OCASI latest articles
OCASI Statement: Support Trans Rights & 2SLGBTQI+ Communities
Toronto / September 26, 2023 - OCASI – Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants stands in unequivocal support of trans rights and 2SLGBTQI+ communities.
Everyone has the right to live authentically and express their feelings freely, without fear or prejudice. Anti-trans hate has no place anywhere.
We are deeply troubled by the recent rise in anti-trans hate speech and actions across Canada, the rise in misinformation and myths, and recent anti-trans protests.
Race and Refuge: The Crisis Continues
Toronto / September 2023
It is anti-Black racism. Intentional or not, the result of a shelter and housing crisis and an ongoing flow of asylum seekers into the larger urban centres of Ontario - has resulted in hundreds of refugee claimants sleeping rough on the streets or unsustainably housed in makeshift emergency shelters in the halls of Black churches in the GTA. Many had been moved here by the federal government to appease and support Quebec’s capacity challenges.
OCASI Federal Pre-Budget Submission 2024-2025
OCASI made a written submission to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance, for the pre-budget consultations in advance of the 2024 federal budget.
Freedom
Toronto / August 2023
And before I be a slave, I’ll be buried in my grave and go home to my Lord and be free…
Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen….
This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine
Shine all over the world…
By the river of Babylon, where we sat down, and where we wept, as we remembered Zion…
Indigenous Peoples in Toronto: An Introduction for Newcomers
Toronto / July 27, 2023
The City of Toronto, in partnership with OCASI – Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants and Access Alliance Multicultural Health and Community Services has launched Indigenous Peoples in Toronto: An Introduction for Newcomers, a resource that introduces newcomers to First Nations, Inuit and Métis history, cultures and perspectives.
Toronto is one of the first municipalities in Ontario to create this type of resource for newcomers.