On November 18, 2014, the Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants was recognized by the Canadian Race Relations Foundation (CRRF) for it's Accessibility Program with the 2014 Award of Excellence. The CRRF Awards of Excellence pays tribute to public, private and voluntary organizations whose efforts represent best practices in building awareness and understanding of Canadian values and identity that are reflective of Canadian diversity.
The Awards of Excellence are part of the CRRF's Best Practices initiative. Best practices represent a program, strategy or initiative that has demonstrated promise, success and social impact. The Awards event, and the positive attention leading up to it, put positive race relations in the spotlight by featuring the best practices of forward-thinking and innovative companies, organizations and groups.
The OCASI Accessibility Initiative began in 2011 in partnership with the Ethno-Racial People with Disabilities Coalition of Ontario (ERDCO). It has resulted in the development of a range of tools and resources for settlement workers to support newcomers to access services free from discrimination based on (dis)ability, and other forms of discrimination.