Overview

• The panel’s recommendations have been withheld more than a year after their expected December 2023 delivery, with no official reason given for the delay.
• An eight-member body chaired by Augy Jones was appointed in June 2023 to examine how racism affects environmental planning in Black and Indigenous communities.
• Opposition NDP leader Claudia Chender called the secrecy “disheartening” and interim Liberal leader Derek Mombourquette deemed it “disgraceful,” demanding public access to the report.
• Druhan, responsible for the Office of Equity and Anti-Racism, said the unreleased report will inform systemic change but declined to confirm if she has seen its contents.
• The panel’s work highlights longstanding cases of environmental racism, including landfills near Shelburne’s Black communities and the Boat Harbour cleanup at Pictou Landing First Nation.