For media inquiries please contact AMSSA at communications[at]amssa.org or 604-718-2780.
Global News at 6 PM: B.C. Muslim group shares video of anti-Islam rant in downtown Vancouver
Date: December 30, 2020
Watch the newscast by clicking here.
December 30, 2020 – A BC Muslim outreach group from the “Meet a Muslim Campaign” Bridging Gaps Foundation shared a video of an anti-Islam hate-filled tirade in Vancouver’s downtown. Katie Crocker, AMSSA’s CEO was contacted to comment on the incident.
Read and view videos related to this story here: B.C. Muslim group shares video of anti-Islam rant in downtown Vancouver.
A Renewed Call for a BC Ministry of Immigration, Multiculturalism and Anti-Racism
Date: November 16, 2020
Download the letter here: clicking here.
November 16, 2020 – AMSSA is renewing the call for a BC Ministry of Immigration, Multiculturalism and Anti-Racism in a letter to Premier John Horgan.
Immigration, multiculturalism, and anti-racism intersect with practically every existing provincial ministry. These are issues that are woven into the very fabric of our country and into all of the institutions that run our province.
Dear Premier Horgan,
We are writing to express urgency for the provincial engagement strategy recommendation released in AMSSA’s 2018 report Immigration for BC’s Future: A Call for Action to Strengthen Newcomer Integration for an independent Ministry of Immigration, Multiculturalism and Anti-Racism (https://www.amssa.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Immigration-For-BCs-Future-Web-Version.pdf) Immigration, multiculturalism, and anti-racism intersect with practically every existing provincial ministry. These are issues that are woven into the very fabric of our country and into all of the institutions that run our province. Like every province and territory, B.C. has unique attractions, challenges, and histories that require a specific provincial response.
COVID Alert App Is A Glaring Reminder Of Health Inequality In Canada
Zi-Ann Lum, Huffpost, Posted: October 3, 2020
Read online by clicking here.
OTTAWA — It’s easy to find an example of structural inequality in Canada: just look at your phone.
The “COVID Alert” app, launched first in Ontario at the end of July, is an exposure notification tool that uses Bluetooth technology to identify potential community transmissions of COVID-19.
Available in English and French, the app satisfies official language requirements that came into law in 1969. Waves of immigration and a growing number of speakers of Cree languages, Ojibway, Oji-Cree, Dene and Inuktitut have since increased ethnic and linguistic diversity. But during a public health pandemic, in a country where four million people do not speak an official language at home, the potentially life-saving app is the latest example of health-related inequity.
Path to ending systemic racism requires rethinking everything, say advocates
Lien Yeung, CBC News, Posted: June 17, 2020
Read online by clicking here.
The path to ending systemic racism won’t be simple or clear, but it’s necessary and will require leaders to do the hard work of re-evaluating every policy, everywhere, say advocates.
“We have had the conversations but we have not brought about the structural changes that are needed,” says Indira Prahst.
After teaching and talking about racism for more than two decades, the Langara College instructor says seeing “the outrage” from the public has made her hopeful a shift is finally about to come.
For policy makers, Prahst says, it begins by looking at the blueprints guiding every institution, from police to the education system.
End Anti-Black Racism
A solidarity statement by OCASI – Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants modified in solidarity by AMSSA- Affiliation of Multicultural Societies and Service Agencies of British Columbia to reflect BC specific conditions.
Vancouver June 3, 2020 – We are in solidarity with Black Communities in Canada and across North America amidst the pain and rage we feel at the taking of another Black life – again. We mourn Regis Korchiniski-Paquet who died last week in Toronto.
We mourn George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor – brutally killed in the United States, victims of anti-Black racism and White supremacy.
Canada is not immune. We remember Andrew Loku, Abdirahman Abdi, D’Andre Campbell and many others who were failed by mental health services and killed by Police in what often looks like state sanctioned murder, given how rarely police officers are punished for the taking of Black lives. A coroner’s jury made 30 recommendations in 2017 after the fatal shooting of Andrew Loku by police. Many are yet to be implemented. How long must we wait and how many more lives will be unjustly taken? What are Black lives worth in Canada?
Op-Ed: Antidote To A Polarizing Election: Let’s Work Together To Bridge The Divides
October 28, 2019 | Published by Hill Times | By Debbie Douglas, Chris Friesen, Stephan Reichhold, Sarosh Risvi, Katie Crocker (Rosenberger)
What can we conclude from a federal election that resulted in a minority government reflecting stark regional and, in some cases, urban/rural divides?
That we need to work together to bridge those divides.
And with a minority government, we’ve all been given a golden opportunity to do just that.
Let’s make the most of the fact that Canada isn’t painted solely red, dark blue, light blue, orange, green—or, if we’re talking skin colour, white.
Let’s appreciate that we live in a diverse, liberal and well-functioning country — even as it faces uncertainty due to climate change and economic restructuring. Even as it strains under polarizing income inequality, and a hyper-local focus that can make us think in terms of “me” not “we”.
For Canada to bridge those divides, this has to be about “we”, because we are in this together.
That is what vibrant, functioning democracies do. They move beyond election slogans.
For the next while, it’s not Time For You To Get Ahead or In It For You or being On Your Side in particular or anyone else’s. Those ads are now in the dustbin of #elxn43 history.
CKNW Radio 980: The Jon McComb Show
October 15, 2019; CKNW Radio 980
AMSSA’s CEO Katie Crocker (Rosenberger) conversed with Jon McComb regarding the common misconceptions about refugees and the event “Why Should I Care? Refugees and Canada in 2019.
Listen to the recording here: https://globalnews.ca/pages/audio-vault-cknw/
Audio Date: October 15, 2019
Audio Time: 7:00 AM
The interview starts at approximately 09:00 minutes.
CBC Radio Vancouver: On The Coast With Gloria Macarenko
October 14, 2019; CBC Radio Vancouver
AMSSA’s CEO Katie Crocker (Rosenberger) and former refugee Pascaline Nsekera spoke with On the Coast host Gloria Macarenko about misconceptions regarding refugees and the event “Why Should I Care? Refugees and Canada in 2019” happening on October 15, 2019 starting at 5:30 PM.
Click here to listen to the interview.
Global News Morning BC: Common Misconceptions About Refugees In Canada
October 12, 2019; Global News Morning BC
AMSSA is working to promote dialogue about refugees in Canada. We chat with Chief Executive Officer Katie Crocker (Rosenberger) and former refugee Dacious Richardson about some of the common myths around refugees and why it’s important to dispel those misconceptions.
CBC News: Canadians May Not Be As ‘Obsessed’ Over Immigration This Election, But It Remains A Key Issue For Parties
Liam Britten, CBC News, Posted: October 7, 2019
Read online by clicking here.
In an East Vancouver classroom with sunlight streaming through the windows, Azar Aljalki rises from his chair, stretches, shakes and then dances with about a dozen of his peers.
Aljalki, 38, is a refugee from Syria.
He came to Canada in 2017 through a private sponsorship and now meets with fellow asylum seekers at the Vancouver Association for Survivors of Torture every week.
Their Wednesday morning movement exercises are part of a therapeutic warmup before they share their experiences escaping danger abroad and adjusting to life in Canada.
“My town [in Syria] was a good target for ISIS,” Aljalki recounted. “Before I [left], it was 7,000 missiles [in total] and on a daily basis, 10, 20.
“Because of my kids… I decided to just flee to Canada.”
