Message from Executive Director
CASSA Projects Update
Upcoming Events
Special Announcements
Membership

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

As we move into the Fall season, CASSA will be hosting as well as participating in a number of events in the next few months related to Health, Poverty reduction and WCI projects. Last month, CASSA conducted its first official meeting of Newcomers’ Access to Trades Taskforce which has been created to advocate on behalf of Internationally Trained Trades people. The Resource Booklet Launch in Bengali and Roundtable on Sexual health will take place in this month and we strongly encourage you to participate in these events as a community member. I also welcome Family Services of York region and Agriculture Workers Alliance as our newest members and hope to have the support of many more organizations who believe in our mission and values.

Thank you for your guidance and continued support.

Sincerely,

Neethan Shan
Executive Director

Equity Council Meeting – Sept. 15: The Equity Council of York Region Development Group met in Markham on Sept. 15 to discuss goals for its strategic planning sessions. The visioning sessions will take place in mid-October in preparation for the release of the report from the Spring 2009 Equity Campaign in York Region. For more information, please contact Anita at anita@cassa.on.ca or 416 932 1359 x13.
Access to Trades Taskforce Meeting – Sept. 23: The first official meeting of the Newcomers' Access to Trades Taskforce took place at CASSA office on Sept.23. Participants at this
meeting included Ontario Federation of Labour, COSTI, ACCES, IBEW, Canadian Labour Congress, Skills for Change as well as an internationally trained tradesperson. The meeting was very productive as Taskforce members identified further research as their first priority. For more information about the Taskforce, please contact Anita at anita@cassa.on.ca or 416 932 1359 x13.
Meeting with the Fairness Commissioner- Sept. 29th: CASSA hosted a dialogue with the Hon. Jean Augustine, Fairness Commissioner for Ontario on Sept. 29th. The dialogue presented an opportunity for stakeholders from agencies and advocacy groups to hear an update on the Fairness Commission's work in the last year and to participate in the discussion with the Commissioner herself. The meeting allowed attendees to get to know each other and to identify next steps for advocacy efforts around access to regulated professions. CASSA plans to meet with the Office of the Fairness Commissioner again in Spring 2010 after some of the Office's ongoing projects and reports are completed. If you are interested in getting involved in CASSA's future events and discussions around access to regulated professions, please contact Anita at anita@cassa.on.ca or 416 932 1359 x13.

UPCOMING CASSA EVENTS

Bengali Resource Booklet Launch – Oct. 16: The Communities in Action is a CASSA-TCHC partnership project working in TCHC communities with a focus on capacity building and empowerment in the Tamil and Bengali communities. A Resource Booklet was created with the tenants as a guide for self advocacy and a directory of various community organizations. The Resource Booklet has already had a successful debut in Tamil and CASSA is pleased to launch the booklet for the Bengali community on Oct. 16 at Crescent Town Club.
Click here to view the flyer. For more information, Please contact Nitole Quader at nitole@cassa.on.ca or 416 932 1359 extn. 12.

South Asians and Sexual Health Roundtable – Oct. 27: CASSA is hosting a roundtable discussion on South Asians and Sexual Health to discuss the challenges, barriers and opportunities related to promotion, access and delivery of programs, services and initiatives. Click here to view the flyer.

For more information and to RSVP, please contact Mya Vijendran at mya.vijendran@gmail.com.

UPCOMING EVENTS OF OTHER ORGANIZATIONS

South Asian Trade Festival 2009 – Oct. 03: Human Endeavour and its partners are organizing a South Asian Trade Festival at Vellore Village Community Centre to promote entrepreneurship, self employment and encouragement to small/home based businesses. 2009 Trade festival provides an excellent opportunity to promote your services in the South Asian Community by your participation. Click here to view the flyer. For more information, please contact Noor Din at noor.din@humanendeavour.org

Lions 5K Walk - Oct.4: Social Services Network (SSN) in partnership with Milliken Mills Lions Club (MMLC) will hold the Lions 5K Walk for Mental Health Awareness at the Markham Town Centre on October 4. Click here for more information.

