LiUNA’s International Vice President and Regional Manager for Central & Eastern Canada on attending an ICC community citizenship ceremony
As a resident of Hamilton and the child of immigrant parents, attending the ICC community citizenship ceremony at the Art Gallery of Hamilton was of particular importance to me. My father, Enrico Mancinelli, spent his life helping immigrants get settled; I have spent decades working with immigrants, focusing on creating job opportunities. These are values I hold dear.
At the AGH, I had the pleasure of hosting an ICC roundtable. The roundtables are truly special; they give newcomers a platform to share their insights and ideas, and allow existing citizens the chance to see immigration as a collection of stories rather than statistics.
I was seated next to a young woman, clearly eager to begin this new chapter of her life. She was asked what excited her most about becoming a Canadian citizen, and her answer was a powerful reminder of the opportunity and freedom Canada holds. For her, citizenship meant having a future — a future that was chosen by her, for her. Canada was her “dream land”, where getting an education and having a career were viable realities for women and achieving goals like financial independence was possible. As a father of three daughters, I was given a new perspective on what it means to be a young woman, as well as a deep appreciation for the privileges Canada offers. But it was what this young woman wanted most from her new life that brought tears to my eyes — community belonging. These simple words held so much meaning for her. The whole experience changed my outlook on Canada.
I am grateful to the ICC and the volunteers and partners who make these events possible. With so much controversy in the world, across oceans and borders, at times it can feel as if humanity is lost. I am humbled by the work of the ICC and its dedication to fostering the Canadian model of belonging.
Joseph and his wife Enza Mancinelli are members of the 6 Degrees Founding Circle and remain strong supporters of all ICC initiatives.
The Labourers’ International Union of North America (LiUNA) is the fastest growing union of construction, waste management, show service, and healthcare workers in Canada. Formed by immigrants, LiUNA has continued to fight for equal rights and work towards creating opportunities for new Canadians. LiUNA Station, also known as “Immigration Square” due to the influx of immigrants it welcomed post WWII, pays homage to the roots of the organization.
The Art Gallery of Hamilton has partnered with the ICC to co-host seven community citizenship ceremonies since 2011. Joseph Mancinelli was a roundtable host with the ICC at a community citizenship ceremony in April 2016.
The day Canada became a democracy cannot help but be a defining moment in our history. One hundred and sixty-nine years ago, on March 11, 1848 Louis-Hippolyte LaFontaine was summoned by the Governor General, Lord Elgin, to form a new government. Why? Because the grand coalition of Upper and Lower Canadian reformers had won a clear majority in the election of 1848. For the first time, in any part of the British Empire, it became clear that the people and not the imperial authorities would decide who was to form the government.
So March 11, 1848 is one of the most important dates in Canadian history. It marks the beginning of what we might call modern Canada. Another way of putting it is that March 11 marks the beginning of Responsible Government in Canada — the now axiomatic idea that governance is properly carried out by elected citizen representatives and not colonial powers. It was a defining moment for representative democracy in Canada, marking a paradigm shift in its modes of governance, and laying the legal foundations for a society based on inclusion and egalitarianism.
In March 1848, a Reform government – it was called The Great Ministry – led by Louis-Hippolyte LaFontaine and Robert Baldwin came into power in the United Province of Canada (the territories now known as Ontario and Quebec). During its three years in power, the Reform government laid the legal foundations for egalitarianism, instated a system of public education, and insisted on a non-violent approach to politics. (When protesters burnt down the Parliament buildings in Montreal, the government ordered the police forces not to open fire on the crowds.) It was, as author and ICC co-founder John Ralston Saul has noted, an “astonishingly atypical” beginning for modern democracy in Canada, given the political discord in Europe and the United States at the time. Inclusion, restraint, debate, representation, egalitarianism — the precepts of good governance as we understand it today, forged by an unlikely heroic duo of Francophone Catholic and Anglophone Protestant.
