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Vancouver B.C. – B.C.’s Human Rights Commissioner, Kasari Govender, will release the final report of the Inquiry into the exclusion of media from the April 2023 Hastings decampment on Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026, at 9:15 a.m. PST in downtown Vancouver.

Media are invited to register to attend the event.

The Inquiry examined whether and why media and others were restricted from the Hastings Street encampment on April 5 and 6, 2023, and why public access to the traffic cameras was shut down on the morning of April 5, 2023. The Commissioner examined whether the restrictions complied with human rights law protections for freedom of the press and freedom of assembly in domestic and international law. The report includes recommendations to protect human rights, including freedom of the press.

WHAT:

Press conference for the release of the final report of the Inquiry into the exclusion of media from the April 2023 Hastings decampment

WHEN:

Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026, at 9:15 a.m. PST

WHERE:

Downtown Vancouver. Press conference location will be sent to registered media.

Media may also watch the press conference livestream online via the Commissioner’s website: bchumanrights.ca/unmediated. Q&A will be taken from media attending in person first. If time allows, questions will then be taken from those submitted through the registration form or via text to 604-306-7369.  

REGISTER:

Media must register to attend the press conference in person, and we encourage those who intend to join remotely to also register in order to receive key information and updates. Register via: https://bchumanrights.ca/media-sign-up-unmediated/

NOTE:

When registering, please advise us of any accessibility needs or other requirements you may have. We will work to accommodate you. 

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This advisory is also available as a PDF (217KB).

Media contact

For more information or to request an additional interview with Commissioner Kasari Govender after the press conference, please contact [email protected] or 604-306-7369.

Media kit 

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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