Advocacy for Progressive Change: 40 years of spirited action
It was a side gathering of the rebels in the crowd during the Canadian federal government’s first gathering of service agencies, academics and government workers on immigration and settlement services. The year was 1977 or thereabouts. This small group of rabble rousers, many working in the fields of community development and organizing, cross-cultural education and communication, women’s rights and the Canadian version of the civil rights movement found each other.
The current generation of older LGBTQ people have experienced a lifetime of discrimination due to their sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression, and face very specific challenges as they age. Respect Your Elders is a poster campaign and education program by The 519 to secure LGBTQ inclusive environments for older people. Download the complete set of posters.
Vote Today For Your Social Justice Award Candidate
This award recognizes an organization that has actively demonstrated a commitment to equity and social justice in its work with newcomers to Ontario. Voting is open till October 22, 2018. You can vote for more than one nominee, but only one vote per agency per device is allowed. The winner will be announced at the OCASI Gala on November 6, 2018.
Have you registered yet for the OCASI Executive Directors Forum? This biennial event is an opportunity for sector leaders to dialogue on sectoral priorities with peers, funders and other stakeholders. Our theme this year is 40 Years of OCASI: Advocacy for Change. The program features a broad spectrum of dynamic workshops, panels and discussion.
Featured Panel:
Anti-Poverty Agenda: Where are the Immigrants, Women and Racialized, including Indigenous People?
L’agenda anti-pauvreté : où sont les immigrants, les femmes et les personnes racialisées, y compris les autochtones?
Indigenous peoples, immigrants and refugees and racialized peoples are over-represented in poverty. They face disproportionate disadvantage in employment, housing, education, healthcare and more. Among them, women, people with disabilities, and LGBTQ people face the highest disadvantage. Without explicit and targeted measures, a general poverty reduction strategy will not include these populations, and will leave them all behind.
This plenary will explore the role of civil society, private sector and government in moving forward an equitable and representative anti-poverty agenda.
Les peuples autochtones, les immigrants, les réfugiés et les groupes racialisés sont surreprésentés parmi les gens affectés par la pauvreté. Ils font face à des désavantages disproportionnés dans les domaines de l’emploi, du logement, de l’éducation, des soins de santé et bien d’autres. Parmi ces groupes, les femmes, les personnes en situation de handicap et les personnes LGBTQ font face aux plus grands désavantages. Sans des mesures explicites et ciblées, une stratégie générale de réduction de la pauvreté n’inclura pas ces populations, qui seront laissées derrière.
Cette session plénière explorera le rôle de la société civile, du secteur privé et du gouvernement pour faire avancer un agenda anti-pauvreté équitable et représentatif.
Join us as we recognize and honor the contributions of individuals and organizations in the Immigrant and Refugee Serving Sector. Featuring performance by Lady Son (aka Yeti Ajasin), one of the most arresting voices on the Canadian music scene. She brings a powerful yet gentle contemporary voice to the rich vocal and percussion traditions of Afro-Cuban music -- with messages of everyday life, love and the issues that affect us all.
Almost 30% of Ontario residents were born outside Canada. Immigrants, refugees, migrant workers and international students are critical to Ontario’s economic growth, and make Ontario communities strong. OCASI Member Agencies want to know what future Mayors and Councillors are prepared to do to ensure the wellbeing of refugees and immigrants and ensure they can live to their full potential.
Ontario Nonprofit Network (ONN) recommends OPTrust Select as a sector-wide pension plan. The recommendation is the outcome of ONN’s two pensions task forces review of possibilities for a sector-specific plan that is affordable for workers and nonprofits and that minimizes risk, provides adequate benefits, and is easy to administer.
A website where Toronto voters can learn about City Council candidates running to represent their neighbourhood at Toronto’s City Council, learn how candidates think Toronto should tackle big issues facing our city, and learn more about how decisions are made in the city they call home. Four companion events are also being held across the city.
OCASI SPECIAL GALA AND FORUM ISSUE
This award recognizes an organization that has actively demonstrated a commitment to equity and social justice in its work with newcomers to Ontario. Voting is open till October 22, 2018. You can vote for more than one nominee, but only one vote per agency per device is allowed. The winner will be announced at the 
Indigenous peoples, immigrants and refugees and racialized peoples are over-represented in poverty. They face disproportionate disadvantage in employment, housing, education, healthcare and more. Among them, women, people with disabilities, and LGBTQ people face the highest disadvantage. Without explicit and targeted measures, a general poverty reduction strategy will not include these populations, and will leave them all behind.
