The Nova Scotia government will conduct further community consultation before determining what — if any — recommendations to adopt from an independent panel on environmental racism.

Justice Minister Scott Armstrong told reporters at Province House on Tuesday that there is $430,000 in the provincial budget for the work.

He said officials in the Office of Equity and Anti-Racism are working with staff in the Office of L’nu Affairs and African Nova Scotian Affairs “to make sure those consultations are done in a culturally responsive manner.”

“We’ll be reviewing recommendations, talking about what the priorities are from community across Nova Scotia,” said Armstrong.

“We want to do some deep discussions on all the recommendations before we put a plan in place.”

The panel, assembled in 2023, delivered its final report to the government last year. Although that document has not been shared publicly yet, draft versions that have seen the light of day have given insight to the recommendations.

They’ve included a call for a formal apology by the provincial government, a community-led governance body with decision-making authority to work with the government, and a public reporting process to measure progress in acting on the recommendations.

Shouldn’t have to ask how to apologize

While it was noted during question period on Tuesday at Province House that issuing a public apology would not cost the government any money, Armstrong said he thinks it is important to consult to see “what would an apology look like [and] is an apology something proper in this manner.”

“I think that’s something we really want to discuss with community before making a final decision on that.”

NDP MLA Suzy Hansen, whose amendment to government environmental legislation in 2021 led to the creation of the panel, said community consultation helped form the recommendations.

Hansen said she welcomes consultation if it’s deemed necessary for acting on certain recommendations, although she isn’t sure what more needs to be considered when it comes to the government issuing a formal apology.

“You shouldn’t have to ask anybody, ‘How do I apologize to you?'” she said in an interview.

“You should come up with what that might look like, do it publicly and then start from there to build the trust back in community.”

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