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Who can help?

If you have a human rights concern, there are organizations you can reach out to for help.

  • If you think you have experienced discrimination based on one or more parts of your identity in one of the areas of life protected by B.C.’s Human Right’s Code, you can make a complaint to the Human Rights Tribunal.

    Human Rights Tribunal

    The Human Rights Tribunal hears all the Human Rights Code complaints in B.C. and will

    • Share helpful resources about the complaint process on its website
    • Receive and hear your complaint.
    • Make sure your complaint is covered by the Human Rights Code
    • Start a legal process.
    • Offer a process for you and the person or organization named in your complaint to solve the process yourselves.

    Visit bchrt.bc.ca to learn more.

    There are different organizations in B.C. to help you with your complaint.

    Unions

    If you are a unionized employee and have experienced discrimination related to your work, you can ask your union for help.

    Human Rights Clinic

    The Clinic provides free services for everyone in B.C. interested or involved in making a complaint.

    The Human Rights Clinic will

    • Help you decide if your complaint is covered by the Human Rights Code
    • Help you learn about the process of making a complaint with the Tribunal.
    • See if you qualify for other free legal services to help you with your complaint.

    Visit bchrc.net to learn more.

    The Law Centre

    The Law Centre is for people living in the Victoria area who qualify based on financial need.

    The Law Centre will also help any people or organizations anywhere in B.C. who have received a notice from the Human Rights Tribunal that a complaint has been made against them.

    The Law Centre will

    • Help you understand the Human Rights Code and the Human Rights Tribunal process.
    • Help prepare an initial complaint or reply.
    • Represent you in the Tribunal process.

    Visit thelawcentre.ca to learn more.

    More Resources

    If you need assistance, email us at [email protected].

  • Below we list a number of resources for those experiencing distress. This list is not exhaustive and may not include the most appropriate resource to meet your needs. If you require assistance and don’t see a program here that’s right for you, please feel free to contact our Office by emailing [email protected]. We strive to provide information or referrals in a timely manner to everyone who contacts us. You are also welcome to contact us to let us know of other useful resources that are not reflected in this list.

    Crisis Intervention & Suicide Prevention Centre of BC

    Description: Immediate access to barrier-free, non-judgmental, confidential support and follow-up through 24/7 phone lines and online services.

    Call: 1-800-784-2433 (1-800-SUICIDE)
    Chat: www.crisiscentrechat.ca

    VictimLinkBC

    Description: Toll-free, confidential, multilingual service available across B.C. and the Yukon 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

    Call or text: 1-800-563-0808
    Email: [email protected]

    310Mental Health Support

    Description: Toll-free province-wide access to emotional support, information and resources specific to mental health, available 24/7.

    Call: 310-Mental Health (310-6789) – no need to dial an area code

    Alcohol & Drug Information and Referral Service

    Description: Free, confidential information and referral services to British Columbians in need of support with any kind of substance use issue (alcohol or other drugs). Free, multilingual telephone assistance is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

    Call: 1-800-663-1441

    KUU-US Crisis Line Society

    Description: 24-hour crisis line for Indigenous adults, elders and youth: First Nations and Aboriginal Peoples helping First Nations and Aboriginal Peoples.

    Call toll-free: 1-800-588-8717 Adults and Elders call: 250-723-4050
    Children and Youth call: 250-723-2040

    Indian Residential Schools Survivors Society

    Description: Crisis support for Survivors, families and communities, offering emotional, mental, and spiritual support, available 24/7.

    Call: 1-800-721-0066

    Islamophobia hotline

    Description: Free confidential legal advice if you feel that you have been discriminated against, harassed, or faced violence because you are Muslim or are perceived to be Muslim.

    Call: 604-343-3828

    S.U.C.C.E.S.S Chinese Help Lines

    Description: Serves callers in the province of British Columbia who speak Mandarin or Cantonese.

    For Cantonese, call: 604-270-8233
    For Mandarin, call: 604-270-8222

    Prideline (Gay and Lesbian Helpline)

    Description: Peer support, information and referrals for anyone in BC, available weeknights (Monday to Friday) from 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm

    Call: 1-800-566-1170

    Trans Lifeline

    Description: Grassroots hotline offering direct emotional and financial support to trans people in crisis: for the trans community, by the trans community.

    Call: 1-877-330-6366

    Battered Women’s Support Services (BWSS) Crisis Line

    Description: Providing emotional support to women experiencing gender-based domestic violence and/or uncertainty during these difficult times. BWSS takes your calls from Monday to Sunday, 24 hours a day.

    Call: 1-855-687-1868
    Text: 604-652-1867
    Email: [email protected]

    Seniors Distress Line

    Description: free and confidential telephone support service for seniors, their caregivers or anyone concerned about a senior. Calls are answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by highly trained, non-judgmental and caring volunteers.

