Report calls on NS to apologize to Mi’kmaw, black communities for environmental racism

According to a draft document obtained by CBC News, a report by a provincially legislated panel on environmental racism includes 14 recommendations — including a demand for a formal apology by the Nova Scotia government — and suggests compensation should also be considered.

The full report, which has not yet been made public, calls for empowering affected Mi’kmaw and African Nova Scotian communities to work with the government rather than simply seek advice, “so they can themselves hold the government accountable for addressing the systemic issues that plague our communities.”

Although the report did not specify a dollar amount, it said it would “require investment” to “remediate and resolve” the conditions that exist due to environmental racism and take steps to help prevent such practices from continuing.

It also opens the door to the possibility of compensation and notes that community land trusts could be a possible solution.

It states, “Communities and community-based organizations should consider providing resources to those whose health, social and economic well-being is harmed by environmental racism.”

The 30-page draft was submitted to the provincial government in February 2024. But since last spring, several Cabinet ministers have refused to detail its contents, say whether it will be made public or confirm whether they have even read it.

Following pressure from Mi’kmaw chiefs and opposition MLAs, Environment Minister Tim Hulman confirmed to reporters earlier this month that a meeting has been scheduled between cabinet ministers and panel members before Christmas to discuss the recommendations and decide what to do with the report.

Although government officials have said that the panel’s order did not specify whether the document would be shared beyond inner circles, the report’s findings suggest that panel members saw a role for broader sharing of information.

“We look forward to the next steps in this work and will listen to what Nova Scotians have to say about this report as a starting point,” the document says.

The report has 14 recommendations:

• Establishing a first-of-its-kind community-led governance body, such as the Environmental Racism Review Board or the Environmental Racism and Equality Commission, equipped with “decision-making powers” and an “executive relationship” with the Minister for the Environment and the Office of Equality and Anti-Racism.
• Design a comprehensive community empowerment approach to provide direction to the governing body and the province on ways to address “past, present and future environmental racism”.
• Community empowerment initiatives should be led by existing organizations.
• A formal apology should be issued to the Mi’kmaw and African Nova Scotian communities, “recognizing that past provincial decisions have had a disproportionate impact on them as a result of environmental racism.”
• Public reporting on the progress and investments the province is making to address environmental racism.
• Adopt a formal definition of environmental racism for purposes of ongoing legislative and policy changes.
• 52 Recognize African Nova Scotian communities and the impacts of environmental racism on these communities and their descendants.
• Consider changes to existing environmental approval processes that better incorporate an environmental racism perspective. This could include “an adjudicatory body focused on environmental racism that would review projects requiring environmental clearance or other approvals involving community and land use planning.”
• Create a process “integrated with the existing annual provincial budget” to fund initiatives deemed a priority by governing bodies.
• Develop a multi-year financial investment to fund priorities identified by the governance body.
• Identify community groups focused on equity and the impacts of environmental racism to take the lead in advancing initiatives prioritized by the governing body.
• Prioritize and provide resources to evaluate past work on environmental racism.
• Work with the community to prioritize potential solutions.
• Amend the Environmental Targets and Climate Change Mitigation Act to codify the panel’s recommendations into law.

The result of the call for report was An NDP amendment to major environmental legislation Progressive Conservative government passed in 2021,

Following a speech at a Halifax Chamber of Commerce luncheon on Wednesday, Hellman did not say whether the government was prepared to accept any of the report’s recommendations.

“There has been historical discrimination against certain groups in this province and certainly that’s why we have the Office of Equality and Anti-Racism to address that,” he said.

Hellman said the government would have more to say after the meeting with panel members.

The panel report included a chapter on the history of environmental racism in Nova Scotia, and detailed examples such as the relocation of the Membertou community, the construction of a dump in Shelburne near the predominantly African Nova Scotian community, the pollution of Boat Harbor by pulp mill waste near Pictou Landing First Nation, and the destruction of the historic black community of Africaville in Halifax’s north end to make way for the Murray MacKay Bridge. Is.

“These stories tell us about the barriers structurally embedded in government policy, legislation, regulations and processes and the need for dedicated structures to deal with the complexity of these issues,” the report said.

It states that those structures “must have strong community membership and be representative of people who have experienced systemic racism generally and environmental racism specifically.”

Another chapter focuses on community participation.

In it, the panel calls for a “trauma-informed approach” to establish “strong, mutually beneficial relationships and partnerships with the community.”

“This is about community empowerment. The work will need to move forward at the same pace that the Mi’kmaq and (African Nova Scotian) communities are willing to move forward. It will take time to build the necessary trust and authenticity around this work, but it is the only way meaningful change will happen.”

Premier Tim Houston’s government has been criticized for a lack of consultation around legislation aimed at aggressive efforts to encourage more projects in the interest of increasing natural resource development and increasing economic growth.

The report suggests that the definition of environmental racism should include:

• “Disproportionately greater exposure of indigenous and racialized communities to contamination and pollution from locations and industries.”
• “These communities lack the political power to oppose the placement of industrial polluters in their communities.”
• “The implementation of policies that sanction the presence of harmful and, in many cases, life-threatening poisons in these communities.”
• “The disproportionate negative impacts of environmental policies result in differential rates of cleanup of environmental pollutants in these communities.”
• “A history of excluding indigenous and racialized communities from mainstream environmental groups, decision-making boards, commissions, and regulatory bodies.”

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