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Vancouver, B.C. – B.C.’s Human Rights Commissioner, Kasari Govender, will release a report that highlights 10 key human rights issues impacting people across the province.

Media are invited to register for an in-person press conference to learn about the Rights in Focus: Lived Realities in B.C. report. Drawing on multiple research methods, the report identifies key problem areas for human rights in B.C., highlighting important systemic issues that create inequalities and injustices throughout the province. This will be the Commissioner’s first Rights in Focus report; new reports will be added to the series every three years to provide snapshots of the state of key issues and show how human rights in B.C. are evolving over time.

WHO:Kasari Govender, B.C.’s independent Human Rights Commissioner
Zoe Craig-Sparrow, Director of Indigenous Rights and Environmental Justice, Justice for Girls
Raji Mangat, Executive Director, West Coast LEAF
Dawn Hemingway, Professor Emerita, School of Social Work, Gender/Women’s Studies and Health Sciences, UNBC, and well-known community activist
WHAT:Releasing BCOHRC’s “Rights in Focus: Lived realities in B.C.” report and taking questions from media
WHEN:Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2024
Media sign-in opens: 8:45 a.m.
Event starts: 9:15 a.m.
WHERE:Room 1400 – SFU Harbour Centre (515 W. Hastings St., Vancouver, B.C.) and live online at: https://youtube.com/live/fwWNxZGHdik
REGISTER: https://bchumanrights.ca/rif-media-signup/

Note: Registration for the event will be accepted until 2:00 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 13. When registering, please advise us of any accessibility needs or translation requirements you may have. We will work to accommodate you.  

A note on the event question and answer portion: We will be accepting questions in real time in person at the press conference during the Q&A portion, but press are also invited to submit questions in advance via the registration form. Please note that questions cannot be submitted via the livestream. There will be an additional opportunity for media to interview the Commissioner on site directly after the event and additional requests can be sent to .

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Media contact

For questions about the upcoming announcement, please contact Lindsey Bertrand, Manager, Communications, at  or 1-604-306-7369.

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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