Written by Hannah Fraser, News Editor In February, BC’s human rights commissioner Kasari Govender released a report on “the exclusion of media from the April 2023 Hastings decampment.” This two-day decampment was significant in scale, with 94 tents removed and residents forcibly displaced. Despite the City and Vancouver Police Department (VPD) insisting that human rights and press freedom were not violated, the report concludes that “transparency was compromised” by these parties.  According to the report, the media exclusion zone imposed at the decampment was not in accordance with human rights standards, as it lacked legal authority and “requirements of necessity and proportionality.” While framed as a “safe work zone” intended to address safety concerns, the “impact on media was not adequately considered.” As well, Govender deemed the...