Nova ScotiaOpposition leaders say there is no reason for Premier Tim Houston and members of his cabinet to delay acknowledging the need for an apology to communities impacted by environmental racism in Nova Scotia.Premier says next step is to meet with panel members who produced reportMichael Gorman · CBC News · Posted: Nov 27, 2025 4:07 PM EST | Last Updated: 2 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 3 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston says his government will determine how to proceed after a meeting next month with panel members who produced the report. (CBC)Opposition leaders say there is no reason for Premier Tim Houston and members of his cabinet to delay acknowledging the need for an apology to communities impacted by environmental racism in Nova Scotia.On Wednesday, CBC News reported on the recommendations of a panel on environmental racism that was assembled in 2023. The draft document was delivered to the government in February 2024 but had remained private until then.One of the recommendations is for a formal apology by the provincial government to Mi’kmaw and African Nova Scotian communities, acknowledging the disproportionate impacts of environmental racism from previous government decisions.Premier Tim Houston, Environment Minister Tim Halman and Justice Minister Scott Armstrong all said it’s important for government officials to first meet with members of the panel next month before determining next steps.Report calls on N.S. to apologize to Mi’kmaw, Black communities for enviro racismAn ’embarrassing’ approachBut opposition leaders said Thursday that there is nothing to prevent government members from signalling their intentions now.“I honestly couldn’t believe that the premier and a minister today couldn’t look at the media and tell Nova Scotians that we should apologize,” interim Liberal Leader Derek Mombourquette told reporters in Halifax.NDP Leader Claudia Chender told reporters the way the government has handled the report is “embarrassing.”This past spring multiple cabinet ministers refused to detail the report’s contents or say whether they’d read it or if it would be made public. Ultimately a meeting between government officials and panel members was scheduled in the face of public pressure.Push for more developmentFollowing Houston’s scrum with reporters on Thursday, staff from his office released copies of a June 2024 version of the draft by the panel.“I think that this government has a lot of work to do to show communities across this province who have been impacted by the legacy of environmental racism for generations that they understand that and that they care about it and that they won’t replicate it,” said Chender.That last point is of particular importance at a time when the government is promoting increased natural resource development, said Chender, because historically projects that have had adverse impacts on communities were located in marginalized areas where people had less power.Halman has said he is confident the current environmental assessment process for industrial projects is set up to help prevent further instances of environmental racism.’The cost of inaction is lives’Shelburne resident Vanessa Hartley, who worked as project manager for the panellists for three months and went on to co-found the Centre for Environmental Justice, said a formal apology from the province is “extremely important.”But Hartley said the government must also work to rebuild trust with affected communities because of how long it’s taken to move forward with the panel’s report and make public its recommendations.She told CBC Radio’s Information Morning Nova Scotia on Thursday that Halman has advocated on the issue and she thinks it’s being approached strategically, but she said she also hopes that comes with a level of understanding and commitment to act.“I would just state to him that the cost of inaction is lives.”MORE TOP STORIESABOUT THE AUTHORMichael Gorman covers the Nova Scotia legislature for CBC, with additional focuses on health care and rural communities. Contact him with story ideas at michael.gorman@cbc.ca
N.S. opposition says province should apologize for history of environmental racism
