RCIS Digital Series, Session 1 – Refugee Resettlement and Integration in Canada: Lived Experience, Lessons Learned, and Promising Practices

Refugee Resettlement & Integration Series – Session 1

Between October 2020 and February 2021, the Ryerson Centre for Immigration and Settlement (RCIS) hosted a six-part digital series focused on Canada’s approach to refugee resettlement and integration. The series aimed to engage stakeholders to consider Canada’s approach to refugee resettlement and identify changes to policy and practice that will make Canada more inclusive and responsive to refugees’ needs. Over the course of the six sessions, refugees, settlement workers and service providers, policymakers, researchers, and students were brought together to share insights and lessons learned from lived experience, settlement practice, and research.

The first session of the series featured four speakers discussing settlement and integration needs, challenges impacting service delivery, and the role of government. Jacky Tuinstra Harrison and Helton Achaye shared their experiences providing direct services to refugees, including the development of a program assisting refugee claimants to prepare for refugee hearings; Enrique Paraco spoke to the challenges of refugee settlement in Northern communities and the response from the City of Greater Sudbury; and Sara Asalya discussed barriers facing refugees, the limitations of the settlement sector, and empowering approaches to integration. The session was moderated by Saad El Hakmi, a PhD student in the Policy Studies program at Ryerson University.

• 0:03 (external link) ​ – Welcome by Saad El Hakmi, series co-coordinator and PhD student in Policy Studies at Ryerson University
• 1:30 (external link) ​ – Introduction by Dr. Usha George, Director of the Ryerson Centre for Immigration and Settlement (RCIS) and Professor in the School of Social Work at Ryerson University
• 11:08 (external link) ​ – Presentation by Jacky Tuinstra Harrison, Executive Director of Matthew House, and Helton Achaye, former colleague of Matthew House and Managing Director of Front Immigration Services, Inc.
• 46:55 (external link) ​ – Presentation by Enrique Paraco, Immigration Development Officer in the City of Greater Sudbury
• 1:09:02 (external link) ​ – Presentation by Sara Asalya, Community Organizer, Public Speaker, and Top 25 Canadian Immigrant
• 1:35:49 (external link) ​ – Discussion