Becoming a Canadian

Reporter-editor Carolina Toca on becoming a Canadian citizen*

Oh Canada, I just became one of your citizens. Thank you.

Typically, your editor doesn’t often ask you to write a personal essay of an event in your life. But, it’s not often you become the citizen of an adopted homeland. 

As immigrants, life isn’t always easy at first. The immigration process is much more than getting a permanent residence visa. 

Learning to live in a new language, adapting to new traditions, a new culture, a new climate (the first winter is brutal), finding a job and friends, can be actually the most challenging parts of the whole process. Then there is the Canadian citizenship test.

People hoping to become citizens must first prove they know about Canada’s history, demographics, geography, politics, elections and symbols. The test is just one of the last steps toward citizenship, and it contains 20 multiple-choice questions. You need to get at least 15 questions correct to pass. 

It’s not easiest, but not the hardest. I was able to get a perfect score.

According to the Annual Report to Parliament on Immigration 2017, Canada admitted more than 296,000 new permanent residents in 2016, the highest admissions levels since 2010. Between 2012 and 2016, Canada welcomed almost one million new citizens. The majority of new Canadians came from the Philippines (109,212), India (100,220) and China (73,052).

Soon, we will be more. A new plan by the Ministry of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship will settle nearly one million new immigrants will settle in Canada between 2018 and 2020. 

Under the plan, 310,000 new permanent residents will settle in 2018, increasing to 330,000 in 2019, and 340,000 in 2020.

In the long immigration process, I cannot even imagine the adversity many aspiring Canadians have had to overcome. Packing your life in a suitcase, leaving your homeland, your family is not as simple as it sounds. Yet through all the challenges, we chose to stay. 

Looking back, I want to share why I love living here and being a new Canadian citizen.

Canada is an amazing country in many aspects and now the rest of the world is becoming well aware of that too. In its annual livability ranking report, the Economist Intelligence Unit took a look at 140 cities across the globe, and three Canadian cities, Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver are listed in the top five.

I love being here because I feel Canadians tend to trust, take care and help each other. I think we practice the importance of democracy, of having a voice, and speaking out for others. We may not share the same past, but it feels like we share the same goals for the future.

Canada gave us a future, hope and the ability to choose the life we wanted. I still pinch myself every time I do what I love to do, and I still cannot believe that I am standing here living my dreams. 

All of this is possible because we live in a country that values pluralism and diversity. 

Canada has its challenges too. For a start, we have to reconcile with Indigenous communities here. And we have to be kind, respectful and loving of one another as the cultural demographics of Canada continue to change. 

I believe we can do it.

* This article originally appeared at The Dialog newspaper.

http://dialognews.ca/2018/01/09/becoming-a-canadian/

Tackling sexual violence on George Brown College campuses

Students partnered up with national student movement Our Turn to address sexual violence

Sexual assault, harassment, inappropriate behavior and sexual misconduct are realities in college, and more students are doing something about it.

Along with others, social service worker-student Stephanie Cole partnered with the national student movement, Our Turn, to address sexual violence at George Brown College (GBC).

After doing research, Cole noticed that several universities and colleges across the country have been opening the discussion and she wanted to bring it to GBC.

Ontario legislation requires colleges and universities, “to work with students to adopt campus-wide sexual violence and harassment policies that include training, prevention, complaint procedures and response protocols.”

Cole believes that the current GBC policy and protocol on sexual assault and sexual violence is not inclusive of survivors, nor is it extensive enough to be able to meet all GBC students’ needs.

“Our current policy is not very survivor-focused. We want to make sure that the survivors are getting all the aid and accommodations that they need,” Cole said.

To change GBC, Cole looked for help from Our Turn, which is now devoted to preventing sexual violence at colleges and universities across Canada. The national student group was formed due to what they saw as a lack of consultation on their sexual violence policies at Carleton University.

“Our Turn is a national student union to end campus sexual violence. It was an initiated when we published the national action plan, working with the students’ society at McGill University in October,” said Caitlin Salvino, Our Turn national committee chair.

