By Neil Armstrong
Photo contributed Debbie Douglas, Executive Director of the Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants (OCASI)
Debbie Douglas is the executive director of the Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants (OCASI) and is often called upon by governments to share her expertise. Her work entails highlighting issues of equity, antiracism, gender, economic class and sexual orientation. She has promoted the creation of safe, welcoming spaces within the settlement and integration sector.
Douglas’s appointment is in recognition of her work — “for advancing principles of equity and inclusion in the Canadian immigration system as a leading policy expert and community activist.”
“I don’t want to pretend that my work in any progressive movement has to do with me only. It’s always a collective effort, and so I think it provides a bigger platform to be able to raise some of these issues and to put some of them on the public agenda — issues of migration and race, and migration and sexual orientation,” says Douglas who was born in Grenada and immigrated to Canada in her childhood.
She says the appointment is also important for her and other Black women leaders, “who are often not recognized for the work that we do as we continue to toil in various communities and in various ways to try and make this place where we live a better place, with so much systemic issues around.”
Douglas will continue to raise issues such as the regularization of status, the systemic racism that exists in the immigration system — for example, families from Africa are overly DNA tested, she said —and it allows her and colleagues to pay attention to what’s happening with refugee claimants, especially with queer refugees, but also other refugees coming from the continent.
She believes that it is because OCASI, Black community churches and other faith groups, and Black organizations have stepped up in a way that has never been seen before on the African refugee issue why there is some response from the federal government to what’s happening in Sudan with the recent announcement that it will provide a family sponsorship program for Sudanese.
In December, Marc Miller, minister of immigration, refugees and citizenship, announced a new family-based humanitarian pathway for Sudanese and non-Sudanese nationals who resided in Sudan when the conflict began on April 15, 2023, so they can reunite on a permanent basis with their family in Canada.
The government said these actions build on temporary immigration measures already in place for Sudanese temporary residents in Canada who may be unable to return home due to the situation in their country, and for family members of Canadians and permanent residents who fled Sudan and came to Canada before July 15, 2023.
“Still need the federal government to step up in a big way, in terms of refugee claimants’ shelter and housing, in terms of supporting the municipalities where they are located, but also in funding things like a reception centre. They’ve put some money into and found a space in Peel Region — the $7M is not enough because we know there are hundreds and hundreds of refugee claimants who are in Ontario, some were relocated from Quebec, but many others have arrived, in the last year, through Pearson,” said Douglas.
The OCASI executive director said they will continue to see people looking for safety as governments in some countries, including Uganda, Kenya and Ghana, implement draconian laws that persecute people based on their sexual orientation.
“We have got to ensure that the same reception that we gave to Ukrainians in the war is the same reception that we’re giving to people in Sudan where there is a budding civil war, and people from Congo where unrest has been going on forever.”
For many years, Douglas worked in frontline, management and executive positions with community-based service agencies. As a management consultant, she worked both with Non-Governmental Organizations and public institutions on organizational development and change.
She was a member of the provinces’ Expert Panel on Immigration which published the report, Routes to Success, and led to the province’s first immigration legislation (2015); sat as a member of the provincial government’s Income Security Reform Working Group (2018); a member of the Immigration and Refugee Advisory Committee of Legal Aid Ontario and the federal government’s National Settlement Council.
Douglas was the co-founder of Zami, a political and support group for LGBTI Black and Caribbean people in the early 1980s in Toronto.
She is the recipient of several awards including the Women of Distinction from YWCA Toronto (2004), and the Urban Alliance on Race Relations Anti-Racism Award (2014), among others.
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| Lillie Johnson with Margaret Williams who helped with the writing of Johnson's memoir, "My Dream" |
Lillie Johnson, who is 101 years old, was invested into the Order of Canada for “her long-time dedication to improving public health within the Black community, notably through the creation of the Sickle Cell Association of Ontario.”
