A historic anti-racism data law took effect in British Columbia on Friday.
The Anti-Racism Data Act requires the provincial government to “collect intersectional demographic data, such as age, gender identity and ethnic origin.” The goal of the legislation is to better identify issues like economic inequality, employment statistics, and health care outcomes.
Data will be collected in ways that protects the privacy of participants. Whenever a public body seeks demographic data, the legislation requires it to share the purpose for collecting the personal information, the legal authority for collecting it, the types of personal information that may be collected, and contact information of a representative of the public body who can answer questions about the data collection.
The creation of the bill came in partnership with Indigenous Peoples and racialized communities in B.C. In addition to demographic data collection, the Act will see the introduction of a new Anti-Racism Data Committee in an opportunity to get public feedback around the elimination of systemic racism in the public sector. The committee will have some help in gathering their data, as B.C. Stats is expected to conduct a voluntary population survey by the end of 2022, with a release date expected in 2023.
“We know that some racialized people are hesitant to share their personal information with government because of its history of colonialism and oppressing people of colour. That’s why we’re working in partnership with Indigenous and Black people, and people of colour, to develop ways to collect voluntary data safely,” Parliamentary Secretary for Anti-Racism Initiatives, Rachna Singh, said in a news release Friday.
The Act was introduced on May 2 before being passed in unanimous fashion throughout the province’s legislative assembly. After receiving royal assent just one month later, the legislation is now enshrined in law.
Data to be used to promote equity
“The data collected through the new Anti-Racism Data Act will shine a light on where barriers exist in government programs so that, together with racialized communities, we can make improvements and create a more equitable province for everyone,” B.C. Attorney General, David Eby, said in the release.
The legislation also has a number of protections in place to make sure data is shared in ways that support and advance racial equity, while honouring and preserving privacy rights.
“[F]or too long, systemic racism and the long-lasting effects of colonialism have unfairly held people back when it comes to education, job opportunities, housing and more,” Horgan said on May 2. “These injustices are compounded when Indigenous Peoples and racialized communities ask for action, only to be told by government to provide evidence using data that is not being collected.”
Race-based data is an essential component in determining how to support racialized communities. Data from Toronto and Ottawa show that racialized individuals are 1.5 to five times more likely to contract COVID-19 than white people. Indigenous peoples living on reserve also faced disproportionate rates of infection, 69 per cent higher than the general population. The same data isn’t available for many provinces, like Nova Scotia, where it’s unclear that race-based data is even being collected by the government.
Legislation is based on public feedback
The legislation is based on feedback from more than 13,000 British Columbians. The government also awarded grants to about 70 Indigenous and racialized community organizations to go towards community engagement sessions on the Anti-Racism Data Act. With more than 400 community meetings, the sessions reached roughly 10,000 people in the province.
According to the B.C. government, more than 90 per cent of racialized people who provided feedback believed that “collecting intersectional demographic data such as ethnic origin, ancestry, faith, ability and gender identity could bring positive change in B.C.”
For immigrant volunteer organization, S.U.C.C.E.S.S., the long-awaited announcement by the provincial government is a first step in getting accurate data about how social issues impact racialized communities differently.
The organization, which was part of the consultation for the Act, hopes the legislation will help advance other anti-racism initiatives across the country.
“The pandemic has heightened the severity of racism and hate crimes across our diverse communities, including a dramatic rise in anti-Asian hate, and we need a new approach to understanding and fighting racial discrimination in our province,” CEO of the S.U.C.C.E.S.S. Foundation, Queenie Choo, said in a statement last month. “This Act provides a new tool to track racism directly and fight it more effectively.”
The organization noted that before the legislation was introduced, racialized community organizations were the ones doing the work to advocate for better government data on racism, pointing to the Vancouver anti-Asian racism reporting centre, which has seen a 47 per cent spike in 2021, compared to 2020.
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