According to Salvino, the main focus of the campaign with GBC students is to support and help to consolidate the student group, to work on prevention, creating sexual violence directions, provide training and help to develop better policies on the topic. 

“We now work with 26 student unions from eight provinces across the country, representing over 600,000 students. We work with them to give them the tools to respond to these issues on campuses,” said Salvino.

“We are going to work with (GBC students) to go through their policy. Depending on what GBC students would like, what they ask for, we will work with them,” Salvino added.

For Cole, the main purpose of partnering with Our Turn is to raise awareness among the student community about sexual violence, ways to prevent it, and structural policy reforms. 

Several activities, YouTube videos, and posts on social media are part of the actions that are being carried out to encourage the participation of the student community. The group is also planning events that will encourage survivors to meet and share their stories with one another. 

Our Turn also put up posters saying that the college’s sexual violence response team is “non-existent” and that the college’s office that handles complaints has been “sitting empty.”

The GBC staff member who was the sexual response advisor switched jobs on March 2 and is now working with the counseling department. In the interim, students were directed to the intake and operations co-ordinator who would pass along cases to caseworkers at the diversity, equity and human rights office (DEHR). 

“It is very concerning to me to have students say we don’t know where to go,” said Olga Dosis, human rights advisor to the president. “While we’re always trying to figure out better ways to reach our constituents, we’re always open to feedback.”

 
The DEHR office has seen a number of staff turn over in the last school year, with the recent transfer to the counseling department, one staff member retiring, and another moving on to teach at a university. 

Dosis said that the college is in the process of hiring staff to fill the vacant positions.

While the work around sexual violence has not stopped, with other staff picking up the caseload, Dosis said that sometimes they are working out of the office. She said the offices are there to provide a safe space for students to talk with an advisor on their campus.

“We don’t ask our students to travel if they want to lodge a complaint,” Dosis said. “We go to them.” 

Dosis said that the best way for students to contact the college about sexual violence is to go to any of the DEHR offices or to call 416-415-5000 Ext. 3450.

GBC recently ran a sexual violence survey, seeking students’ opinion, in order to improve safety and support on campus. 

“The best way to create awareness among the student community for this kind of topic is to make sure that it is always being talked about,” said Cole. “It’s a sensitive topic but needs to be out there, people need to see it, and by doing that, we can help.”

According to the Canadian Federation of Students, one in every five women will experience sexual violence while studying at a college or university.

* This story originally appeared in The Dialog newspaper

http://dialognews.ca/2018/03/29/tackling-sexual-violence-on-gbc-campuses/

Students campaign to end the sale of bottled water at GBC

100 people have signed a petition to ban the sale of bottled water on all George Brown College campuses 

The amount of plastic in world’s oceans is a global problem. But Courtney Hayes is trying to help by changing her own backyard.

Hayes, a post-graduate student in project management at George Brown College (GBC), has started a petition to ban the sale of plastic bottled water on all campuses.

“This initiative may seem small because it’s just about bottled water, but it really does make a huge impact on the environment,” she said. “Plus, we shouldn’t have to pay $2.25 to have access to clean water.”

So far, 124 people have signed the petition.

“We want to show the people that are in charge of and making the decisions, that the students do really care about this,” said Hayes

Hayes, a graduate of Ryerson’s environmental and sustainability program, founded the GBC Sustainability Squad after seeing a need for a student club on campus.

A report called The New Plastics Economy by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation was presented at the World Economic Forum last year. The report looks at the amount of plastic that ends in the sea as well as the actions people can take.

The study revealed that 8 million tonnes of plastic, mostly from packaging, leaks into the world’s oceans each year to be ingested by seabirds and fish.  That is the equivalent to dumping the contents of one garbage truck into the ocean every minute. By 2050 the report estimates that the ocean will contain more plastic than fish.

“George Brown College has made a commitment to sustainability,” said Stephanie Foster, GBC’s sustainability co-ordinator. “We developed the green plan that included goals and actions to address the global environmental challenges, and now we are looking forward to developing a new sustainability plan that will be more comprehensible and related to engage and involve the students.”

