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.
June 2017
This short month with the longest day in the year is unfolding with a packed legislative and policy agenda at all levels of government. From the City of Toronto (where OCASI’s offices are located) to Queen’s Park to Parliament Hill, announcements from our elected leaders have been raining down from on high: Most of it good.
Kingston/June 2017
When asked to speak at a parliamentary committee studying efforts to improve and retain immigrants to the Atlantic region I suppose I should have realized that the Conservatives on the committee would seize the opportunity to bash immigrants, at the expense of those invited to provide input for policy development.
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.
OCASI is proud to report that over the next few weeks, Debbie Douglas - Executive Director will be recognized by different groups, for her work in championing equity for diverse communities.
Earlier this month the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) released the report Under Suspicion: Research and Consultation Report on Racial Profiling in Ontario. It is chockful of personal examples of how racial profiling tears at the soul of those profiled, reinforces the sense of otherness that many who are racialized experience, and undermines the social cohesion we so desperately need if this Canadian political project of diversity and inclusion is to be a success.
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