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Independent offices of the Legislature

The impacts of police and policing

The Attorney General must take immediate action to increase access to justice for people who believe they have been the victims of excessive force, discrimination, or harassment by police by:

Recommendation 3: Amending the Police Act to expand the mandate of the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner (OPCC) in order to:

  1. ensure that all police officers and forces operating in BC fall under the mandate of the OPCC;
  2. ensure that civilian investigators and civilian staff members are responsible for the entirety of the complaint resolution process; and
  3. allow the OPCC to audit police complaints each year, particularly where they involve discrimination based on race, gender, poverty, or health status, and publicly report on areas of concern for further investigation or reform.


Service gaps and barriers & operationalizing stigma-auditing

Recommendation 23: The Province of British Columbia must amend the Human Rights Code, RSBC 1996, c 210 to prohibit discrimination and harassment based on social condition.

Operationalizing stigma-auditing

Recommendation 32: In consultation with experts, including human rights law organizations, trauma specialists, and people with lived experience, the Province of British Columbia should adopt a standardized tool and training protocol for conducting “stigma audits” of current laws, policies, and regulations in BC, and to inform the development of new laws, policies, and regulations.

Operationalizing stigma-auditing

Recommendation 34: In its first year in operation, the BC Human Rights Commission should prioritize stigma-auditing areas of law and policy that most directly impact highly stigmatized populations, including, but not limited to:

  • public space governance;
    • income assistance and disability policy;
  • housing policy and residential tenancy law;
  • child welfare law and policy;
  • policing law and policy;
  • health policy related to mental health and substance use; and
  • privacy law as it relates to people who live in public space and people who are criminalized as a result of substance use.


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