VPD Blocked Media During Hastings Camp Teardown, Violated Human Rights: B.C. Commissioner
B.C.’s Human Rights Commissioner has found that the City of Vancouver and the Vancouver Police Department (VPD) violated human rights protections when they blocked journalists from covering the 2023 teardown of the Hastings Street encampment.
In a new report titled “Un(media)ted”, Commissioner Kasari Govender concludes that:
– The City and VPD unlawfully restricted media access by setting up an exclusion zone around the decampment.
– These actions infringed press freedom and undermined transparency and accountability in how the encampment was cleared.
– The restrictions did not meet human rights standards and were not justified by safety or operational needs as claimed.
Key recommendations from the report include:
– Ending blanket media exclusion zones during police operations unless there is clear judicial authorization.
– Training police and city staff on the rights of journalists and the public’s right to know.
– Developing clearer policies so that press can safely observe and report on law enforcement activities, especially during actions that significantly affect vulnerable communities.
r/vancouver’s Reaction
On r/vancouver, the story has sparked strong debate about policing, homelessness, and transparency at City Hall:
– Many users argue this proves what residents “already suspected” about how the Hastings sweep was handled, with one commenter saying the exclusion zone was “about optics, not safety.”
– Others focus on the press freedom angle, calling it “deeply alarming that journalists had to fight just to do their jobs on a city street.”
– A smaller number of commenters defend the VPD’s position, suggesting that chaotic conditions justified tighter control of the scene, though even some of them say the ruling shows the need for clearer rules.
One widely upvoted comment summed up the mood:
> “If the public can’t see what’s happening when the city tears down people’s homes, that’s not safety — that’s secrecy.”
Another wrote:
> “This is exactly why independent media matters. Without them, we’d never even know this was a rights violation.”
Why It Matters for Vancouver
The decision lands in the middle of ongoing tensions over:
– How the city handles homelessness and encampments, particularly in the Downtown Eastside.
– Trust in the VPD and City Hall, with residents increasingly demanding transparent decision-making.
– Press freedom in Canada, where exclusion zones and media restrictions around protests and police actions have become a recurring flashpoint.
The report doesn’t impose direct penalties, but it puts public pressure on the City and VPD to change their practices ahead of any future encampment actions or large-scale policing operations.
Tags: Vancouver, VPD, human rights, press freedom, Hastings encampment
Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/vancouver/comments/1qvytc9/city_of_vancouver_vpd_failed_to_protect_human/
