'Environmental racism' bill by Greens will be supported by Liberals

Green Party MP Elizabeth May and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau agreed to move forward with the revised Bill C-230, to "develop a federal strategy for environmental racism and move toward environmental justice" after she reintroduced the bill that died on the order paper last year.

The original bill, Bill C-230, was given support by Liberal MPs, with Environment and Climate Change Minister Steven Guilbeault's mandate letter from the prime minister instructing him to recognize the "right to a healthy environment’ in federal law and introduce legislation to require the development of an environmental justice strategy and the examination of the link between race, socio-economic status and exposure to environmental risk."

The Conservatives and Bloc both expressed that they were against the private member's bill.

May has reintroduced the bill as Bill C-266, with Trudeau saying on Wednesday that the effects of climate change were "felt more acutely by marginalized and minority groups, and this bill will ensure that environmental racism is addressed and prevented."

"... Our support for this bill is a part of our plan to seriously address this issue," said Trudeau.

The bill, put forward by MP Lenora Zann, passed in its second reading in Parliament.

"When I first introduced the bill, most people had never even heard of environmental racism," said Zann to Saltwire. "Now, more people are starting to get familiar with the term and realize that in fact, it is something that we just cannot keep doing as a society."