Foster said that access to water is a human right and that she supports the campaign to end the sale of bottled water at GBC.

“A lot of people don’t think about where is the water coming from and that’s just as important as where does the plastic bottle is coming from, so I think we all need to learn more, and care more,” she said.

The University of Winnipeg was the first post-secondary institution to ban the sale of plastic bottled water in 2009. According to Maclean’s, universities of Ottawa, Queen’s, Bishop’s, Ryerson, UFTO, Concordia, Trent, Brandon, Memorial, and Fleming College have followed that path.

According to the college’s sustainability webpage, there are currently 58 water stations throughout GBC’s campuses.

Bottled water is already not sold at GBC’s Waterfront campus, but Hayes said students are students asking for a cup of water, instead of bringing their own water containers.

“Everything is about awareness because those cups are not recyclable and they actually last over 100 years in the landfill, but people don’t know about it,” she said.

Foster says that the college’s “green team” will be discussing the possibility of banning the sale of bottled water in February and may recommend to the college’s management that bottled water no longer be sold at GBC.

*This article originally appeared in The Dialog News

http://dialognews.ca/2017/12/15/students-campaign-to-end-the-sale-bottled-water-at-gbc/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqNrYhx6zeo&index=13&list=UU55wih3ZV02_owCtkN2d4FA

128% more students using accessibility services

Students needing accommodation for mental health up 266 per cent in past seven years

Yuseph Jackman is like many students, juggling a full class schedule and a part-time job. In this case, he is the accessibility representative at the Student Association (SA), which funds The Dialog.  

Jackman is also one of about 10 to 12 per cent of students at George Brown College (GBC) registered with accessibility services. 

Over the last seven years, there has been a 128 per cent increase in the number of students using accessible learning services at GBC, according to documents presented at the college council meeting on Jan. 18.

Mental health has been the most significant driver of the increase, with 1,055 students in 2016-17, up from 288 students in 2009-10, an increase of 266 per cent. 

“As we move forward to the future, you’re going to see that (accessible learning services) are becoming more and more of a prominent thing,” said Jackman. “It’s growing so much, because people realize that, even though it might be small, they still need their accessibility services.” 

More students are also requesting help with complex issues, meaning that they need accommodation for more than one disability.

“We are not just accommodating medical and physical (needs) but it’s also mental health, or mental well-being, that we are looking at as well,” said Anne Moore, manager of accessibility services at GBC.

The Ontario Human Rights legislation states that service providers—in this case, a public college—have to accommodate the needs of people with disabilities.  

According to Moore, the most common accommodations requested by students are extra time for tests, note-taking and to write the exams in a test centre.

Moore said that accessibility services are essential because people with disabilities need to be able to work and have a good life.

“The employment rate of people with disabilities in Canada is low,” said Moore. “There’s no reason for that in Canada. We have the infrastructure, we have accessible sidewalks, we should be able to do a better job.”

Jackman agrees, “in order to succeed, students need to be accommodated, and everything needs to be accessible.”

Under Ontario law, many organizations like businesses and post-secondary schools must be accessible by 2025. By 2020, George Brown College’s libraries must provide, purchase or borrow accessible or conversion-ready formats, where available for its digital or multimedia resources and materials. 

Moore said the biggest challenge for students with disabilities is not the impairment itself but the stigma.

“A student said to me once: ‘These are the people I want to impress. I don’t want to tell them what my basic needs are. I want a good career, I want to move ahead on my life, I don’t want to be perceived as someone with a disability,'” Moore said. 

Some accessibility initiatives that are being recommended at GBC are the use of digital note-taking and blackboard to share notes, the creation of accessible classroom materials choosing e-texts and e-resources, the reduction on the penalties for use time materials, and a new transition program called Great Beginnings for Deaf students.

* This article originally appeared in The Dialog Newspaper.

http://dialognews.ca/2018/03/05/128-more-students-using-accessibility-services/

Tax tips students need to know

Get your taxes filed and learn how to do it yourself

It’s the most wonderful time of the year—for accountants.

And as a student getting money back from your taxes doesn’t hurt either.

