General Immigration Policy

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News release/ 3 December 2015

OCASI Executive Director Debbie Douglas was interviewed on 'The Current' on CBC radio on Thursday November 12,2015, about how the immigrant and refugee-serving sector is preparing for the arrival of Syrian refugees.

Click here to listen to the interview (from 12:40).

Follow Debbie Douglas on twitter.

October 28, 2015/Toronto - As the newly elected government of Canada is set to be sworn into office, OCASI is encouraged by the Prime Minister Designate's leadership in countering a growing divisiveness and xenophobia through an expression of unity and appreciation of diversity in Canada. We look forward to the full realization of that message through strong public policy measures, including public education initiatives that will build equitable opportunities for all Canadian residents.

OCASI Executive Director Debbie Douglas appeared as a witness before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration to present on Bill S-7, Barbaric Cultural Practices Act on May 6, 2015. The Bill proposes new measures with respect to forced marriage and polygamy, including changes to immigration law.

OCASI Executive Director Debbie Douglas appeared as a witness before the Standing Committee on Justice Policy on 16 April 2015 to make a submission on Bill 49 - Ontario Immigration Act, 2015.

The OCASI submission makes several recommendations to strengthen the Bill, including: prioritize permanent immigration over temporary migration; expanding Provincial Nominee Program selection to include low-skilled workers; and strengthen protection of employment and labour protection for migrant workers.

OCASI Executive Director Debbie Douglas appeared as a witness before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration to present on ‘Promoting Economic Prosperity through Settlement Services' on March 26, 2015.

She made the following observations in her presentation:

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration has recommended that the Government of Canada evaluate conditional permanent resident status (of sponsored spouses), and monitor the number and outcome of abuse exception requests, percentage of tips that result in removal, and incidence of reported abuse within these sponsorships.

OCASI Executive Director Debbie Douglas appeared as a guest panelist on TVO's ‘The Agenda' hosted by Steve Paikin, on January 15, 2015. The show explored changes resulting from the introduction of the new Express Entry immigration system earlier this year, and what they mean for Canada and Ontario.

December 18, 2014/Toronto – OCASI is calling on the Government of Canada to mark International Migrants Day 2014 by adopting and ratifying the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families.

The United Nations General Assembly adopted the Convention on December 18, 1990 and in 2000 proclaimed 18 December as International Migrants Day.

December 9, 2014/Toronto - The Auditor General (AG) of Ontario has found serious shortcomings in the Ontario Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) in her 2014 Annual Report, released on Tuesday December 9, 2014. The report makes several important recommendations, which when implemented will bring a transformation to ensure program integrity.

The PNP as a policy tool is critically important to Ontario, Canada's largest province, to compete with other countries as well as provinces and territories for highly qualified immigrants.