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May 14, 2015/Toronto – OCASI is delighted at the Monday, May 11, 2015 decision by North Bay City Council to support the right of permanent residents to vote in municipal and school board elections.

The successful vote is a strong expression of support for immigrant settlement and integration, and making local elections more inclusive and representative.

OCASI congratulates Don Curry of the North Bay and District Multicultural Centre and OCASI's Northern Regional Director for his determined and unwavering efforts over two years, resulting in the win at City Council.

(Written by Dana Yates - Ryerson University)

Like many Torontonians, researcher Lynn Lavallée was shocked and saddened by the death of Tyson Bailey. The 15-year-old was shot in the stairwell of a Regent Park high-rise apartment building in 2013, and while Lavallée never knew the Central Tech student athlete, she felt a connection to him.

The ReachOUT program at Griffin Centre, founded in 2005, provides a range of programs and services for lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, two-spirit and encompassing queer communities across the GTA.

Refugee Rights Day is commemorated on April 4 every year in Canada to bring attention to the 1985 Supreme Court of Canada ruling recognizing that refugee claimants are entitled to fundamental justice.

The West End Non-insured Walk-in Clinic (NIWIC) was established in 2012 as a partnership of seven Toronto Community Health Centers (CHC) run by Access Alliance Multicultural Health & Community Services, to fulfill an unmet need:  to provide care for those without health coverage whether due to precarious status, failed refugee claims or the three-month OHIP wait.

The federal government is increasing citizenship processing fees by $230 for applications received after January 1, 2015 – an increase of more than 40%. The Right of Citizenship fee is to remain unchanged at $100.

With the increase, the new citizenship application fees will be a total of $630.

Chatham-Kent Local Immigration Partnership (CK LIP) has released "Exploring the Impacts of Regulatory Change on Temporary Foreign Workers in Chatham-Kent", a report on the use of the Temporary Foreign Worker Programs (TFWP) in Chatham-Kent, and exploration of the impact of recent policy changes.

Would you like to get free, in-depth training on tenant and housing rights for yourself or your staff?
Would your agency be interested in participating in the Toronto Tenant School for Settlement Workers that will provide in-depth training for front-line settlement workers dealing with clients with rental housing difficulties?

OCASI was pleased to present a Lifetime Achiement Award to Sri-Guggan Sri-Skanda-Rajah at our 2014 AGM.

Biography

The board and staff of OCASI - Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants is delighted to congratulate Debbie Douglas, Executive Director, on being awarded the Race Relations Award by the Urban Alliance on Race Relations (UARR). Debbie was honoured along with other Award recipients at the UARR 39th Anniversary and 2014 Awards Dinner held in Toronto on Thursday September 18, 2014. She was nominated by Hon. Jean Augustine, Fairness Commissioner (Ontario).