The new year dawned with me in a security line heading out of Kenya’s international airport in Nairobi. It was my first sojourn to East Africa and I marvelled at the majority of white faces around me. Judging from the immigration control lines which they joined, many are representatives of international NGOs including UN Agencies or returning spouses of Black Kenyan migrants to Europe and North America.
Resolutions 2023: Overcoming Racism Together Conference
Save the date for this anti-racism conference, coming to Ottawa on October 16 to 18, 2023. Watch for the announcement on February 13 by the Advisory Committee calling for action against systemic racism, set up by La Passerelle-I.D.E. in 2021. The conference will bring together leaders from diverse sectors to discuss issues of systemic racism and develop an action plan.
OCASI welcomes the appointment of Amira Elghawaby as Special Representative on Combating Islamophobia, the first in Canada. We are deeply troubled by the negative rhetoric and abusive comments that followed soon after Ms. Elghawaby’s appointment and calls for her resignation. We urge elected representatives and community members to give Ms. Elghawaby your full and unreserved support.
Honouring Black Feminist Leadership in the Gender-Based Violence Sector
Thursday, February 23, 2023. 1-2:30 PM EST
Black feminists in the GBV sector have been ground-breaking leaders in expanding our knowledge of the intersecting inequities that create and maintain gendered violence. Join us for a virtual roundtable discussion with Angela MacDougall (Battered Women Support Services) Nneka McGregor (WomenattheCenter) and Paulette Senior (Canadian Women’s Foundation), moderated by Debbie Douglas (OCASI).
Bring down the Barriers: Addressing the Challenges of LGBTQIA+ Newcomers
Tuesday, February 14, 2023. 2 PM - 3 PM EST
Join Aleks Selim Dughman Manzur and Lisa Duplessis to learn about the specific settlement barriers faced by LGBTQIA+ refugees, im/migrants and newcomers, and how to address them.
Join us on February 15th from 1pm - 2:30 pm (EST) on Zoom. With guest speaker, Jheanelle Anderson, MSW, RSW. This is an empowering webinar that showcases how ableism shows up on interpersonal, societal, and institutional levels; intersecting with racism, and other forms of oppression. Participants will have the opportunity to share their perspectives.
Questions? Contact: tnamusonge@ocasi.org
Démystifier la stigmatisation du handicap, la race et l’immigration
Rejoignez-nous le 15 février de 13 h à 14 h 30 (HE) sur Zoom pour un webinaire animé par Jheanelle Anderson, MSW, RSW. Ce webinaire explorera comment le capacitisme, le racisme et les préjugés sont ancrés dans notre société à travers la langue, les politiques, pratiques et procédures; et, comment remettre en question nos propres croyances capacitistes dans notre travail. Les participants auront l’occasion de partager leurs points de vue.
Pour plus d'informations, contacter : saithammouda@ocasi.org
Understanding and Challenging Anti-Black Racism Course Launch
Tuesday, February 14th, 2023 from 10-11:30AM EST via Zoom
Dr. Christopher Stuart Taylor will be leading an interactive webinar to provide an overview of the course Understanding and Challenging Anti-Black Racism, and walk participants through meaningful discussions and exercises of confronting anti-Black racism.
Risks of Economic Abuse Among Older Immigrant Women Webinar
Tuesday, February 21st, 2023 from 12-1PM EST via Zoom
OCASI’s Initiative to End GBV in collaboration with Women Abuse Council of Toronto (WomenACT) is pleased to bring you a virtual and interactive webinar on how service providers can better support older immigrant women experiencing economic abuse.
An OCMS user tells us, "OCMS is a great tool. For case management of our clients, it is extremely helpful. All of the client's information is located on this system... Workers can then see everything that has been done for the client. Furthermore, action plans and follow-ups can be done more easily..."
The Canadian Council of Muslim Women (CCMW) has launched a Policy, Program and Practices Review Guide for organizations to help them strengthen their supports and services for victims/survivors of gender-based violence who identify as Muslim.
Communities across Ontario are speaking out against the removal of protected environmentally sensitive lands from the Greenbelt through Bill 23: More Homes Built Faster Act. SPR Associates is conducting a province-wide survey to assess wider Ontario opinion on these issues. Survey responses will be kept confidential. Deadline is February 22, 2023.
Questions? Contact Dr. Ted Harvey, Director of Research, SPR ted.harvey@spr.ca
Conference: Narratives of Migration between Politics and Policies
A two day conference on the narratives of migration that shape understanding, policy and even lives. Speakers will help deconstruct narratives from around the world to show their origins, politics, and influence. In Toronto on May 10-11, 2023. Early bird registration until March 6, 2023.
Hidden in the Everyday - Financial Abuse as a Form of Intimate Partner Violence in the Toronto Area
The report by WomanACT, explores the experiences of financial abuse as a form of intimate partner violence in the Toronto area. This report examines the experiences and impacts of financial abuse as well as the challenges in confronting it and the opportunities to prevent and address it.
A Just Recovery for Hamilton: Bold Ideas in a Time of Change
A new policy paper from Just Recovery Hamilton Coalition explores some of the ongoing challenges Hamilton faces as a city and explores how the compounding crisis exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic continues to generate a need for urgent action on behalf of its most vulnerable and marginalized residents.
The Myth of Canada: The Exclusion of Internationally Trained Physicians
A new report highlighting the stories and experiences of internationally trained physicians from the Global South who continue to face systemic exclusion from their profession in Canada despite their qualifications and at a time of acute physician shortages.
Conference: Narratives of Migration between Politics and Policies
