Canada’s first environmental racism bill was back before the House of Commons this week after the committee studying the bill approved it without amendment. The bill was first tabled by former Nova Scotia MP Lenore Zann in February 2020. “Environmental racism is something that has been ignored for far too many years,” Zann, the Liberal MP for Cumberland-Colchester, said in bringing forth the private member’s bill for second reading in the House of Commons on Dec. 8, 2020.

The House of Commons is close to adopting Canada's first-ever legislation on environmental racism — environmental hazards that disproportionately affect Indigenous, Black and other racialized communities. Bill C-226 comes up for a vote today and is expected eventually to pass through the House of Commons with the support of the Liberals, the NDP and the Green Party. Those parties hope the bill can be fast-tracked through unanimous consent and bypass several procedural hoops. That's not likely without the support of the two other opposition parties.