Vancouver, B.C. – Everyone deserves access to basic information about their human rights and how they are protected—whether they speak English or another language. That is why BC’s Office of the Human Rights Commissioner (BCOHRC) is releasing videos of its educational sessions about B.C.’s Human Rights Code, the principal human rights legislation in our province, in 10 languages today. Now freely available via BCOHRC’s website, bchumanrights.ca/resources/code-sessions, each 45-minute video will help viewers learn about their rights and responsibilities, whether they are landlords or tenants, employers or employees or service providers or service users.
These sessions have played a key role in making the Code easier to understand, providing live attendees with clear explanations of what can often seem like an intricate and challenging subject. By releasing videos of the sessions today, including versions dubbed and closed-captioned in multiple languages, BCOHRC hopes to share this resource with an even broader audience of people living and working in British Columbia.
“We are publishing these videos today to empower communities and individuals from all walks of life to understand their obligations under the Code and how it protects them,” said Human Rights Commissioner Kasari Govender. “We are proud to be sharing translated versions of the workshop in 10 languages, and I encourage all members of the B.C. public to take advantage of this valuable resource.”
Per the Code, the Commissioner is responsible for promoting and protecting human rights in B.C.
By watching these recorded sessions, viewers will learn to:
- situate B.C.’s Human Rights Code within other human rights laws
- recognize terms used in B.C.’s human rights system
- identify discrimination under the Code
- recognize what personal characteristics are protected from discrimination under the Code
BCOHRC will also continue to host live offerings of the sessions a few times per year. The next session, which discusses all three Code-protected areas, will take place October 4, 2023, at 10 a.m. Further details and registration information, when available, will be posted to bchumanrights.ca/events.
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Media contact
To request an interview with Commissioner Kasari Govender, please contact Charlotte Kingston, Director, Communications, at or 250-216-4534.
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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
B.C.’s Human Rights Commissioner, Kasari Govender, started her five-year term on Sept. 3, 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. Her work through BC’s Office of the Human Rights Commissioner centres listening deeply to British Columbians to inform educational materials, policy guidance, public inquiries, interventions, community-based research and more that protects marginalized communities, addresses discrimination and injustice and upholds human rights for all.
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