OCASI latest articles

Voting Rights for Permanent Residents in Municipal Elections

Hundreds of thousands of Toronto residents pay local taxes and use city services, but have no say in who represents them, because they are not yet Canadian citizens. Recently, the City of Toronto's Community Development and Recreation Committee put forward a request to review “the opportunity to have permanent residents in Toronto be given the right to vote in municipal elections.” Join OCASI - Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants and Thorncliffe Neighbourhood Office for a panel discussion on the merits of this proposal.

Changes are Coming

As a sector concerned with immigrants' and refugees' settlement and integration, our collective attention has been riveted on the myriad of changes to the Immigration system and to the Refugee determination system, sometimes applauding, but for the most part bemoaning the transformation of Canada away from our traditional priorities of providing refuge to the world?s persecuted and marginalized.

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