Preconference Primer Learn what to expect from the conference, how the conference will be run, what you will learn, how to ask questions, how to get involved and more.

Speakers coming soon.

Gender-based Analysis Plus (GBA Plus) is an intersectional analytical tool created and used by the Government of Canada to design effective policy to address the varying experiences of marginalized Canadians. In 2021, the original tool, GBA+, was adapted as GPA Plus, a renewed framework meant to better serve the government’s inclusion and equality objectives. But what does this tool look like in practice? What are the strengths and limitations of this new framework? And how can we best utilize this tool to create targeted and effective policy? 

Speakers:

Anne Lapiere, Executive Director, Health Canada

Sanchari Quader, GBA+ Lead, City of Edmonton

Sanchari Quader (she/her) is an award winning senior policy and DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) professional with project management experience, including developing and executing regional and municipal strategies.

Her 18 years of experience in public policy development, stakeholder engagement, facilitation, and change management led her to her current role as the Department Lead for GBA+ with the Centre of Excellence at the City of Edmonton.

She has deep passion for applying an equity conscious lens to the development of policies, projects, services and programs to ensure equality of outcomes for employees and the communities she serves as a public servant.

The term “intersectionality,” while originally introduced by Professor Dr. Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw in 1989, has since become a shorthand for signalling inclusive and diverse spaces and policy. Now moving well beyond its roots in critical race theory, and Dr. Crenshaw’s call to demolish the “stubborn endurance of the structures of white dominance,” many argue that the term “intersectionality” has become divorced from its initial conception as a call to dismantle existing power structures. This panel is interested in discussing how to avoid “ornamental intersectionality” (Sirma Bilge) and how to effectively take on the mantle of an anti-racist approaches in theory and in policy practice. If you have ever wondered how to ensure that your intersectional approaches to policy remain fully inclusive, rooted in effective action, and evolve to meet the needs of diverse populations, this dialogue is for you. 

Speakers:

Evelyn Amponsah, Toronto Community Housing Corporation (TCHC)

Evelyn Amponsah is currently the Director for the Centre for advancing the interests of Black people and was the Manager- Strategy Development, Confronting anti-Black racism for Toronto Community Housing.  She was also the Senior Training and Development Consultant at the City of Toronto in the Confronting anti Black racism unit. In this role she piloted various innovative training and development initiatives to build city staff’s competency in Anti-Black racism.  Evelyn is also a PhD candidate at York University.  Her research is on the impacts of Anti-Black racism on both Black and non-Black people.

Tyra Erskine, Anti-racist Activist and Consultant

Tiffany Sostar, Community Organizer and Narrative Therapist

Building on the context of our first (“Moving from GBA+ to GBA Plus”) and second (“Intersectionality: Beyond the Buzzword”) sessions, “Levelling Up GBA+” will take a critical approach to examining the existing framework. Drawing on the work of experts, this session will engage in a critical dialogue on how inequalities are conceptualized within the dominant model, and what future progress can be made to ensure on-going decolonial and anti-racist praxis. Alternative approaches (Intersectionality-Based Policy Analysis, Culturally Relevant Gender-Based Analysis) will be analysed on how they can integrate within the existing GBA Plus framework. Think big and think critically, this is your chance to imagine the future of GBA Plus!

Speakers:

Dr. Gabrielle Lindstrom, Educational Development Consultant, University of Calgary

Dr. Gabrielle Lindstrom is a member of the Kainai Nation which is a part of the Blackfoot Confederacy. As educational development consultant for Indigenous ways of knowing, Dr. Lindstrom works closely with the TI and vice-provosts of teaching and learning and Indigenous engagement to advance Indigenous ways of knowing in campus teaching and learning communities, cultures and practices. Her teaching background includes instructing in topics around First Nation, Métis and Inuit history and current issues, Indigenous Studies (Canadian and International perspectives), Indigenous cross-cultural approaches, and Indigenous research methods and ethics. Her dissertation research focused on the interplay between trauma and resilience in the postsecondary experiences of Indigenous adult learners. Other research interests include meaningful assessment in higher education, Indigenous homelessness, intercultural parallels in teaching and learning research, Indigenous lived experience of resilience, Indigenous community-based research, parenting assessment tools reform in child welfare, anti-colonial theory and anti-racist pedagogy. 

