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In this webinar with the Canadian Urban Institute participants discussed the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the future of immigration in Canadian cities.

This talk presents the findings of a study on the impacts of the COVID crisis on vulnerable groups within Montreal's immigrant and racialized communities.

The current “refugee crisis” is primarily a political problem, which will require political solutions. And lately, it seems that political leaders have not paid much attention to solid, evidence-based research. Presenters argue that it is imperative that academics incorporate social media as part of their dissemination program and activities to have impact beyond specialized audiences.

Dr. Suzanne Smythe and Dr. Amea Wilbur interviewed over 25 language and settlement workers during the important time. In this interactive session from October 5, 2020 blending dialogue and questions with participants, Dr. Smythe, Dr. Wilbur and guest speaker Marcela Mancilla-Fuller presented key themes from the conversations and insights from related research among newcomer communities during COVID times.

The future of work is a huge topic. For the immigrant and refugee-serving sector, I thought it would be useful to pull together projects, reports, surveys, and sector-specific professional development opportunities.

Earlier this Summer I learned that the New Brunswick Multicultural Council (NBMC) had been doing some innovative coordinating work with member agencies after everyone pivoted to remote work. I was curious about their work with member agencies to develop policies and tools and share best practices. In this conversation Abby David shares how NBMC worked together as a provincial sector and what the fruits of that work have been.

Digital technologists moved very quickly to suggest this was yet another social problem ripe for 'digital disruption'. But how effective are such digital efforts in solving social problems? Are apps the answer to decades of inequality?

I spoke with Laura to talk about her work bringing social innovation culture into her organization, as well as how DIVERSECity has been able to pivot remotely. We talk about what all of that has meant for the kind of community work that they do and how it relates to newcomer and community engagement as well.

This pan-Canadian research report identifies eight critical competencies that could form the basis of training to help settlement counsellors be successful as the job is redefined and the range of work is extended.