Ontario passed legislation today that positions the province as a leader in fighting systemic racism and advancing racial equity for all.

The Anti-Racism Act, 2017 strengthens the government’s commitment to identify and combat systemic racism in policies, programs and services and build a fair society where everyone is provided equal opportunity.

The legislation:

• Establishes the Anti-Racism Directorate in legislation to ensure its sustainability
• Requires the continuation and regular review of a multi-year anti-racism strategy, ensuring the sustainability and accountability of the government’s anti-racism work
• Mandates a review of the anti-racism strategy at least every five years, in consultation with the public and community partners
• Enables the government to implement race data collection and an anti-racism impact assessment tool, to help identify, remedy or prevent inequitable racial impacts of policies and programs.