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Discrimination

Commissioner welcomes Anti-Racism Act following extensive consultation

Vancouver, B.C. – B.C.’s Human Rights Commissioner, Kasari Govender, is welcoming the B.C. government’s introduction of anti-racism legislation today. The Anti-Racism Act (ARA) was tabled in the B.C. Legislature this afternoon, following extensive consultation with Commissioner Govender’s Office. The ARA builds on the Anti-Racism Data Act (ARDA), which was implemented…

April 11, 2024
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General

Series tells human rights story of four B.C. communities

Vancouver, B.C. – What is the state of human rights in B.C.? That is the question B.C.’s Human Rights Commissioner has been seeking to answer through her Office’s multi-year Baseline Project, which today released a series of Community Briefs. The Briefs provide a snapshot of human rights issues in four…

April 10, 2024
Maxwell Johnson (left) joins other Heiltsuk First Nation members in ceremony outside the Burrard Street BMO branch in Vancouver on May 5, 2022.
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Discrimination

Interim review: Settlement Agreement between Maxwell Johnson Sr. and A.B. and the Vancouver Police Board

March 6, 2024
Decolonization

Vancouver police, Johnson family and Heiltsuk Nation should collaborate to realize the promise of systemic…

Vancouver, B.C. – B.C.’s Human Rights Commissioner, Kasari Govender, has released an interim report on the progress of an agreement between the Vancouver Police Board (VPB) and the Heiltsuk Nation to address systemic anti-Indigenous racism in policing. Commissioner Govender, whom the agreement names as an independent third-party reviewer, revealed significant…

March 6, 2024
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Detention

B.C. Human Rights Commissioner launches inquiry into police use of force

Vancouver, B.C. – B.C.’s Human Rights Commissioner has launched an inquiry to quantify the use of force by police against racialized people and people with mental health issues in B.C. The inquiry builds on the Commissioner’s 2021 report, Equity is Safer, which revealed a disturbing pattern of discrimination in policing…

January 30, 2024
Decolonization

B.C. Supreme Court decision delivers mixed results in ensuring human rights protections are enforceable in…

Vancouver, B.C. – On Monday, the B.C. Supreme Court issued a decision in Vancouver Aboriginal Child and Family Services Society (VACFSS) v. R.R. that will impact how issues of discrimination are dealt with in matters concerning child protection. B.C.’s Human Rights Commissioner, Kasari Govender, acted as an intervenor in the case,…

January 23, 2024
Decolonization

B.C. Human Rights Commissioner dismayed as court decision undermines impact of Declaration on the Rights…

Vancouver, B.C. – B.C.’s Human Rights Commissioner is disappointed by today’s B.C. Supreme Court decision limiting the power of the province’s Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (Declaration Act). The Commissioner had intervened in two joined cases before the Court—Gitxaala Nation v. Chief Gold Commissioner of B.C. et…

September 26, 2023
Decolonization

B.C.’s Human Rights Commissioner appears in court on mineral rights cases with important implications for…

Vancouver B.C. – B.C.’s Human Rights Commissioner will appear in court this week on two cases being heard together, Gitxaala Nation v. Chief Gold Commissioner of B.C. et al. and Ehattesaht First Nation v. His Majesty the King in right of B.C. et al. These cases mark the first legal…

April 3, 2023
Decolonization

B.C.’s Human Rights Commissioner is granted intervenor status in cases that will test B.C.’s Declaration…

Vancouver B.C. – B.C.’s Supreme Court has granted B.C.'s Human Rights Commissioner leave to intervene in two cases—Gitxaala Nation v. Chief Gold Commissioner of B.C. et al. and Ehattesaht First Nation v. His Majesty the King in right of B.C. et al.—that will mark the first legal tests of B.C.'s…

January 6, 2023
Decolonization

B.C.’s Human Rights Commissioner applies for intervenor status in cases that could set important precedent…

Vancouver B.C. – BC's Human Rights Commissioner has filed applications for leave to intervene in two cases concerning B.C.'s Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (Declaration Act). The Declaration Act was passed by the provincial government in 2019 to affirm the application of the United Nations Declaration on…

December 15, 2022
Decolonization

B.C.’s Human Rights Commissioner will audit the implementation of settlement agreement between Vancouver Police Board…

Vancouver, B.C. – On Dec. 20, 2019, Maxwell Johnson and his granddaughter went to the Bank of Montreal (BMO) branch on Burrard Street in Vancouver and tried to open a bank account. After looking at the pair's identification documents, including their government-issued Indian status cards, BMO staff called 911 to report…

September 28, 2022
Hate & racism

Hundreds speak out against hate as Inquiry reaches mid-point for public participation

Vancouver B.C. – More than 1700 people who either witnessed or directly experienced a hate incident have participated in an online survey for the Inquiry into hate during the pandemic. British Columbians are sharing stories about being assaulted, verbally abused, threatened online and accosted in grocery stores. People report experiencing…

February 24, 2022