Reclaiming Our Place
(This installment of the ED message is taken from a keynote address to the Employment Ontario Leadership Summit in May 2016. It has been edited for publication.)
OCASI latest articles
OCASI Comments on Bill C-6 - Citizenship Bill
Policy:
OCASI Comments on Bill C-6 - Citizenship Bill
Debbie Douglas, OCASI Executive Director appeared before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration to make a presentation and answer questions about our submission on Bill C-6 - An Act to amend the Citizenship Act and to make consequential amendments to another Act.
Services for Syrian Refugees in Ontario: OCASI Environmental Scan Report
Policy:
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In December 2015, the Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants with financial support from the Ministry of Citizenship, Immigration, and International Trade (MCIIT), undertook an environmental scan to assess the existing capacity and service gaps of refugee and immigrant-serving organizations in Ontario to meet the needs of large numbers of Syrian refugee arrivals.
In the Field Newsletter Volume 46
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OCASI In the Field newsletter of April 2016. You can read the latest Executive Director's message and OCASI member feature. In addition, check out the OCASI happenings and OCASI sector happening sections.
Community Response to Ontario Carding Regulations
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Community groups are deeply concerned by Ontario's new regulations on carding and street checks by Police. The African Canadian Legal Clinic points out that the Regulation will not adequately protect African Canadians, and will not prohibit anti-Black racism and racial profiling. The Urban Alliance on Race Relations says that the regulations fall short addressing key issues of transparency and accountability by Police, and does not address the racial profiling of Black youth. The regulations were released on March 22, 2016 by the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services.
Dancing to the Revolution
We often speak about the success of second and third generation immigrant youth in terms of educational attainment, professional status achieved or public profile received because they have been appointed by one government or another to a public role. Rarely do we pay attention and applaud when they are engaged in political activism on the ground following their gut instincts, that when the most vulnerable amongst us are hurt, abused and even killed, they have a responsibility to speak out to try to right the wrongs - in short to spark a revolution. Hyperbole, maybe, but the young Black women and their allies who have put their bodies on the line in opposition to police violence against primarily Black and Indigenous men and increasingly those with mental health challenges, have been nothing short of awe-inspiring. They have demonstrated in no uncertain terms what it means to ‘walk the talk’.