About the event
Each year, to mark the signing of the UN Declaration of Human Rights (1948), BC’s Office of the Human Rights Commissioner hosts events to bring awareness to human rights issues in BC.
This year, B.C.’s Human Rights Commissioner Kasari Govender invites you to the 4th episode in the Beyond the Headlines speaker series for a conversation with Lisa Lapointe, B.C.’s former chief coroner, and Jonny Morris, CEO of the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA BC Division). On Dec. 10 from 1:30 - 3 p.m. PST they will tackle one of the most pressing human rights issues facing B.C.: the toxic drug crisis.
Ranging from misinformation about the crisis to the marginalization that drug users experience to the effectiveness of community-led responses and what it means to take a human rights-based approach, the livestreamed virtual discussion will explore the following questions:
- Why is the toxic drug crisis a human rights issue?
- How are stigma and bias contributing to a lack of meaningful and evidence-based action addressing the toxic drug crisis and contributing to inadequate social policy, rooted in ableism, classism and racism?
- What can a human rights-based approach to the toxic drug crisis, centered on compassion and public health, look like as opposed to a criminal justice response?
The discussion will include audience questions via a live Q&A.