Pathways to Prosperity 2024 National Conference: Plenaries and Special Sessions – Presentations and Recordings
Supporting Newcomers to Canada: A Roadmap to Inclusive Collaboration for Collective Impact
November 25-26, 2024
Hyatt Regency Hotel in Vancouver, with a Remote Option
Monday, November 25, 2024
8:50 AM – 10:00 AM PST
Welcome and Opening (Video)
Our opening ceremony will feature Elder Mary Point from the Musqueam Indian Band, who will present on Walking the Path Together. We will then have a keynote from the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, the Honourable Marc Miller, who will discuss new planning for immigration to Canada, including new immigration levels, setting a foundation for conference discussions to follow.
We are also pleased to have with us Jean McRae, former Co-Chair of Pathways to Prosperity, who will present the second annual Jean McRae Legacy Award for a Newcomer Youth to Tsinat Semagn, a graduate student at McMaster University. Tsinat was selected from among 68 applicants for this award.
- Elder Mary Point – Musqueam Indian Band
- The Honourable Marc Miller – Minister, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC)
- Victoria Esses – Co-Chair, Pathways to Prosperity Partnership and Professor, Western University
- Katie Crocker – Co-Chair, Pathways to Prosperity Partnership and Chief Executive Officer, Affiliation of Multicultural Societies and Service Agencies of British Columbia (AMSSA)
- Jean McRae – Former Co-Chair, Pathways to Prosperity Partnership
- Tsinat Semagn – Graduate Student, McMaster University
10:00 AM – 11:15 AM PST
Plenary – Inclusive Collaboration between Community-Based Organizations and the Settlement Sector (Video)
Chair: Amy Robichaud — CEO, Mothers Matter Canada
The theme for this year’s conference is Inclusive Collaboration for Collective Impact. The goal of this plenary is to acknowledge and consider how to best work with the many community-based organizations who support the settlement and integration of newcomers to Canada. Members of community-based organizations will describe the work they do with newcomers and their collaboration with the settlement sector, including challenges they have faced in this collaborative work and how these challenges have been overcome. They will also discuss promising practices in collaboration between community-based organizations and the settlement sector that benefit from the expertise of all involved to optimize collective impact.
- Grassroots Allyship: Collaborative Responsibility to Promote a Flourishing Society
Saifullah Muhammad – Founder and Board Chair, Rohingya Centre of Canada - Addressing Anti-Immigrant Housing & Support Services (Download Presentation)
Siobhan Barker – Community Care Director, Hogan’s Alley Society - Bridging Gaps: Advancing LGBTQ+ Refugee Integration
Dave Kerr – Director, LGBTQ+ Refugee Programs, Metropolitan Community Church of Toronto - Empowering Newcomer Families: The Role of Collaborative Research and Community Incubators (Download Presentation)
Myriane Ouellette – Co-Founder & President, The Community Incubator, Outgoing President, Family and Early Childhood Francophone South, and Founder & CEO, O Strategies Inc.
Sponsored by: YMCA of Greater Toronto – Pre-Arrival Canada Program
Tuesday, November 26, 2024
9:00 AM – 9:45 AM PST
Consolidated Report-Back on Interactive Activity (Video)
- Presenter: Tina Strehlke, Minerva BC
9:45 AM – 10:45 AM PST
Keynote Address – From School Settlement Worker to Author (Video)
After working with Filipino newcomer youth as a school settlement worker and Filipino Talks consultant, Jennilee Austria-Bonifacio was inspired to write her debut novel about Filipino-Canadian families dealing with the impacts of separation and reunification. Using her signature mix of humour, heart, and hard data, she’ll share her journey from the settlement sector to the publishing world. Reuniting with Strangers was longlisted for Canada Reads 2024, named one of CBC’s Best Books of 2023, won silver for multicultural fiction at the Independent Publisher Book Awards, and was a finalist for the Toronto Book Awards and the Jim Wong-Chu Emerging Writers Award.
- Jennilee Austria-Bonifacio – Author of Reuniting with Strangers, Founder of Filipino Talks, and Communications & Program Outreach Specialist at Together Project (Download Presentation)
- Victoria Esses – Co-Chair, Pathways to Prosperity Partnership and Professor, Western University
Sponsored by: Calgary Catholic Immigration Society
1:45 PM – 3:00 PM PST
Plenary – Inclusive Collaboration between Public Institutions and the Settlement Sector (Video)
Chair: Beth Clarke – Senior Director, Strategic Partnership, World Education Services
The theme for this year’s conference is Inclusive Collaboration for Collective Impact. The goal of this plenary is to acknowledge and consider how to best work with the many public institutions who support the settlement and integration of newcomers to Canada. Members of public institutions will describe the work they do with newcomers and their collaboration with the settlement sector, including challenges they have faced in this collaborative work and how these challenges have been overcome. They will also discuss promising practices in collaboration between public institutions and the settlement sector that benefit from the expertise of all involved to optimize collective impact.
- Collaboration between the SWIS Program and the Francophone School District (CSF of BC) (Download Presentation)
Patricia Garvey – SWIS Program Coordinator, Conseil scolaire francophone de la Colombie-Britannique - Good Fences Make Good Neighbours: Collaboration in Rural Communities (Download Presentation)
Brady Schnell – Economic Development Officer, Medicine Hat Economic Development - CCSA: Creating the Conditions to Convene Communities for Collective Impact (Download Presentation)
Karen Cumberland – Vice President, Strategic Initiatives & Community Outreach, Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction - The Université de Hearst and the Settlement Sector: A Unique Model (Download Presentation)
Anthony Miron – Solution Explorer, Hearst University
Sponsored by: Diversity Institute (DI)
04:30 PM – 05:00 PM PST
Closing Ceremony (Video)
- Tsatsu Stalqyu (Coastal Wolf Pack) – A traditional Salish song and dance group
- Katie Crocker – Co-Chair, Pathways to Prosperity Partnership and Chief Executive Officer, Affiliation of Multicultural Societies and Service Agencies of BC (AMSSA)
- Victoria Esses – Co-Chair, Pathways to Prosperity Partnership and Professor, Western University