Could anti-immigration policies come to Canada?

In one week from today, we will gather to ask the burning question of our moment in history: will populist, anti-immigration sentiments take hold of Canadian politics?

Monday, May 29, 7:00pm
(Doors open at 6pm; pre-event concert at 6:30pm)
Wolf Performance Hall, London Public Library
FREE. All welcome. Coffee & refreshments served.
AttendPanelist BiosContext

Panelists and speakers include a number of leading, highly respected local and national thinkers:

Erna Paris is a historian and award-winning author of seven works of nonfiction. Her works have been published in fourteen countries and translated into eight languages. Erna’s book, Long Shadows: Truth, Lies, and History, was chosen as one of “The Hundred Most Important Books Ever Written in Canada” by the Literary Review of Canada. Her most recent book is From Tolerance to Tyranny: A Cautionary Tale from Fifteenth-Century Spain. Erna was appointed to the Order of Canada in 2015.

Stephanie Levitz (@stephanielevitz) is a journalist and Parliament Hill reporter at The Canadian Press, where she covers federal politics, immigration and refugee policy. She is currently writing the nationally syndicated Populism Project series, investigating Canadian parallels to the factors in America that led to Trump’s election. Stephanie’s work appears in The Globe and Mail, National Post, Toronto Star, Maclean’s magazine as well as on numerous news websites including CBC.ca and Huffington Post.

Anton Allahar is Professor of Sociology at Western University, where he studies economic development, globalization and democracy, and ethnic and racial relations. Anton was born in Trinidad, West Indies, and completed his PhD in Political & Economic Sociology at the University of Toronto. Among his many published works, he is the author of Richer and Poorer: the Structure of Inequality in Canada and co-author of Lowering Higher Education: the rise of the corporate university and the decline of liberal education.

Victoria Esses is Professor of Psychology at Western University, where she studies prejudice and discrimination in attitudes toward immigrants and immigration. She is also the Director of the Western Centre for Research on Migration and Ethnic Relations, which facilitates research that draws on academic knowledge to inform public policy and practice on migration and ethnic relations in Canada and internationally. Her research lab aims to understand and facilitate more productive interactions between groups through laboratory and field research.

Ingrid Mattson (@IngridMattson) is the London and Windsor Community Chair in Islamic Studies at Huron University College. She is widely published on issues of Qur’an interpretation, Islamic theological ethics, and interfaith relations. Her book, The Story of the Qur’an, is an academic best-seller and was chosen by the US National Endowment for the Humanities for inclusion in its “Bridging Cultures” program. From 2001-2010 Dr. Mattson served as vice-president, then as president of the Islamic Society of North America (USA), the first woman to serve in either position.

See event page for complete details: AttendPanelist BiosContext

This event is free and open to the whole community. Please share this invitation widely.

Read Will Canada be Different?, a short reflection by CRHESI coordinator James Shelley on some of the variables and factors in this critical discussion.

CRHESI is hiring!

We are looking for a Research Coordinator to join the CRHESI Mobilizing Narratives for Policy and Social Change project. Mobilizing Narratives is a three-year research grant funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC).

The Research Coordinator will work closely with the Principal Investigator to achieve the goals of Mobilizing Narratives, and coordinate activities among research project teams. Qualifications required include a Masters degree in a social or health-science discipline, and community-based experience in advocacy and/or mobilization for action related to issues of poverty & inequality; discrimination, violence, and marginalization; working conditions and employment security; and/or legacies of colonialism and contemporary realities. This role is positioned within Western University’s Faculty of Health Sciences.

Visit Working at Western for a full description of this opportunity. The posting title is Research Coordinator, reference # 10125. Applications are due this May 29, 2017.

Local Poverty Reduction Fund in its Final Award Year

The Local Poverty Reduction Fund is now in its final year of awarding grants, with applications due this June 28th.

The Ontario Trillium Foundation will continue its role supporting the application process. Groups not already registered and verified eligible for OTF funding must register by June 7th. Details are available here.

OTF support will also be available through in-person outreach sessions and webinars. A schedule for these events can be found in the OTF Events Calendar. No in-person events are scheduled for London this year.

If your organization is interested in submitting an LPRF application, CRHESI can support you in various ways, including:
-providing consultancy on research, knowledge translation and evaluation phases of the activities you propose
-connecting your organization to potential collaborators and experts from the London-Middlesex community and Western University
-assisting your project as it begins to share its results and outcomes

If the CRHESI network of university and community members can strengthen your application to LPRF, let us know. Contact Eugenia Canas, ecanas@crhesi.ca or James Shelley, jshelley@crhesi.ca for more information.

Diverse Voices for Change Workshop

Date: Thursday, May 25 and Friday, May 26
Hours: 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Women from immigrant, racialized and Indigenous communities are invited to participate in a FREE two-day, hands-on workshop focused on giving you the tools and experiences needed to engage with City government and/or run for political office in the future. Participants will gain an understanding of how to bring their views forward to City Council, how to participate in City of London Advisory Committees, Boards and Commissions, what it takes to run for political office, and how women can support one another in running political campaigns.

These workshops are a partnership between Women & Politics, City of London, Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) and City for All Women Initiative (CAWI).

More details and registration.

From Refugee to Londoner

This coming June 20th 9 am to 4 pm, the Life as a Refugee conference will be held at GoodWill Industries in London. “From Refugee to Londoner” will focus on local solutions to unexpected challenges, prejudice and discrimination, and refugee contributions to our community.

Please register for the event here.