Bienvenido Isla, a professor in the school of accounting and finance at George Brown College (GBC) spoke with The Dialog and shared some tax tips any student should know.

Students should always file tax returns
In the Income Tax Act, a general rule requires all persons to file a tax return. For students, there are many reasons to do so but the most commons are: to get a tax refund; to build RRSP contributions regardless of age; to register for benefits once they turn 19 and to claim tax deductions, credits and expenses reducing the amount of tax to be paid.

International students must file a tax return
Canada determines the obligation of filing tax returns by residency, not citizenship. Canadian residents are required to file a Canadian tax return for their world income. International students who are residing in Canada and earn income must file a Canadian income tax return.

You don’t need any income to file an income tax return
There’s always an opportunity to get some tax refund without even having any income to report. Essentially, students with no income will get between $400 to $500 by way of entitlement to a federal GST/HST and Ontario property tax credits.

Tax credits for students
Students may be eligible for refundable tax credits such as GST/HST, provincial or territorial benefits; non-refundable Canada child benefit, tuition, public transit passes and eligible electronic payment cards for public transit, (up to June 30, 2017) interest paid on student loans, and disability tax credits.

The Ontario Trillium Benefit
If you are paying rent, or own a house and pay property tax, you may be entitled to the Ontario Trillium Benefit (OTB). However, the OTB is not an automatic tax benefit, students have to apply by filing a tax and information return to receive it.

Students can transfer or carry forward amounts
If you don’t use the full amount of federal tuition fees, and applicable provincial and territorial tuition, education and textbook amounts, you can transfer them to your spouse, parents, grandparents, or your spouse’s parents or grandparents to a maximum of $5,000 of the current year’s federal tuition amount. Since Jan. 1, 2017, the federal education and textbook tax credits were eliminated, but students can still carry forward unused education and textbook credit amounts from years prior to 2017.

Common deductions from income
The most common deductions that apply to students are moving expenses and child care expenses. Moving expenses can only be deducted from the taxable part of scholarships, fellowships, bursaries, certain prizes, and research grants. Also, moving expenses can be deducted if moving to a new location is a condition of employment.

Student tax clinic

Overwhelmed already? Don’t worry, the Student Association (SA), which funds The Dialog, will run a free income-tax clinic for students with a modest income from March 12 to 23.

Around 40 to 50 GBC student volunteers will receive training by the SA in partnership with the Canada Revenue Agency’s Community Volunteer Income Tax Program and help students file their taxes.

For Ronnie Cruz, the SA’s community services co-ordinator, an essential part of the clinic is educating students on how to do their taxes.

“I made sure that the volunteers are also teaching (the students) because it’s honestly really, really simple,” said Cruz. “They think it’s so complicated but it’s so damn simple that they can do it on their own.”

Cruz, who is running the tax clinic also had some tips for students.

• Gather all of your documents before your appointment so there are no delays at the clinic, and no problems if you are audited in the future.
• Open a Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP). It allows you to save money on your taxes and plan for your retirement.

The income-tax clinic will run at St. James campus in the Quiet Lounge, room 150F, and at Casa Loma campus in room E116, Monday to Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, visit the SA tax clinic’s website.

* This article originally appeared in The Dialog Newspaper.

http://dialognews.ca/2018/01/29/tax-tips-students-need-know/

TTC Riders hands out ‘overcrowding relief kits’ to commuters

Yonge subway line over capacity during the morning rush*

On Thursday, Jan. 18, the same day Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) was discussing the future of Line One, the transit advocacy group TTC Riders handed out “overcrowding relief kits” to passengers at King Station.

“The Yonge line is dangerously overcrowded, and riders are in desperate need of relief,” said Shelagh Pizey-Allen, executive director of TTC Riders in a statement.

“The TTC board must consider the actions for the future over TTC lines, we all need to see all the levels of governments functioning to fund construction of the relief line as soon as possible,” said Pizey-Allen in an interview with The Dialog.

Inside the kit, there was a breath mint, a transit-themed crossword puzzle and a guide on how to relieve overcrowding.

The guide urges commuters to call Mayor John Tory and Premier Kathleen Wyne, demanding to fund and build the relief line as soon as possible and included their phone numbers.

