Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants (OCASI) Immigration Law Research Project

Project Type: Public Legal Education (presentations, workshops, podcasts, brochures, blogs, etc.)

Fields of Law: Immigration & Refugee, Housing (Landlord & Tenant), Employment & Labour

Positions Available: 2

This is a joint project in which University of Toronto students will work with students from the University of Western Ontario (UWO).

  

About the Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants (OCASI)

OCASI is a registered charity and was formed in 1978 to act as a collective for immigrant serving agencies and to coordinate responses to shared needs and concerns. Its memberships are comprised of more than 220 community-based organizations in Ontario. OCASI’s mission is to achieve equity, access, and full participation for immigrants and refugees in every aspect of life in Canada.

  

Project Details

As a council of autonomous community-based agencies which serve immigrant communities of Ontario, OCASI asserts the rights of all persons to participate fully and equitably in the social, cultural, and political and economic life of Ontario. Settlement.Org is an online resource facilitated by OCASI that provides newcomers with an electronic community to find information, read relevant news, ask questions, share their experiences with others and access a database of community organizations. 

The Settlement.Org moderated discussion forum works to answer questions with well-researched legal information. Here we provide information and referrals to services in response to questions about immigration, health, housing and other aspects of the settlement process.

Students will help answer questions from the discussion forum by providing detailed legal information in plain language and making competent referrals to lawyers and services. Students will conduct research on various topics related to settlement, including housing (landlord and tenant rights), immigration, citizenship issues, and labour law (i.e. workers’ rights).This research will be used to ensure Settlement.org is accurate and up to date, as well as to create new content. Deliverables should be in plain language and/or memo format. All content produced by participating students will be reviewed and approved by the supervising lawyer prior to public distribution.

Here are some samples of what we asked the students to review and/or write:

 

Will the student(s) be expected to show up for regular shifts each week, or is the schedule flexible?

The schedule is very flexible since all work is online.

 

Requirements and Expectations:

French language skills are an asset. Coursework in immigration law is beneficial. An understanding of submitting final research in plain language is helpful, however OCASI can assist in early weeks if necessary.