Debbie Douglas: Articles In Solidarity...

I invite you to check in this corner every month for information, for what's happening in our sector and for good conversations about us and how we're moving forward as an effective and necessary part of Ontario's social safety net.

Debbie Douglas is the Executive Director of the Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants (OCASI).

 Follow Debbie on Twitter @ocasi_policy

Message from the Executive Director

Over the past year OCASI and some of its members have been intimately engaged with the debate on the Canada Jobs Grant program and the implications for Ontario's newly arrived immigrant populations and other groups with little or no labour market attachment (which makes them EI ineligible); supported  the campaign to increase the minimum wage to $14/hour; took every opportunity to speak about the need to increase social assistance rates including ODSP (Disability support program) and the need for a boost to the Ontario Child Benefits program. Needless to say there was great anticipation about the 2014 provincial budget. Imagine then the response to the not unexpected decision of the opposition parties to withhold support for the budget, setting the stage for a provincial campaign and an election in mid-June.

Talking Gender

About three weeks ago, thirty ethno-racially and linguistically diverse women- concerned with issues of women’s equality, immigrant and racialized women’s inclusion, and with general issues of immigrant and refugee integration-gathered to talk about what they saw as the political, policy and program priorities in Ontario. The meeting, hosted by the Minister Responsible for Women’s Issues and the Ontario Women’s Directorate with support from OCASI, was a first of its kind.

Reflections from Debbie on International Migrants' Day

December 2012 marked the 22nd anniversary of the United Nations General Assembly's adoption of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families. In Canada there is much to reflect on: The strides we've made over the past decades in creating a nation that is welcoming, that values the contribution of immigrants and that takes its obligation to protecting those in need of asylum and refuge seriously.

“Counting Diversity”

Since September of this year, OCASI has been working with a consulting consortium to overhaul our Anti-Racism, Anti-Oppression (ARAO) policies and to undertake a series of training sessions with the Board of Directors, Senior Management, Program Managers and Employees. The Council, after years of looking outward at the sector- implementing the Positive Spaces Initiative; developing and delivering extensive training on issues of (dis)abilities and intersecting identities including immigration status; ensuring opportunities for discussion and training on anti-racism and anti-oppression at our various conferences; vigorously applying an integrated analysis of race, gender, class, age, ability, etc. to our policy work, - believed it time to take an internal look.

[In the Field November 2012] Message from the Executive Director

The recent OCASI Executive Directors' Forum - 2012, has been talked about by many who attended as ‘one of the best.' When asked why, many responded that the policy plenaries and discussions were timely and informative. Folks liked that there was a common theme running through the plenary: A theme about change. Change in the non-profit sector, change in the immigrant and refugee serving sector, in sector-funder relationships and with relationships between and among governments.

Thoughts on Advocacy and the role of service organizations

Late last month, I attended a bi-national meeting hosted by the UNHCR in the USA on Alternative to Detentions (ATD). Present were Government, NGO and UNHCR representatives from Canada, USA, Australia and Sweden. In between the very many presentations on new policies and guidelines, good and bad practices, challenges and advocacy strategies for getting governments and communities to buy into ATD, we made side trips to visit service agencies both in the USA and in Canada.

Thoughts on Leadership, Change and Succession

I've always thought of the day after Labour Day as the beginning of a second new year.  As colleagues return to work from vacations and “staycations”, one can sense a renewed focused energy, a ramping up of gears, a new sense of purpose that organizations take on after the long lazy days of summer.  This year more than most I felt that there was a sense of change in the air.

Thoughts on the recent Calls for Proposals - Message from the ED

This is usually the time of year when the pace of the work of organizations slows down as leadership and practitioners take time to renew their energies and to regroup. It is the time when the reality of life-work balance seems not too out of reach and when dreams of lazy hours on patios, lake beaches or backyards with family and friends often become reality. For many in our sector, this is not happening this year.

Pages