is in the early stages of developing further training on GBA for provincial public servants, and we welcome the opportunity to share the training with local governments as new modules become available in the coming years. In alignment with the UBCM Equitable Communities resolution, new provincial initiatives such as the Anti-Racism Data Act are also building BCs capacity to identify and reduce systemic inequities in provincial government services. The Province looks forward to sharing its learning with local governments as we move forward.