B.C. tables anti-racism legislation, promises to hold public bodies accountable
The British Columbia government tabled legislation Thursday that's designed to hold public bodies accountable for addressing systemic racism in policy and programs, the province's attorney general said.
Niki Sharma said the proposed law would cover provincial ministries, agencies, health-care and social service providers, and require the development of a public action plan using data the government has collected on systemic racism.
She said it would give her ministry the power to issue compliance orders if it finds a lack of response to the action items in the plan.
Before tabling the bill, Sharma said she sometimes thinks of the politicians who have come before her in the legislature, who passed laws designed to hurt people based on the colour of their skin.
“The power that was wielded in that place, that was directed toward racialized people in this province, you just can't even imagine the generations of pain and trauma and impact that that's had,” she said.
“The government can change that.”
Sharma said the province will establish an anti-racism committee to help guide the development of the action plan by June 1, 2026, and develop standards and targets.
The legislation also requires public bodies to develop and implement a training curriculum on Indigenous history, set targets for the recruitment and retention of Indigenous and racialized people, and regularly assess their policies and programs.
Years of breaking people's trust can make them afraid to engage with the government because of the colour of their skin, Sharma said.
That could mean fear of reporting a crime to the police, going to an emergency room, or speaking up in a classroom.
“Government is here to represent the people of this province and it's our job to ensure that everybody in British Columbia has the support that they need, not just to live, but to thrive,” she said.
B.C.'s Anti Racism Data Act came into effect in 2022, allowing for the collection and use of personal information for the purposes of identifying and eliminating systemic racism. It requires the province to release statistics annually.
Sharma said the first data would be released soon, giving the ministries and other provincial agencies a baseline to start from.
“What this act requires is government to take action on that (data),” she said.
“So, to receive the data, come up with clear action plans that are public for how they're going to address what they're seeing in the data, and then we have external structures to keep government to account moving forward.”
B.C.'s Human Rights Commissioner, Kasari Govender, said she welcomes the new legislation and sees it as a significant stride toward addressing systemic racism.
However, she said “much remains to be seen” about how it will be implemented and whether it will be effective in addressing significant racial inequalities and discrimination in the province.
“I will be watching closely to ensure systemic racism is properly identified and that the public bodies responsible are tasked with taking meaningful action,” Govender said in a statement.
“I also look forward to when municipal police forces, school boards, health authorities and other public bodies are brought within the purview of the act.”
- By Ashley Joannou in Vancouver
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 11, 2024.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Prince William and Kate release photo of daughter Charlotte to mark ninth birthday
Prince William and his wife Kate released a picture of their daughter Charlotte to mark the princess's ninth birthday on Thursday.
Ontario man loses $1,500 applying for Nexus cards on social media
The trusted traveller program between Canada and the United States is extremely popular and almost two million Canadians have a Nexus card.
NEW Facial reconstruction reveals what a 40-something Neanderthal woman may have looked like
Scientists studying a Neanderthal woman's remains have painstakingly pieced together her skull from 200 bone fragments to understand what she may have looked like.
Concerns about Plexiglas prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall Plexiglas barriers.
Weight-loss drug Wegovy available in Canada starting May 6
The makers of Ozempic say their weight-loss drug Wegovy will be available to patients in Canada starting Monday.
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Goring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.
This Canadian restaurant just lowered its prices. Here's how it did it
A Canadian restaurant lowered its prices this week, and though news of price tags dropping rather than climbing sounds unusual, the business strategy in this case is not, according to experts in the field.
NEW Companies letting customers opt out of Mother's Day ads
In an effort to balance the profitability of Mother's Day with the pain it causes some people, some brands are offering customers the choice to opt out of Mother's Day email advertising.
NEW A mother's hopes to free her son from a Syrian prison is revitalized by a new human rights report
Just days before the seventh anniversary of the day Jack Letts was thrown in prison with thousands of suspected ISIS fighters, his mother, Sally Lane, delivered a small stack of envelopes to the headquarters of Global Affairs Canada in Ottawa.