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Vancouver B.C. – B.C.’s Human Rights Commissioner is hosting the second livestream in the Beyond the Headlines series, which will highlight migrant workers’ rights. On Thursday, May 15 at 10:30 a.m. PDT, Commissioner Kasari Govender will sit down with Ketty Nivyabandi, Secretary General for Amnesty International Canada’s English-Speaking section, to speak about how structural factors can create vulnerabilities and lead to the exploitation of migrant workers. 

Media and public are invited to watch the discussion via Zoom or livestreamed on the Commissioner’s website. Those who register and join the Zoom webinar will be able to ask questions during the event that may be answered live.  

As described in the Commissioner’s landmark Rights in Focus report, released in 2024, ​migrant workers, and specifically temporary foreign workers, are at risk of exploitation due to their immigration status being tied to their employment. Migrant workers are also at a greater risk during large-scale climate emergencies and, as we have seen in the province, have reported being excluded from responses during these emergencies. Following closely from International Workers’ Day (May Day), this Beyond the Headlines discussion will provide a space to better understand the rights of migrant workers and how we track progress on this issue in British Columbia.    

WHO: Kasari Govender, B.C.’s independent Human Rights Commissioner Ketty Nivyabandi, Secretary General, Amnesty International Canada’s English-Speaking section 

WHAT: Beyond the Headlines: A conversation on migrant workers’ rights with Ketty Nivyabandi 

WHEN: Thursday, May 15, 2025, 10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. PDT  

WHERE: Via a Zoom webinar and streaming live via bchumanrights.ca/beyond-the-headlines   

REGISTER: To register for the Zoom webinar, visit: https://tinyurl.com/Migrant-Workers-Rights 

Note: Please note that the Commissioner and Secretary General will only be accepting audience questions from registered webinar participants via the Zoom platform during the Q and A. When registering, please advise us of any accessibility needs or translation requirements you may have. We will work to accommodate you.    

Beyond the Headlines resources  

  • The Rights in Focus report describes 10 key systems impacting human rights in British Columbia. To learn more about the report, visit here: baseline.bchumanrights.ca/in-focus  

This release is also available as a PDF (123KB).

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Media contact

To request an interview with Commissioner Kasari Govender, please contact Lindsey Bertrand, Manager, Communications, at or 604-306-7369.   

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Visit our media kit for images of Commissioner Kasari Govender, pronunciation guidance, bios and more.  

About BCOHRC 

BC’s Office of the Human Rights Commissioner exists to address the root causes of inequality, discrimination and injustice in B.C. by shifting laws, policies, practices and cultures. We do this work through education, research, advocacy, inquiry and monitoring. Learn more at: bchumanrights.ca  

About the Commissioner 

Kasari Govender began her work as B.C.’s first independent human rights commissioner in September 2019.  As an independent officer of the Legislature, Commissioner Govender is uniquely positioned to ensure human rights in B.C. are protected, respected and advanced on a systemic level. In her first five-year term, her work through BC’s Office of the Human Rights Commissioner included a public inquiry into experiences of hate in the pandemic, a report on systemic discrimination in policing, community embedded research about a range of human rights issues experienced by British Columbians, public awareness campaigns about ableism and racism and guidance to government that, among other things, informed the creation of both the Anti-Racism Data Act and the Anti-Racism Act. Commissioner Govender was reappointed for a second term beginning in September 2024. 

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