Executive Director's Message

The announcement of the federal election call and the news about the escalating crisis in Afghanistan occurred within hours of each other, the latter threatening to derail the former before the campaigns had even begun.

Toronto / July 28, 2021

OCASI made submissions to Ontario's Task Force on Women and the Economy for its consultation on women’s participation in the economy and Ontario’s workforce.

Toronto / August 2021

As we approach mid-summer, the attention of non-profit sector leadership is turning to plans for return to work come September. There is great uncertainty still, as new variants of the COVID-19 virus appear, first vaccination uptake seems to be stalled, and there is talk from various sources about a possible fourth wave that may lead to renewed lockdowns.

Toronto / June 2021

May 2021 / Toronto - The City of Toronto announced with great fanfare that its Toronto sign- the marker of a proud city that for some rivals the CN Tower as THE Toronto landmark - would be lit in bright red to mark the beginning of Asian Heritage Month.

April 2021 / Toronto

The Trudeau government has just announced that all who are resident in Canada with irregular immigration status can now submit a one-page application online requesting permanent residence. Those who are refused refugee claimants, undocumented, visitors with visas about to expire- all regardless of disability or health status or engagement with carceral systems (police, jails, prisons) are welcome. The only exceptions are those who have been found guilty in this country or any other of crimes against humanity.

March 2021 / Toronto

February 2021 / Toronto

It is with a heavy heart that we entered this month, with the news that OCASI’s long-term accountant Sylvia Draper-Fernandez had transitioned.

A stalwart in Toronto’s non-profit sector, Sylvia, the owner and principal of Progressive Accounting (PAS) Services was the Council’s accountant since its inception almost forty-three years ago.

January 2021 / Toronto

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.

It was less than a day after the declaration of a pandemic and the closing of most workplaces when we received the first call of concern. It was a colleague in the sector working with Caregivers who raised the alarm. Her concerns were mirrored by my policy and membership colleagues at the Council that the shutdown of services, of work places including home care would exacerbate the problems faced by Ontario residents with precarious immigration status and those who are undocumented.