B.C. tables legislation to root out systemic racism in government

B.C. is taking further steps to address racist policies and practices in government, with the tabling of a new bill.

Attorney General Niki Sharma brought the Anti-Racism Act to the floor of the Legislature Thursday, April 11. The bill builds on the NDP’s Anti-Racism Data Act, which became law in 2022.

The previous law aimed to collect data on the experiences of racialized British Columbians to identify barriers in areas like education, health care, income assistance, corrections, and other core government services.

“Government has made identifying and dismantling systemic racism in public sector bodies, policies, programs, and services a priority,” Sharma said in the legislature. “This act will bring action to the data collected by the Anti-Racism Data Act.

“It’s hard to measure the amount of harm that laws that work against people because of their race can do — the generations of harm and the trauma that people carry because of those actions,” she said. “I’m really proud of the legislation today because it will help us build a path to a better future for many British Columbians.”

If passed, the Anti-Racism Act would require public institutions to critically evaluate day-to-day operations and remove policies and practices that harm Indigenous and racialized people. It would also advance the recruitment, hiring, and retention of racialized British Columbians in the public sector.

The act will also require the province to create a committee on anti-racism to develop and implement an action plan, which will lay out how government plans to address systemic racism, how success will be measured, and what accountability measures will be put in place.

Under this legislation, Indigenous and racialized communities will be able to apply for grants to help identify and eliminate racism, and address its impact on people. The province says this will ensure those most affected by institutional racism do not have to bear the financial burden of fixing the system.

Sharma says the legislation was crafted in partnership with racialized groups from across B.C., with a particular focus on how racism impacts Indigenous communities. 

“We worked closely with the Alliance of B.C. Modern Treaty Nations, the First Nations Leadership Council technical team, Metis Nation B.C., the B.C. Association for Aboriginal Friendship Centres, and the Multicultural Advisory Council in the development of this Act,” Sharma said.

“A really important component of this bill today is Indigenous-specific racism, because we know Indigenous people in this province have experienced colonization and the devastation of racism that still show up in our government services. We’re going to be proud to work with First Nations in partnership to dismantle systemic racism in this province.”

First reading of the bill passed unanimously in the legislature Thursday. Second reading will be held at the next sitting of the house.