Reflections on Canada's immigration narrative: A roundtable discussion moderated by Nam Kiwanuka

Debbie Douglas is the Executive Director of OCASI -the Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants. Through her work in the NGO sector and particularly at OCASI, Ms. Douglas has highlighted issues of equity and inclusion including race, gender and sexual orientation within the immigration system and promoted the creation of safe, welcoming spaces within the settlement and integration sector.

A well-known face in Ontario and across the country, Ms. Douglas is often called upon by governments to share her expertise. Ms.Douglas is a member of the Immigration and Refugee Advisory Committee of Legal Aid Ontario and the federal government’s National Settlement & Integration Council. She co-chairs the City of Toronto’s Newcomer Leadership Table and was appointed as a member of the provinces roundtable on Violence Against Women, and co-chaired the provincial Anti-Black Racism subcommittee. She is also currently on the Toronto Community Housing Corporation Board of Directors, and was most recently was appointed to the Stephen Lewis Foundation Board of Directors.

She has been the recipient of several awards including the Women of Distinction from YWCA Toronto (2004); the Amino Malko award from the Canadian Centre for Victims of Torture (2008) and the Urban Alliance on Race Relations Anti-Racism Award (2014).

Goldy Hyder is President and CEO of the Business Council of Canada, a non-partisan association composed of the chief executives and entrepreneurs of Canada’s leading companies. Previously he was President & CEO of Hill+Knowlton Strategies (Canada). Earlier in his career he served as director of policy and chief of staff to The Right Honourable Joe Clark, former prime minister and leader of the then federal Progressive Conservative Party.

Mr. Hyder serves in many charitable and non-profit organizations, including as a member of the advisory council of the Coalition for a Better Future, as board member of the Business + Higher Education Roundtable and as advisory board member of Catalyst Canada. He is a regular commentator in the Canadian media on business, politics and public policy. He is also the host of the “Speaking of Business” podcast, which features interviews with Canadian innovators, entrepreneurs and business leaders.

Nam Kiwanuka is co-host of The Agenda with Steve Paikin, host of TVO’s latest project, The Thread with Nam Kiwanuka, and host of The Agenda in the Summer. As well, she co-hosts TVO’s On Docs podcast and contributes columns to TVO.org. Kiwanuka was born in Uganda and lived in a refugee camp in Kenya before moving to London, Ontario. She’s worked with BET, MuchMusic and the BBC’s Focus on Africa. She has an indoor plant collection that rivals Allan Gardens and is on a mission to bake the perfect chocolate chip cookie.

Naheed K. Nenshi served as Calgary’s mayor for three terms between 2010 and 2021. During his time, Calgary became one of the greatest cities in the world, named as the best city in which to live in the Western Hemisphere. His leadership saw an unprecedented investment in quality of life including transit, roads, recreation centres and libraries including the magnificent Central Library, while keeping taxes the lowest in Canada. His time as mayor also saw the City of Calgary through four states of emergency, including devastating flooding in 2013 floods and the COVID-19 pandemic. He also became an international voice on urban issues, with audiences across Canada and around the world, including the World Economic Forum in Davos.

Naheed was awarded the World Mayor Prize as the best mayor in the world in 2014 by The City Mayors Foundation. He also has received the President’s Award from the Canadian Institute of Planners and the Humanitarian Award from the Canadian Psychological Association for his contribution to community mental health. Maclean’s magazine once called him the second-most influential person in Canada, after the Prime Minister, much to the amusement of his mother.

Andrew Parkin is the Executive Director of the Environics Institute for Survey Research, a not-for-profit agency created in 2006 to conduct in-depth public opinion and social research on the issues shaping Canada’s future. Prior to joining the Institute, he held leadership positions at a number of public policy organizations in Canada, including the Mowat Centre, the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC), and the Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation. At the Institute, Andrew leads a series of comprehensive studies of Canadian public opinion, attitudes and values, including the annual Confederation of Tomorrow and Focus Canada surveys, the Survey on Employment and Skills tracking the impact of COVID-19 on the labour force, and the AmericasBarometer studies of support for the country’s democratic institutions. Each year he authors dozens of reports and articles on Canadian politics and society.

Anna Triandafyllidou holds the Canada Excellence Research Chair in Migration and Integration at Toronto Metropolitan University. Prior to joining TorontoMet, she was based at the European University Institute where she held a Robert Schuman Chair on Global Pluralism. She is Editor of the Journal of Immigrant and Refugee Studies, Chair of the IMISCOE Editorial Committee, and member of the IMISCOE Board of Directors. An internationally recognized sociologist and migration policy expert, Anna’s interdisciplinary research focuses on the governance of migration and asylum; the management of cultural diversity, nationalism and identity issues; and, overall, the contemporary challenges of migration and integration across different world regions. In 2021, the University of Liège awarded Triandafyllidou a doctorate honoris causa in recognition of her contribution to migration scholarship. Her recent authored books include What is Europe (with R. Gropas, 2nd edition, Routledge, 2022) and Rethinking Migration and Return in Southeastern Europe (with E. Gemi, Routledge, 2021).