Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ottawa Local Immigration Partnership (OLIP) has acted as a citywide platform to understand and address the pandemic’s impact on immigrants and racialized communities. To support this role, OLIP partners organized the Community Dialogue on the COVID-19 Pandemic on October 22, 2020.

The goal was to gather insights from the communities most affected by COVID-19 on two key points: i) the reasons for the high rate of COVID-19 infections among immigrants and racialized populations; and ii) what should be considered in creating targeted prevention and protection measures.

This report summarizes the content of the COVID-19 Community Dialogue held on October 22, 2020. The objective of the dialogue was to hear experiences of immigrant and racialized residents with COVID-19 and to brainstorm ideas that will contribute to the design of solutions to protect the affected communities from any further spread of the coronavirus. The report serves as a resource for OLIP partners to build on as we continue planning – in collaboration with affected communities – for ways to mitigate the health risks facing immigrants and racialized populations in Ottawa.