Position Papers & Backgrounders

Toronto / October 31, 2017 / - OCASI welcomes the release of immigration and ethocultural diversity data by Statistics Canada on October 25, 2017. Thanks to the reinstatement of the mandatory long-form Census (after a ten year interruption) we once again have the much-needed demographic and economic information about the lives of immigrant and racialized residents. The data highlights the need for government action on several OCASI priorities such as:

Media Release

Geneva / August 15, 2017 / - Colour of Poverty – Colour of Change (COP-COC) and several of its co-founding members were successful in having Canada vigorously questioned on its record on addressing racial discrimination by a UN human rights Committee at its review of Canada today in Geneva.

The civil society groups were in attendance at Canada’s review by the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD).

Joint Submission to the 93rd Session of the Committee for the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD) – Review of Canada August 2017

By: Colour of Poverty – Colour of Change, Chinese and Southeast Asian Legal Clinic, Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants and South Asian Legal Clinic of Ontario. (CSALC, OCASI and SALCO are founding Steering Committee members of Colour of Poverty - Colour of Change)

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Joint NGO statement in advance of Canada’s examination by UN CERD Committee

In June 2017, the Ontario government proposed changes to Ontario employment and labour laws. The government introduced Bill 148 (2017), An Act to amend the Employment Standards Act, 2000 and the Labour Relations Act, 1995.

OCASI welcomes Bill 148 and its potential to strengthen existing protections for immigrant, refugee and migrant workers as well as all other Ontario workers who are disadvantaged and excluded from basic protections.

June 21, 2017/ Toronto

OCASI - Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants acknowledges the traditional territories of the peoples of Turtle Island and thanks Indigenous peoples for allowing us to settle on these lands. We affirm our commitment to the 94 Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission as the collective voice for Ontario’s immigrant and refugee-serving sector, and within our organization and in our governance.

OCASI is deeply disturbed by the rise in hate crimes in 2015, particularly the rise in Islamophobia and targeting of Muslim and Arab residents. The findings on "Police-reported hate crime in Canada, 2015" confirm how much work there still is to be done to counter the prevailing and pervasive anti Black Racism, Islamophobia and anti- Semitism, and that as Canadians we can't be complacent about these realities.

OCASI wrote to the Yasir Naqvi, Attorney General of Ontario, to express profound concern about Legal Aid Ontario's plans to cut funding to Immigration and Refugee law (IRL) services in the 2017-2018 fiscal year. We encourage you to send your own letter to the Attorney General and send a copy to your MPP. Click here to find your MPP and contact information. Keep OCASI informed by sending an email to acasipullai@ocasi.org.

Statement by OCASI – Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants

OCASI collaborated with Colour of Poverty Campaign/Colour of Change Network (COP-COC), Metro Toronto Chinese & South East Asian Legal Clinic (MTCSALC) and South Asian Legal Clinic of Ontario (SALCO) on a Joint Submission to the Committee on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). The submission was prepared with respect to the Committee's upcoming review of Canada at its 65th Session (24 Oct 2016 - 18 Nov 2016).

The Joint Submission highlighted the following concerns: