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
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
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
The City of Ottawa will continue to play a lead role in the implementation of the Ottawa Immigration Strategy, just as we did in the founding of OLIP.

Steve Desroches
City Councillor and Deputy Mayor 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
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
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
My nomination is an indication that our hard work in building Canada is recognized. All we do is to serve the community in return for embracing us when we needed it.  

Mehdi Mahdavi
Ottawa Immigrant Entrepreneurship Awards Nominee
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

Strengthening Partnerships to Achieve Vaccine Equity in Ottawa

April 29, 2021

Phase 2 of the COVID-19 vaccine rollout has started in Ottawa during the month of April, expanding the eligibility for vaccination to immigrant and racialized people over 18 years of age, living in the COVID-19 hardest hit neighbourhoods.

Due to the complex nature of the vaccine rollout for this second phase, that will cover a large part of Ottawa’s population, joint efforts have been undertaken by OLIP partners to enhance the COVID-19 vaccine uptake within eligible immigrant and racialized people in the hardest hit, low income neighbourhoods.

In order to achieve vaccine equity in Ottawa, it is essential that barriers are removed while concerns and questions regarding the safety and efficacy of the vaccine are addressed through multilingual and multicultural approaches, reflective of our diverse community.

In this regard, multilingual and cultural appropriate Town Halls have been celebrated for the African Caribbean Black (ACB) community in collaboration with Black Ottawa Connect, as well as for the Somali community, along with Mandarin, Vietnamese and Spanish language sessions.

Furthermore, existing collaborative work has been expanded. Community Development Framework (CDF) has contracted 20 racially and culturally diverse resident leaders, speaking 11 languages to support COVID-19 outreach in their neighbourhoods across Ottawa. The resident leaders are working with OPH and the Ottawa Health Team to share relevant COVID-19 vaccine information and help raise vaccine confidence, as confirmed by the CDF facilitator Tammy Corner. Also, many community members are engaging to help others register online for their vaccines.

To further engage our youth, who currently play an essential role as language and technological connectors to elder generations, work has been coordinated between CDF, the Neighbourhood Ambassador Program from the City of Ottawa and the Boys and Girls Club to circulate information and technology.

Community Health Centres and Community Resource Centres that are rooted and trusted within their diverse communities, keep not only providing essential services and wrap around supports for their clients, as is the case of the Ottawa Newcomer Centre, but also through their Community Practice, are providing training to people actively working in the field and multilingual information sessions.

The Coalition of Local Agencies Serving Immigrants is also coordinating with OPH and the Ottawa Health Team to provide assistance from a communications perspective as trusted members of the newcomer communities they serve. They can also help in removing logistical barriers such as transportation through their community support network.

To aid in the coordination of communications, a COVID-19 vaccine information tool kit is currently being developed by OPH and will be available on their website, so that people can be having their conversations within the community. “We really want everybody to have the information they need both for themselves and to talk to others, may it be a single person or to a group, a client, a neighbour, a friend or a family member” Erinn Salewski, Program Manager of Community Operations at Ottawa Public Health.