A community event on Migrant Collective Action is taking place on November 2 at the University of Toronto Multifaith Centre from 2-5:30 pm.

The forum will present findings from the "Promoting Migrant Collective Action," a participatory action research study supported by the Building Migrant Resilience in Cities Partnership. There will also be the opportunity to hear directly from migrant leaders working with South Asian Women’s Rights Organization and the Tibetan community in Parkdale to learn how they come together to address key concerns in their community through collective action. 

An article in the University of Toronto magazine discusses the strengths of Canada's private refugee scholarship program and provides suggestions for how it can be improved.

According to UofT Professor Audrey Macklin, research shows that privately sponsored refugees perform better in their new home compared to those who come via the government program. This is usually due to privately sponsored refugees arriving to a network of advocates who provide material support and also advice, contacts and instant social relationships. However, there is very little known about the sponsors themselves.

When Macklin and her research team evaluated the results of a survey completed by 530 sponsors, they determined that several recognized the power imbalances that are engraved into the structure of the private sponsorship program.

"In discussions of how the private sponsorship program could be improved, suggestions proposed included more formal training for individuals and groups sponsoring refugees and required background checks for participants, as well as changes to the tax laws that would allow people to treat contributions to a private sponsorship effort as charitable donations." 

An article in the Washington Post highlights the climate emergency occurring in Siberia. According to Scientists, the planet's warming must not exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius — however, Siberia's temperatures have increased exponentially.

In a region in Siberia called Yakutia, the temperature has increased by more than 3 degrees Celsius, which is nearly triple the global average. Siberians are now being driven to migrate due to extreme warming. 

"This migration from the countryside to cities and towns represents one of the most significant and little-noticed movements to date of climate refugees."