Danforth Multifaith Peace Walk – Oct. 04: Community partners Glen Rhodes United Church, East Minister United Church, Pakistani Community Centre, Madina Mosque and The Danforth Jewish Circle are organizing the 2nd Annual Multifaith Peace Walk on Oct.04 from 1.00 – 4.00 p.m. The walk will begin from Glen Rhodes United Church and end at Eastminster United Church (C) 310 Danforth Ave. All are welcome to join.

Gandhi High – Oct. 13-25: Tetrault Arts Productions is staging the play “Gandhi High” from Oct.13 to Oct. 25 at Joseph WorkMan Theatre. The play will highlight the relevance of Gandhi’s teachings in the present scenario. Click here to view the flyer.

Toronto Fire Services Orientation sessions: Toronto Fire Services is holding Information sessions on Oct. 14, 21st and 29th at various locations. This is an excellent opportunity to learn about the career opportunities with Toronto Fire Services. Click here to view the flyer.

MCIS AGM – Nov. 04: Multicultural Community Interpreter Services (MCIS) is having its Annual General Meeting on Nov. 04 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Foresters Building, 789 Don Mills Road, Toronto. To RSVP, please email at multiling@mcis.on.ca.

Good Green Jobs for All – Nov. 07: The Good Jobs for All Coalition is organizing this event on Nov. 07 at Allstream Building on the CNE grounds. The event will aims at building a green movement for all across GTA with good jobs, equity and social justice, and environmental sustainability. Click here to view the flyer.

People for Education Conference – Nov. 07: The People for Education annual conference on education issues will take place on Nov. 07 at the York University campus. For more information, please click here.

IHSP-2 Consultation Survey: The consultation survey is designed by the Toronto Central LHIN as a part of its currently developing “Integrated Health Services Plan or IHSP-2 for 2010 to 2013 to hear from a diverse range of community members, clients, patients, family, health service providers and health professionals about LHIN’s proposed plans and issues that matter to you. To take the survey, please click here.

OCASI launches a website for Newcomer Youth: The Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants (OCASI) has launched a new website which provides survival info to the Newcomer Youth across Ontario related to life, school system in Ontario, health, law or work. For more information, visit the website www.newyouth.ca

DiverseCity Fellows 2010: DiverseCity Fellows is accepting applications for the 2010 program. DiverseCity Fellows is a one-year action-oriented fellowship program for 25 rising city-building leaders in the GTA who are committed to developing into better leaders and improving the Toronto region. Deadline for applications is October 9, 2009. The program is part of DiverseCity: The Greater Toronto Leadership Project, an initiative of the Toronto City Summit Alliance and Maytree, funded in part by the Government of Ontario. For more information and application materials, click here <http://www.diversecitytoronto.ca/diversecity-fellow/.

POWER Study Depression Chapter: POWER Study(Project for an Ontario Women's Health Evidence-based Report) is producing a two-volume Women's Health Report to serve as an evidence-based tool for policy makers, providers, and consumers in their efforts to improve health and reduce health inequities among Ontario women. Depression chapter is now available for download at http://www.powerstudy.ca/the-power-report/the-power-report-volume-1/depression.

South Asian Youth Advisory Committee (SAYAC): SAYAC Steering Committee is looking for more Steering Committee members to join the existing team for the term July 2009-May 2010. SAYAC Members are passionate South Asian youth who wish to actively participate in creating a socially and economically just Canada and will work collaboratively towards creating the 3rd Annual Fires of Resistance: Youth Igniting Action conference held every May. Click here to visit the SAYAC page on CASSA website.
If interested, please send in your resume to Nitole Quader at nitole@cassa.on.ca with the subject title “SAYAC Membership Application”.

You or your organization can also become a member of CASSA, if you wish to support our mission/mandate. Please visit our website www.cassa.on.ca for details on our mission, vision, values and strategic priorities. The members will receive a regular   update on various happenings in the social services/social justice field in Ontario's South Asian communities.

Annual Membership fee is only $10 for individuals and $20 for organizations. Joining as a member will also keep you informed of opportunities about jobs, volunteering and community events. Click here for more information about becoming a member of CASSA and its benefits.

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