    Call: 604-872-1234

    Black Youth Helpline

    Description: Professional, culturally relevant youth and family assessments and intervention

    Call: 1-833 294 8650

    Native Youth Crisis Hotline

    Description: Answered by staff 24/7. Available throughout Canada and US.

    Call: 1-877-209-1266

    Kids Help Phone

    Description: Canada-wide 24-hour bilingual counselling and information services for children and youth between 5 to 20 years old. Services can be accessed via telephone, mobile app, and online.

    Call: 1-800-668-6868

  • We all have a role to play in promoting human rights in B.C. Here are some ideas for how you can help.

    Learn more

    1. Watch our Human rights 101 video and complete worksheets to learn more about human rights laws
    2. Start a conversation with Am I Racist campaign activities
    3. Read about social condition and why we think it should be protected in the Code
    4. Listen to human rights stories
    5. Invite us to speak at your event
    6. Stay up to date on human rights news

    Join the conversation

    Follow us on Twitter (@humanrights4BC), Facebook (facebook.com/HumanRights4BC) and Instagram (@humanrights4BC), and share using the hashtag #HumanRights4BC.

  • There are two official avenues available for people who face incidents of racism and racist violence. The first is that you can report these incidents to the police. Reporting incidents is part of the criminal process of responding to hate crimes. There is more information about how to report a hate crime to the RCMP Hate Crimes Unit.

    There is also a human rights approach to dealing with hate speech and discrimination. Under the B.C. Human Rights Code, you can file a complaint through the BC Human Rights Tribunal. The Tribunal provides more information on how to file a complaint through them.

How can I tell if I’ve experienced discrimination?

If you experience harm in one of the areas based on one or more parts of your identity, you may have experienced discrimination.

It might be more complicated though. Here are some additional questions to think about.

  • A person or organization can discriminate without meaning to. Even if they didn’t intend to cause harm, their actions may be discriminatory.

    For example:

    • The owner of a cleaning company requires all workers to take a turn working one Saturday each month. This rule is not intended to be harm anyone, but a Jewish worker may not be able to work on Saturdays as it is a religious day of rest.
    • A law office assigns more high-profile cases to male lawyers than female lawyers. The law office doesn’t notice they are being unfair, but the female lawyers don’t get the same career opportunities.

  • The harm you experience must be connected to a part of your identity protected by the Code for it to be considered discriminatory.
    Sometimes it is easy to see if you are being treated badly because of a part of your identity.

    For example, a blind person applying for a job at a call centre is told, “We can’t hire you because you won’t be able to see the messages on our phone system.”

    Sometimes more information is needed to know if the harm and the part of your identity are connected.

    For example, a hospital fires a pregnant nurse. The hospital may have fired the nurse because of the pregnancy, but more information is needed. Did the hospital know the nurse was pregnant when they fired them? Are there other reasons the hospital may have fired the nurse?

    You may experience harm because someone thought you have a certain identity that may not be true about you.

    For example, the manager doesn’t offer you the promotion because he thinks you are younger than you are. This would be discrimination even if the manager isn’t right about your age.

  • Not all parts of your identity are protected in all areas of life.

    Here are some examples:

    • Criminal conviction is only protected in employment and membership in a union or occupational association.
    • Political belief is only protected in employment.
    • Source of income is only protected in tenancy.
    • Age does not apply to the purchase of property or membership in a union or occupational association.
    • Family status does not apply to purchase of property.

    There are some situations where people are treated differently because of a part of their identity, but they are not protected by the Code.

    For example:

    • Employment benefit plans and insurance plans can make decisions about premiums and benefits based on age and disability.
    • Certain residential buildings can reserve units just for people over the age of 55.
    • An employer can refuse to hire someone with a criminal conviction if the criminal conviction is related to the job.
    • A person can choose not to rent to someone if they will be sharing cooking, sleeping, and bathroom space with them.

  • Under the Code, employers, landlords, and service providers have the responsibility to take steps to avoid harm to you based on a part of your identity. This is called the duty to accommodate.

    Accommodations are different for each person. Some common examples include:

    • Adjusting the exam time for a student who takes accessible transit to campus and can’t arrive at the exam start time
    • Permitting an employee to wear a turban at work instead of following a dress code
    • Providing a screen-reading program for a student with low vision
    • Providing curbside pick-up service to a shopper who can’t wear a mask in the store

    Employers, landlords and service providers are responsible to work with you to learn about your needs and find reasonable solutions.

    Employers, landlords and service providers are expected to put time, effort and money into providing accommodations to avoid harm. But there might be times where the accommodations required are not reasonable for an employer, landlord or service provider to put in place. This is called undue hardship. An employer, landlord or service provider is only required to accommodate you up to the point of undue hardship.

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