B.C.’s Human Rights Commissioner, Kasari Govender, invites your participation at the opening ceremony for the Inquiry into hate in the pandemic.  

Informed by the need for human rights in times of crisis, the Inquiry will explore the impacts of hate on communities that experienced or witnessed hate incidents during the COVID-19 pandemic based on their individual, collective or intersecting characteristics, including age, disability, gender expression or identity, ethnicity, Indigenous identity, place of origin, race, immigration status, religion, sex, sexual orientation and social condition.

Rather than be defined by hate, diverse knowledge holders from impacted communities will come together at this ceremony to help us mark the beginning of this important journey. Throughout the ceremony, we will acknowledge the courage of the people sharing their stories, the work that communities are doing to support each other and the importance of doing this foundational Inquiry to recognize and work to prevent hate in British Columbia.

Please join us.

What you will need:

• Bring something that you use in your own cultural gatherings and/or celebrations. This can be art, a specific food or beverage, a clothing item or a candle.

Event details:

• When: Thursday, Nov. 4, 2021, from 4:00 to 5:30 p.m. PST
• Where: The Inquiry opening ceremony will take place virtually on Zoom, and will be livestreamed to our website and Facebook page.
• How to join:
  • Visit this page (https://hateinquiry.bchumanrights.ca/ceremony) during the event time to view the livestream on our website
  • To join via Facebook, you can visit BCOHRC’s Facebook page and the livestreamed video should be available at the start time. 
  • If you need to join the event by calling in via a toll-free phone number, you can call 1-855-703-8985 at the start time (4 p.m. on Nov. 4). When prompted for a Meeting ID, enter 892 6976 7496#. Then, you will be prompted for a Participant ID, just enter #. Lastly, when you are prompted for a Passcode, enter 126348#.

For questions, please email engagement@bchumanrights.ca or contact us via our toll-free number at 1-844-922-6472.