Mitho Makosi Kesikansi, Bonne année, Happy New Year, Heri ya Mwaka Mpya- regardless the language, the message is the same, best wishes/hopes/joy and happiness for the coming new year. It is 2021 and a world of possibilities are opened before us as we continue to evolve our responses to the health pandemic and the social and economic inequities it has surfaced including the centuries old anti-Black and anti-Indigenous racisms; pandemics in their own right.
Led by The Neighbourhood Organization (TNO) and coordinated by community leaders, this video project is an appreciation of residents in Thorncliffe Park, Flemingdon Park, and surrounding areas in Toronto. The video recognizes residents for doing their part to follow public health guidelines, and contains positive messages from resident leaders, Toronto Mayor and local Councillors.
OCASI is excited to announce that our Accessibility Initiative has joined the Twitter-verse! Add and engage with us at @ocasi_access to stay in touch. Feel free to share; resources, research, services, updates, surveys, etc., that are relevant to the newcomer serving and disability sectors for the betterment of newcomers with in/visible disabilities. We look forward to connecting!
L’Initiative pour l’Accessibilité d’OCASI a rejoint Twitter !
Suivez-nous sur @ocasi_access et restez au courant de l'actualité dans le secteur. N'hésitez pas à partager vos ressources, recherches, services, mises à jour, sondages, etc., qui sont pertinents pour les services aux nouveaux arrivants en situation de handicap et aux nouveaux arrivants Sourds.
Op-ed: Province’s Poverty Reduction Plan Is A Big Miss
OCASI collaborated with YWCA Toronto, the Daily Bread Food Bank, Barbra Schlifer Commemorative Clinic and Family Service Toronto in a joint OpEd that takes the measure of Ontario's five-year Poverty Reduction Strategy.
This Settlement.Org article "What can I do to feel less stressed during challenging times?" was developed in partnership with Ottawa Public Health. It includes some multilingual videos with tips on what to do if you detect signs of anxiety in your child.
Tous les voyageurs et les voyageuses sont tenu·e·s de fournir leurs coordonnées et certains renseignements sur leur quarantaine au moment de leur entrée au Canada et après celle-ci, à travers l'application ArriveCAN. Lire la suite sur Etablissement.Org.
Are you looking for a client management system that works well for your agency? Try OCMS! Please watch the OCMS video or sign up for a webinar. We are proud of our work and our clients. To join our growing list of clients contact Elena Trapeznikova elena@ocasi.org or (416) 322-4950 ext. 241.
Subscribe to SettleNet.org’s newsletter!
Find out what’s new and of current interest to the SettleNet.org community by subscribing to our Monthly Updates newsletter.
Want your content on the community to be highlighted? Let the SettleNet.org team know before the 3rd Thursday of each month when the newsletter is sent.
SECTOR HAPPENINGS
Resources
PR For Pandemic Healthcare Workers: Practical Information
The Canadian Council for Refugees has prepared a practical resource that provides a brief overview of the pandemic health care workers pathway to permanent residence. It includes some issues to consider and relevant links on the government website.
Programme lié à pandémie pour les travailleurs de la santé : infos pratiques
Le Conseil canadien pour les réfugiés a préparé un bref survol du programme lié à pandémie pour les travailleurs de la santé, ainsi que quelques enjeux à prendre en consideration, comme ressource pratique.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has produced an animated video to provide refugees resettling to Canada with an overview of what to expect, including services and supports that will be provided to help them get settled in Canada. The video is available in English, French, Arabic, Farsi, Somali, Swahili and Tigrinya.
Legal Aid - Health Care Workers Permanent Residence Pathway
Legal Aid Ontario will be offering certificates for lawyers to assist clients with applications under the Health Care Workers Permanent Residence Pathway. The certificate will cover up to seven hours for preparation of the application and representation while it is being processed. LAO will accept applications for the new certificate in mid-January 2021.
An arts education + social change competition to facilitate intimate workshops for thirty (30) aspiring Canadian artists with a particular focus on BIPOC, newcomers and LGBTQ2S+ community members. By January 15, 2021 submit an original and unreleased piece of work.
This Employment and Social Development Canada program provides wage subsidies to employers from not-for-profit organizations and others to create quality summer work experiences for young people aged 15 to 30 years. The call for applications is open until January 29, 2021. Funded employers are not restricted to hiring students — all youth aged 15 to 30 years may be eligible participants.
Join community leaders, service providers, researchers, communications experts at the #DMSISummit on January 20 and 21, 2021 to share and learn practical strategies and advice for delivering information and services to newcomers using digital messaging apps like WhatsApp, Telegram, WeChat.
Register now for the Canada Excellence Research Chair in Migration and Integration program 2nd annual international conference, to be held online on February 22-25, 2021. The conference will investigate the impact of technological change on the future of work and how this is transforming labour migration around the world. Registration is free of charge.
“Tastes from Home” is a cookbook released to mark UNHCR’s 70th anniversary. It features more than 100 pages of beautiful photos and recipes, each shared by someone who left their country to make a home in Canada. For every copy downloaded, an anonymous donor will be making a donation to UNHCR in support of refugees and their families. #CookWithRefugees
A new survey has found over half of Canadian women’s sector organizations are forced to reduce or cancel vital services in the midst of the pandemic. Read the findings in the report by YWCA Canada, Canadian Research Institute for the Advancement of Women (CRIAW), Canadian Women’s Foundation, G(irls)20 and Oxfam Canada.
A new report by Toronto Neighbourhood Centres in partnership with 22 organizations and groups presents a summary of research and discussions held in Toronto on reimagining community safety. The report outlines key challenges with the existing policing model and identifies areas where changes from the current model are already available.
Irregular Border Crossings and Asylum Seekers in Canada
This inaugural study of the IRPP's Centre of Excellence on the Canadian Federation examines the rise in irregular border crossings. The increase is driven in part by global decrease in refugee protection, changes in US immigration policies under Trump and the Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA) between Canada and the United States.