She was born on March 16, 1922, in St. Ann, Jamaica and after completing her education at Wolmer’s High School for Girls and at Shortwood Teachers’ College she worked as a teacher in Jamaica.
Johnson eventually left to study nursing in England in December 1950, arriving in January 1951 and travelled to Edinburgh, Scotland to start her training.
After completing her studies in Britain, Johnson returned to Jamaica where she worked at the University College of the West Indies Hospital in Kingston. From there she went to New Jersey in the United States in 1958 to work at the Beth Israel Hospital in Newark.
Johnson travelled by train from New York, where she visited family, to Canada in August 1960.
A strong advocate for education about sickle cell disease, Johnson founded the Sickle Cell Association of Ontario in 1981. In 2011, she was invested into the Order of Ontario, the province’s highest honour, for her work with the organization.
Karen Flynn, an associate professor in the Department of Gender and Women’s Studies and the Department of African-American Studies Program at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, is the author of “Moving Beyond Borders: A History of Black Canadian and Caribbean Women in the Diaspora,” which features Johnson on the cover.
She praised Johnson’s leadership, initiative, dedication, and advocacy around sickle cell. During the 1960s and 1970s, Johnson visited many patients with sickle cell disease (SCD), a life-threatening condition characterized by severe, unpredictable painful episodes and complications that can limit daily activities and cause disability.
Former president of the Jamaican Canadian Association (JCA), Adaoma Patterson, said Johnson has been a pillar of the Black and Jamaican Canadian community in Toronto for many decades. “She has been a steadfast champion of public health, healthcare and sickle cell disease, in particular, creating awareness, supporting individuals and families dealing with disease, and pushing elected officials and the medical community to take it seriously.”
Lillie Johnson and Professor Karen Flynn at the launch of "Moving Beyond Borders: A History of Black Canadian and Caribbean Women in the Diaspora" written by Flynn which has a photo of Johnson on the cover
Shannon Beth Prince and Bryan Earl Prince were appointed for their “commitment to the documentation, preservation and celebration of Black Canadian history, particularly the Underground Railroad in southwestern Ontario.”
After 25 years as the curator of the Buxton National Historic Site & Museum in Chatham-Kent, Ontario, Shannon Prince retired in December 2023.
She is also a historical storyteller and participates in re-enactments which bring the history of Buxton and the Underground Railroad to life for many groups. Being a 6th generation descendant of the early fugitive families that came to Canada for freedom and opportunity, she brings an insight, respect and love for Canadian heritage.
Bryan Prince is a descendent of enslaved people who came to Canada prior to the American Civil War. He is a farmer with a profound interest in the history of the Underground Railroad – particularly in the Canadian involvement. He has spent countless hours researching, writing, and lecturing on this topic over a period of nearly 25 years.
“I greatly value the opportunity to celebrate individuals whose perseverance, ingenuity and community spirit have benefited Canadians throughout the country. As governor general, I have seen first-hand that our communities are rich in both excellence and diversity, which we need to do our utmost to recognize. I encourage each of us to become catalysts for the change we want to see in the Canadian Honours System by nominating individuals whose exceptional accomplishments may have gone unrecognized through the years,” said Governor General Mary Simon.
Every year since its creation in 1967, the ranks of the Order of Canada have been enriched by the appointment of new members whose contributions reverberate in communities across the country and beyond. Through their exemplary commitment, they inspire and challenge us to join them in making Canada a better country, notes a media release.
The Order of Canada is one of the country’s highest honours. It recognizes people across all sectors of society who have made extraordinary and sustained contributions to our nation.
The motto of the Order, DESIDERANTES MELIOREM PATRIAM, translates to “They desire a better country.”
Appointments are made by the governor general on the recommendation of the Advisory Council for the Order of Canada.
Appointees will be invited to an investiture ceremony at a later date to receive their insignia. The dates of these ceremonies will be announced in due course. Non-Canadians are eligible for an honorary appointment to the Order if their contributions have brought benefit or honour to Canadians or to Canada.
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