B.C.'s Human Rights System

Find out if you have a valid human rights complaint

• The Clinic’s lawyers and advocates provide free legal advice about human rights
• You can make a 30-minute appointment(opens in a new window) for legal advice with a lawyer or advocate
• For basic information about human rights law in B.C. under the Human Rights Code and how human rights issues are resolved at the Tribunal:
  • Call the Clinic Inquiry Line at (604) 622-1100 or toll-free at +1 (855) 685-6222, or
  • Email infobchrc@clasbc.net
• Learn more(opens in a new window) about whether you have a valid complaint

Get free legal advice in B.C. about making a human rights complaint

• For human rights complaints, the Clinic offers a free consultation with a lawyer or advocate
• You can make a 30-minute appointment(opens in a new window) for free advice with a lawyer or advocate

Get legal representation for human rights complaints

• The Clinic provides free legal representation for people with human rights complaints. If you have filed a complaint with the BC Human Rights Tribunal and the Tribunal has told you your complaint is proceeding, you can apply for free legal representation(opens in a new window) from the Clinic.

Additional resources

Please note there may be other clinics and organizations that provide services in your region or specific to your concerns. Please refer to our list of additional clinics and programs for more information.

File a human rights complaint in B.C.

• If you believe you have been discriminated against, you can start a complaint against the employer, person or organization you say discriminated against you.
• Do this by completing the Tribunal forms(opens in a new window) and sending them to the Tribunal within the one-year time limit. Information about filing a complaint(opens in a new window) is available on the Tribunal’s website.
• In the form, provide up-to-date contact information for each person and organization you are filing your complaint against. The Tribunal’s website has information about how to name respondents(opens in a new window) in your complaint.
• The Tribunal will review your complaint to determine whether it can proceed. This is called screening. If it can proceed, the Tribunal will contact you and give notice of your complaint to the respondents you have named.
• The Tribunal is currently backlogged. General estimates of expected timelines are posted online(opens in a new window).

Find out the status of your pending human rights complaint 

• If you have already filed a complaint and want to know the status, you must email the Tribunal or leave a voicemail message at (604) 775-2000. In your message, you must provide your name, the name of the person or company your complaint is against and the name of your Case Manager if you know it.
•  Due to the high volume of cases, responses from Tribunal staff may be delayed.

Extend a deadline on your pending complaint

• If the Tribunal has set a deadline for you to do something on your complaint and you want to extend your deadline, there are 3 ways to obtain an extension:
  • Ask the other side if they agree and tell your case manager
  • Ask your case manager for an extension
  • Make an application if your case manager tells you that you need to apply

Explore key human rights issues

• The Commissioner’s Office uses education, research, advocacy, inquiry and monitoring to work on key human rights issues facing people in BC. Learn more about our work on key issues like discrimination, decolonization, poverty, hate and more at our website(opens in a new window).

Apply for a special program

• Special programs allow employers and others to treat disadvantaged people and groups differently to promote substantive equality (or equity). For example, an employer may apply for a special program to benefit trans people by giving them preferential hiring to work with at-risk trans youth.

Ask the Human Rights Commissioner or a BCOHRC staff person to speak at your event or meeting

• Make a request using this form(opens in a new window) for the Human Rights Commissioner or a BCOHRC representative to speak at your event or meeting.

Workshops and trainings

• The BC Human Rights Clinic offers a range of different human rights workshops and trainings(opens in a new window), including free lunch and learns, online workshops, and in-house trainings.

Resources and publications

• The Clinic provides guides and factsheets(opens in a new window) for FAQs, knowing your rights, the Tribunal process, and more.

Additional resources

Please note there may be other clinics and organizations that provide services in your region or specific to your concerns. Please refer to our list of additional clinics and programs for more information.

Basic information about your rights

Access plain language information about your rights and responsibilities under B.C.’s Human Rights Code and discover helpful videos explaining human rights in B.C.

Workshops and trainings

• Book a workshop or learning session on topics such as B.C.’s Human Rights Code, systemic discrimination, disaggregated data collection and more.

Resources, publications and reports

• The Office provides a wide variety of resources on human rights education, covering such topics as employment equity(opens in a new window), hate speech, discrimination and more.
• The Office produces in-depth reports and recommendations(opens in a new window) on our inquiries and research that highlight patterns of discrimination on topics such as systemic racism in policing, discrimination on the basis of poverty and the rise of hate during the pandemic.
• For educators, check out our video series ‘Introduction to human rights(opens in a new window)‘ and the first-person stories in the ‘I love my Human Rights(opens in a new window)‘ videos and discussion guides.