I’m really impressed with the level of energy and commitment around the Health and Wellbeing table and look forward to continuing collaboration between OLIP and OPH.

Marcela Tapia
Ottawa Public Health
All the WOW events that I went to were great – WOW does give a sense of a community trying to improve its attraction and retention!

Caroline Andrew
Professor, University of Ottawa
Canada has been shaped by people who came from all over the world to build this country. WOW offers a platform for us to celebrate this history and the future it will help…

Alex Munter, Chair of the OLIP Council and President and CEO of the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario and Ottawa Children’s Treatment Centre
I was happy to see integration to Algonquin territory and indigenous culture related programming in 2014 WOW. Please continue to involve local Aboriginal organisations and…

Linda Manning
WOW 2014 participant, Senior Fellow, University of Ottawa
We are very pleased to have done the “Opportunity Cost of Not Investing in Interpretation” report – it is so important to have clarity on these challenges and…

Hindia Mohamoud, Director, OLIP
The OLIP Council is committed to leadership.  In only a few years, we have a common vision and priorities, and are up to the task of implementing the Ottawa Immigration Strategy.

Salimatou Diallo
OLIP Council Vice Chair, Assemblée de la francophonie de l'Ontario
OLIP helps to unite and share scarce resources for greater impact by working together in the field of student education.

Walter Piovesan
Associate Director of Education, Ottawa Carleton District School Board
The work and expertise that OLIP brings to our community is so important as it helps us to build bridges and break down silos.  I look forward to our continued work together. 

Jim Watson, Mayor of Ottawa
The target beneficiary of the work of OLIP is the whole community. In this short period we have planted together important seeds for Ottawa’s development.  

Dick Stewart
OLIP Council
In our city’s history, immigrants have always played an important role. They build our economic prosperity, diversify our culture, contribute to our social vitality.

Jim Watson
Mayor of Ottawa

Forum Overview

August 21, 2015

On June 22nd, the 3rd Biannual Ottawa Immigration Forum convened at the Marriott Hotel in Ottawa.  The Forum kick-started the 2015 Welcoming Ottawa Week (WOW) and tackled the theme: “Moving Forward on our Vision ǀ Building on our Accomplishments”.

The Forum was co-hosted by OLIP and the City Of Ottawa, and showcased  the City’s active role in the OLIP partnership – as a co-founder of OLIP and a key contributor in the development  of Ottawa’s shared goals, defined in the Ottawa Immigration Strategy and the Municipal Immigration Strategy.

Forum attendees included OLIP partners, community stakeholders, representatives of the three levels of government, elected officials, civic leaders, academic researchers, and business executives.

forum overview pictureThe Forum opening remarks were delivered by Deputy Mayor, Mark Taylor, who reflected on the Municipal Immigration Strategy and the City’s role in building a more prosperous and vibrant national capital strengthened by immigrants’ contributions.

The participants received a brief progress report on the accomplishments made by the Partnership in the first five years, and the way forward from Carl Nicholson and Caroline Andrews, OLIP Executive Committee members.

Participants also heard a presentation on Trends and Policies Affecting Ottawa’s Progress from Corinne Prince St. Amand, Director General of the Integration- Foreign Credentials Referral Office, Citizenship and Immigration Canada and Cohen Langerak, Senior Business Consultant- Ministry of Citizenship, Immigration and International Trade. Langerak’s presentation hinged on the importance of leveraging the global connections of our diverse communities to increase Ontario’s economic prosperity.

During the second part of the Forum, academic experts provided new perspectives on two key areas of planned action by OLIP partners, namely:

  • How Ottawa leverage administrative data to inform local planning; and
  • How to tackle mental health challenges among immigrants and refugees.

Participants’ true engagement with the Forum was reflected by the high attendance rate and their interactions with Forum speakers. The Forum feedback survey indicated that the participants appreciated the valuable platform the Forum created for networking, and sharing ideas and insights on how to remove barriers that hinder Ottawa’s success in the integration of immigrants.

Read Forum Objectives & Program
Forum Photo Gallery