Dr. Olena Hankivsky, professor, Simon Fraser University School of Public Policy

Lorelei Higgins, Métis Canadian Cultural Mediator

After critical and engaging discussions on the roots of GBA Plus, and how to ensure an even more inclusive future for the framework, our final panel of the conference asks: how do I apply these ideas in practice? Moving from an evaluation of what a work environment looks like in absence of intersectional equity, this section will discuss concrete case examples of how to apply GBA Plus and intersectionality to government and business, how to empower employees to create a safe and respectful environment for discussions of inclusion, and how an organizations leadership can lead by example. 

Speakers:

Christopher Scipio, Senior Strategic Advisor, Federal Public Service

Christopher K. Scipio is a strategic policy advisor in Canada’s Federal Public Service specializing in Gender-Based Analysis Plus (GBA+). He is an intersectional feminist and anti-racist committed to using his work to contribute to collective efforts to dismantle systems that oppress individuals and groups due to their race, gender, ability, religion, and other identity factors.

Since joining the federal public service in 2010, Christopher has worked primarily in strategic policy on a wide range of files including: change management, access to justice, Indigenous justice, digital government and performance reporting. He is also involved in public service renewal efforts through his participation with the Black Employee Networks (BENs) and the Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network (ARAN).

Outside of his day job, Christopher is a past volunteer with Family Services Ottawa, the Canadian Centre for Women’s Empowerment, Ottawa Community Immigration Settlement Organization and is presently a board member (Director-at-Large) for the Institute of Public Administration of Canada-National Capital Region.

Social Media: Twitter @ScipioCk

Jillian LeBlanc, Senior Communications Advisor, Government of Canada

Jillian LeBlanc (she/her/elle) is a feminist policy specialist who works for the Government of Canada . She is also the outgoing Head Delegate to the OECD representing the Young Diplomats of Canada. 

In her previous role she was at the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS) as a Senior Analyst on Gender and Technology. . In this role she served as the Government Lead for the Dr. Robert Bondar Career Development Program and was the Creator and Chair of the Government of Canada’s Gender and Technology Working Group. In 2019, Jillian was the lead for Feminist Open Government during th Global Open Government Summit, and led on the co-creation of the Guide to Gender-based Analysis Plus (GBA+) and Inclusive Open Government.  

Cassandra Morin from Global Affairs Canada

Drawing on the real word experience from Ryan Hum and Max Brault, with many years of experience working with the Government of Canada, this panel will unpack how GBA Plus was operationalized to enhance the Accessibility Canada Act. 

Speakers:

Ryan Hum, VP and CIO, Data and Information Management, Canada Energy Regulator.

Ryan is the CIO and VP of Data at the Canada Energy Regulator. Ryan is passionate about digital government, human-centered design, fatherhood, and reconciliation. He was a founding member of the Government of Canada’s Impact and Innovation Unit, where he served as the Chief Designer and Chief Data Scientist. During his career, he has worked on issues spanning immigration and settlement, disabilities in the workplace, mining, and health. Ryan studied biology, engineering, and design, and is working toward a PhD. He is also an Adjunct Professor at OCAD University and has taught design, public policy and engineering at Carleton and the University of Toronto.

Max Brault, BDO Vice President of People and Change

Max Brault is a bilingual legislation and policy leader with almost 20 years of progressive public-sector experience. His work has focused on employment equity, the advancement of workplace accessibility, and career development for people with disabilities. Brault helped to guide the federal government toward new and progressive accessibility legislation, Bill C-81, the Accessible Canada Act (the Act).

In his 20 years of progressive service, he has worked in employment equity and accessibility across Correctional Services Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Infrastructure Canada, Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat and the Public Service Commission. Through these unique experiences, he was able to leverage a diverse set of skills and a network of relationships with Deputy Ministers, Departmental Executives, federal employees, and other government departments.

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