[Photograph of Ujjal Dosanjh with an individual at the Learning Together event in Vancouver]

Photograph of Ujjal Dosanjh with an unidentified individual, holding a framed document[?], at the Learning Together event in Vancouver, British Columbia (B.C.). The event was hosted at the Hilton Hotel by the B.C. Human Rights Commission.

Ujjal Dosanjh is a Canadian lawyer, civil rights activist, and politician. Born in Panjab, India in 1947, Dosanjh emigrated to England at the age of 17 and came to Canada four years later, in 1968. He started off at a Vancouver sawmill, but when a back injury hindered his career at the mill, he enrolled at Langara College and completed a degree in political science at Simon Fraser University. He earned a law degree at the University of British Columbia and established a law practice in Vancouver in 1979. First elected as MLA for Vancouver-Kensington in 1991, Dosanjh twice served as Caucus Chair and also chaired the Select Standing Committee on Parliamentary Reform, Ethical Conduct, Standing Orders and Private Bills. Dosanjh was sworn in as British Columbia's 33rd Premier and Canada's first Indo-Canadian Premier on February 24, 2000, serving until 2001. He had previously served as Minister of Government Services and Minister Responsible for Multiculturalism, Human Rights, Sports and Immigration in 1995, and served as Attorney General from August 1995 to February 2000. He was also the leader of the provincial New Democratic Party (NDP) and later served as a Member of Parliament with the Liberal Party. A long time human rights activist, his past community involvements include: South Vancouver Neighbourhood House, MOSAIC, the B.C. Multicultural Society and the B.C. Civil Liberties Association. In 1977 he helped set up the first farm workers' legal information services while he was chair of the Labour Advocacy Research Association. Throughout his career, Dosanjh has been a strong advocate for social justice, healthcare, and public policy issues.

On August 4, 2017 Premier John Horgan along with Attorney General David Eby announced that British Columbia (B.C.) will re-establish the B.C. Human Rights Commission to address inequality and discrimination. In 2018, changes to B.C.'s Human Rights Code established the Office of the Human Rights Commissioner as an independent office of the Legislature and the Commissioner as the first independent Human Rights Commissioner in B.C.'s history. Under the Code, the Commissioner is responsible for promoting and protecting human rights in British Columbia. BC's Office of the Human Rights Commissioner exists to address the root causes of inequality, discrimination, and injustice in B.C. by shifting laws, policies, practices and cultures. They do this work through education, research, advocacy, inquiry and monitoring.