“The first law passed by The Great Ministry created a Canadian immigration policy designed to protect immigrants. This is the foundation of our refugee, immigration and citizenship policies today,” says John Ralston Saul, who wrote a biography on the two leaders. “The example of LaFontaine and Baldwin is that democracy in Canada only works if we are willing to leap forward with important ideas and policies that strengthen egalitarianism and the public good.”
In 2000, John Ralston Saul founded the LaFontaine-Baldwin Lecture, an annual lecture given by a prominent public intellectual. The lecture honours the legacy of LaFontaine and Baldwin, gathering Canadians for debate and dialogue in the spirit of the public good. Past speakers have included George Erasmus, Shawn A-in-chut Atleo, His Highness the Aga Khan, Naheed Nenshi, and Robert Lepage. Last year, Naomi Klein inaugurated the ICC’s first ever 6 Degrees Citizen Space with the 14th LaFontaine-Baldwin Lecture — an urgent change for call in environmental policy.
This year, as Canada marks its sesquicentennial, the principles of inclusion, good governance, and humanism are as relevant as ever.
Watch Naomi Klein give the 14th LaFontaine-Baldwin Lecture here.
The 15th LaFontaine-Baldwin Lecture will take place on September 25, 2017.
“I feel I have become much more Canadian today.”
Andrea Nemtin, CEO and founding President of the Inspirit Foundation, is addressing a group of 50 new Canadian citizens at an ICC community citizenship ceremony at the Ismaili Centre in Toronto. Earlier that day, she was one of 26 roundtable hosts — alongside President & CEO of the Canadian Women’s Foundation Sheherazade Hirji, Senator Ratna Omidvar, and Global News anchor Farah Nasser — who joined the ICC to facilitate roundtable discussions around citizenship with new citizens. While the new citizens shared their stories, citizens born in Canada — like Nemtin — had an opportunity to reflect on the privileges of their Canadian citizenship.
If you’ve never been to an ICC community citizenship ceremony, it’s a bit like being at a wedding; a beautiful venue with special significance, a warm welcome from your new Canadian family, and an opportunity to look your best for the special day. Community citizenship ceremonies begin with the ICC’s signature roundtable discussions on citizenship — unique opportunities for new citizens, guests, and community members to reflect collectively on what it means to be Canadian, and share their aspirations for the future.
At the Ismaili Centre roundtables, respect for community and history were at the forefront of many of the new citizens’ stories. One participant said he was happy to live in a country that recognized the rights of minority communities, and that the greatest privilege of citizenship for him would be giving back to Canada. A young woman shared a moving story about Muslim and Jewish families in her neighborhood working together to sponsor Syrian refugees, while others spoke to the importance of political participation. For all the new citizens, there was pride in being part of a society that encourages people of different backgrounds to come together and work together.
But what of the more troubling aspects of the national legacy? In her address to new citizens following the official oath-taking ceremony, Senator Omidvar emphasized the importance of “paying it forward,” and “owning our collective history.” “When you become Canadian, you become a part of the whole Canadian family and not just part of it,” she said, adding that they must not turn away from the injustices in our history, especially the treatment of Indigenous peoples. “It is our responsibility, and now your responsibility, to set this right.” Andrea Nemtin echoed Senator Omidvar’s sentiments, urging the new citizens to be part of the effort to redress historical wrongs. “In Canada,” she said, “we see a society that is not perfect, but is working to be better.”
In her opening remarks to the new citizens, Sheherazade Hirji, President & CEO of the Canadian Women’s Foundation and President of the Ismaili Council, Ontario, shared a story about the building of the Ismaili Centre. In 1996, when young members of the Ismaili community were asked what they wanted for a new community space — now the beautiful Ismaili Centre — they said they wanted a space through which they could integrate into society at large, and find opportunities to build friendships with others. Today, with 50 new citizens from 27 different countries gathered in the Centre’s majestic sunlit space for an ICC community citizenship ceremony, it’s clear that dream has been realized.
Watch the Global News coverage of the ceremony here.
