Hon. Wanda Elaine Thomas Bernard: This question is for the Government Representative in the Senate. Senator Gold, yesterday was the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

The Prime Minister released a statement affirming the government’s commitment to creating a country that offers equal opportunity. He highlighted that the government recognized the United Nations’ International Decade for People of African Descent or UNDPAD. In 2019, the government announced the launch of an initiative called Building a Foundation for Change: Canada’s Anti-Racism Strategy for 2019–2022. We are now at the end of this time frame that was set out to build a foundation for long-term action, and only have two years left of UNDPAD.

Senator Gold, what are the next steps for the Anti-Racism Secretariat?

Senator Bernard: Senator Gold, I have heard from many African-Nova Scotian community members that funds from the Black Entrepreneurship Program have been challenging to access. What funds have been released to date, and what is the breakdown by province of organizations that have received this funding?