“TTC Riders is campaigning for lower fares and better services on the TTC, and we are working towards to a world-class, affordable public transit system” said Pizey-Allen.

A report called Managing Crowding on Line One by  TTC chief operating officer Mike Palmer states that “Finch to Union Station is the busiest section of any transit line on the TTC network, carrying 450,000 customer trips per day.”

The report says use of line one has grown during the last 15 years exceeding the capacity during the morning rush.

The report also recommends implementation of automatic train control at the end of 2019, which will permit trains to run closer and safer. It also suggests implementing a customer awareness campaign about emergency alarms, the work on the relief line, the purchase of new trains, and congestion fare pricing as a medium-term solution.

“The city and province need to fund better TTC service and start building the relief line as soon as possible to end the dangerous overcrowding on the Yonge line” said Pizey-Allen.

In addition to the construction of the relief line, TTC Riders wants the city to increase the subsidy for the TTC.

“The TTC is the least funded transit in North America with an average of $2.60 per ride. In 2017, the TTC received a city subsidy under $1 per ride,” said Pizey-Allen.

TTC Riders is planning a transit day of action on Jan. 30 and are calling for the creation of two-hour transfers, a low-income transit pass and better service, according to Piney-Allen.

* This story originally appeared in The Dialog Newspaper.

http://dialognews.ca/2018/01/19/ttc-riders-hands-overcrowding-relief-kits-commuters/

Arbitration adds academic freedom for faculty

New contract increases job security for partial-load faculty*

Arbitrator William Kaplan revealed a new collective agreement for Ontario College strike just a month after the province legislated striking faculty back to work.

In an award issued on Wednesday, Dec. 20, Kaplan set out the terms of a four-year contract from Oct. 1, 2017 until Sept. 30, 2021.

Ontario colleges issued a statement saying they are “very pleased” with the arbitrator’s award.

 JP Hornick, chair of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) bargaining team, said it didn’t need to get to this point. 

“With any reasonable amount of co-operation from the colleges, there would never have been a strike, students would not have had to worry about losing their semester, and faculty would never have lost five weeks’ pay,” Hornick said in a statement.

The arbitration-mediation was held from Dec. 14 to 16 between the colleges and OPSEU, imposed on faculty in November when the Ontario Legislature passed Bill 178 to end the college faculty strike.

The arbitration award includes modest wage increases of 1.75 per cent in the first year, retroactive to Oct. 1, and two per cent in each following year.

The award also contains new language on academic freedom, which was a main issue between the faculty and the college.  

“For the first time in history we have meaningful academic freedom language in our collective agreement,” said Nicole Zwiers, OPSEU bargaining team member.

Arbitrator Kaplan, defined academic freedom at the college as “the right to inquire about, investigate, pursue, teach and speak freely about academic issues without fear or impairment to position of other reprisal.”

“Faculty have always had academic freedom from a policy perspective in the institutions, all it’s done is put it in the context of the collective agreement,” said Don Sinclair, the CEO of the College Employer Council at a press conference.

Other items of note in the arbitration award are:

• Partial-load faculty will receive a full month of seniority for each calendar month where they taught 30 hours or more, double the previous formula. 
• If two partial-load faculty are entitled to teach the same course, the one with the most seniority will be offered the job.
  A provincial task force to examine faculty complement, precarious work, provincial funding of the colleges and other issues.
• Extended health plan coverage for employees for paramedical services increased by $500 to $2,000 a year. Visits to social workers and psychotherapists are now included. 
• A lump-sum payment of $900 to each full-time member of the bargaining unit, and $450 for partial-load faculty, who were actively employed when the strike started and who returned to work at the end of it.

“This might be the message for the presidents of all the colleges, you said you care, you said you want the best for everybody and I think it’s time to start showing that,” said OPSEU president Smokey Thomas.

Arbitrator William Kaplan declined to comment for this story. 

* This story originally appeared in The Dialog Newspaper.

http://dialognews.ca/2017/12/21/arbitration-adds-academic-freedom-faculty/