For more information on partnering with the ICC to host a community citizenship ceremony, email us: ceremonypartnerships@forcitizenship.ca
CHANGEMAKERS NORTH OF THE BORDER
A symposium complementing the Ashoka U Exchange in Miami
Friday, March 3 (10:00am – 5:00pm)
DMZ – Ryerson University (10 Dundas Street East – 6th Floor)
12:30 – 2:00 PM SESSION | INCLUSION: A LIFELINE TO INNOVATION
In collaboration with 6 Degrees and This Is Worldtown
A key to creating a culture of innovation is to recognize the notion that every person can be a source of potential ideas. Innovation requires the ability to see things differently and from unique viewpoints, and this is where inclusion is vital.
Despite the rise of populism in the West, where political leaders are increasingly being elected on platforms based on narratives of fear and disunity, a significant number of policy-makers, artists, entrepreneurs and community builders continue to see inclusion as a main driver of innovation and creativity.
What role does inclusion play in protecting innovation? What steps can leaders in the social innovation space take to ensure they are resilient when there are threats (political and social) to inclusion? How will the politics south of the border affect the innovation landscape in Canada? What can we learn from the benefits of diversity in the Canadian start-up and social innovation space? How can we ensure inclusion rises to the top of the boardroom and political agenda?
FRAMERS
Huda Idrees, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Dot Health
Huda is the Founder and CEO of Dot Health, a health technology platform that helps you understand your own health better. Most recently a partner and Chief Product Officer at Wealthsimple, Huda is a product designer, an engineer, and a writer. She previously jumpstarted the product design team at storytelling giant, Wattpad, and led the invoicing and accounting products at Wave.
Saadia Muzaffar, tech entrepreneur and Founder, TechGirls Canada
Saadia is a technology entrepreneur and founder of TechGirls Canada (TGC) – the hub for Canadian women in Science, Technology, Engineering, & Math – proudly supporting Women of Colour, LGBTTQ, variously-abled, & Indigenous trailblazers. She is a passionate and internationally prolific media advocate and speaker on diversity, inclusion, and equitable access to technology education and jobs for marginalized groups and has been featured on CNN Money, Financial Post, Canadian Business, VICE, Motherboard, and CBC RadioOne.
Claudia Hepburn, Chief Executive Officer, Immigrant Access Fund (IAF) and co-Founder, NEXT Canada
Claudia has a record of leadership studying, designing, building and leading innovative education programs. Ms. Hepburn is currently a Senior Resident in Entrepreneurship at Massey College at the University of Toronto. She was the Fraser Institute’s first Director of Education Policy, who opened and led their Ontario office for seven years, and founded Children First: School Choice Trust.
HOST
Sana A. Malik, Creative Director and Founder, This is Worldtown
Sana is the Founder and Creative Director of This is Worldtown, a platform dedicated to repositioning depictions of the lived migrant and refugee experience from the lens of Women of Colour storytellers. Sana’s background is at the intersection of humanitarian aid, media, technology and culture. She is a journalist with credits in the Guardian, i-D, BuzzFeed and the Toronto Star. She has worked in strategic communications, and gender-based international development everywhere from the UK, Toronto and Tanzania, to Burkina Faso and Lebanon.
ORGANIZERS
6 DEGREES An initiative of the Institute for Canadian Citizenship (ICC), 6 Degrees is the global platform on citizenship and inclusion in the 21st century. Our work involves the brightest minds and the boldest methods. It brings thinkers, doers, business executives, artists, politicians, and civil society leaders together in order to get them talking about what is really happening in the world.
6 Degrees debuted over three days in Toronto in September 2016. It will be repeated there each autumn, and will also be featured in other cities and countries throughout the year. For spring 2017, we are doing 6 Degrees Vancouver and 6 Degrees Den Haag in The Hague, Netherlands.
THIS IS WORLDTOWN This is Worldtown is a digital hub for first person expression by women of color, globally, across all storytelling mediums. We are a redemptive, living and breathing platform that brings new perspectives to issues of politics, race and culture. We tell stories behind the crisis, directly from those who are building, making art, sharing their pain and their truth.
