In this fifth episode, we explore the Canadian employment landscape -- in terms of immigration and labour market stability, the barriers newcomers face, and how they can make their candidacies as attractive as possible.

Joining us on this episode are two subject matter experts who will approach these issues with complimentary perspectives. Carolyn Benslimane, is a Vice President of Client Services for the Sterling division of the Ian Martin Group.  Her career has spanned 30 years of partnering with executives and managers who need to find talent. Raj Dam is a strategic partnership professional with experience in Technology and the Not for Profit industry. Raj manages Employer and Stakeholder Relations for The Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council. 

Visit CCS online at www.ccscan.ca

CCS undertook an important step in the agency’s evolution with the launch of a program in 2020 designed to support the LGBTQ+ community. The idea was to establish CCS as a safe and affirming place for LGBTQ+ newcomers to call ‘home’ and develop a sense of belonging.

In our fourth episode, we talk to the program lead and a long-tenured CCS employee with an interest in connecting clients from diverse cultural backgrounds to LGBTQ+ services.    

The discussion focuses on our work supporting newcomer LGBTQ+ clients, the broader challenges newcomer LGBTQ+ community members face in acclimating to a new country, and the impact of COVID-19 on the community.       

In this special COVID-19 themed episode, we brought together a cross section of employees, representing various CCS brands, functions and the communities we serve, to discuss how we have re-imagined our service delivery model to meet the needs of our clients during a worldwide pandemic.  

In the CCS Innovation Roundtable, the group shares best practices in the first part of the show and then executive director, Agnes Thomas, leads a roundtable discussion on how we are adapting to the challenges we face during these most unprecedented times. 

In this episode, we talk to Valentina Harper, co-founder of Caremongering (and an immigrant herself), a community group founded in Toronto on Facebook in mid-March in response to COVID-19 to share resources at a grassroots level. Listen to hear more about the group, how it came to be, and where it's going in the future.

Check out caremongering-TO on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/TO.Community.Response.COVID19/about

Visit CCS online at www.ccscan.ca

Dr. Agnes Thomas is executive director of CCS. Agnes has an extensive background in community development.  She’s served in leadership roles in the sector for more than two decades at various L’Arche communities around the world, and in Toronto at the Yonge Street Mission and the Jane/Finch Family and Community Centre.

Her passion for advocating for the rights of marginalized groups led her to complete her Ph.D. in Adult Education and Community Development. She also has an extensive body of research and published work and is a frequent lecturer and presenter.    

Today, Agnes will share her own immigration story, how her upbringing and lived experiences have shaped her worldview, and what she’s learned along her journey. We’ll explore the notion of influence, the question of identity and the power of change, as well as offer her perspective on what lies ahead for the settlement sector in a new decade and beyond.    

Voices on the Newcomer Landscape is a new podcast coming soon wherever you get your podcasts.

Hosted by Darcy Bonner, associate director of fund development and external relations at Catholic Crosscultural Services. From our humble beginnings in a downtown Toronto church in 1954, Catholic Crooscultural Services offers more than thirty programs in thirty languages all across the GTA now and throughout the country too. Just last year, we served more than 28,000 clients.  

We want to give voice to the people we’ve interacted with in the course of the work we do -- newcomers, immigrants and refugees intent on making a new home in Canada and moving their lives forward.  Their stories of resilience in the face of displacement and adversity shine a light on bravery and courage.

Check us out at www.cathcrosscultural.org

Music: ~aether theories~ by Vidian (c) copyright 2018 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license.