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A countless number of residents are without immigration status in Canada. The Canadian immigration and refugee system has clearly failed the many people who have become or been made to be undocumented, for a multitude of reasons.
LASI and OCASI Statement on the death of Abdirahman Abdi
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Ottawa/July 28, 2016 - Local Agencies Serving Immigrants (LASI) – Ottawa and OCASI – Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants are deeply concerned and saddened by the death of Abdirahman Abdi.
The Honorable Ralph Goodale
Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
269 Laurier Avenue West
Ottawa, ON
K1A 0P8 Canada
July 15, 2016
Dear Minister Goodale,
Re: Immigration Detainees on Hunger Strike
OCASI – Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants is writing to ask that you meet with the more than 60 immigration detainees presently on hunger strike at two Ontario prisons.
There are two initiatives that have been my focus for the past few weeks that I want to share with you. While the links between the two may not be casually apparent, they are related as both their goals are about change – attitudinal and systems change.
OCASI Executive Director Debbie Douglas has been appointed to the Ontario Income Security Reform Working Group.
Ontario has established the Working Group to help guide the province's efforts to reduce poverty, support people in their efforts to participate in the economy, and provide services in a way that makes sense to the people who need them.
The group is to: