CBC Radio-Canada, July 18, 2023

PUBLICATION OF THE '30 UNDER 30' ON CBC RADIO

Noura Hamade, CAI’s Director of Research and Policy talks with Samir bin Jaafar about our 30 under 30 initiative.

Toronto Star​, May 3, 2022

Report unpacks why too many Arab women are struggling professionally

Amira Elghawaby wrote an article in the Toronto Star shedding light on our community-based research project on Employment Barriers Facing Arab women in Canada.

Our latest research study was made possible in partnership with the Newcomer Students' Association and supported by Women and Gender Equality Canada.

Read the whole article here!

CBC Radio, Here and Now Toronto with Gill Deacon​, February 10, 2022

Declaring April as Arab Heritage Month

CAI’s Director of Research and Policy, Jad El Tal, joins CBC’s Gill Deacon on Here and Now, to discuss the Declaring April as Arab Heritage Month!

“Arab Heritage Month is such an important month to have because it provides the opportunity and space for Arab-Canadians to showcase their culture, their talents, and why they're proud to be both Arab and Canadian.“ Listen to the whole segment here!

New Canadians, #CaféNewCanadians​, November 6, 2021

Immigrants' journey to success: We speak with the Arab community

Join the Canadian Arab Institute on New Canadians TV for this session of Café New Canadians to be better prepared before and after landing in Canada. Our Director of Research and Policy, Jad El Tal was one of the guest speakers.

Radio Canada International, September 18, 2021

Les communautés arabes et les élections : l’important, c’est de voter

‘Jad El Tal et Jasmine Hawamdeh, respectivement, le directeur des politiques et la chargée de communication de l’Institut canado-arabe, un organisme fondé en 2011, discutent de la campagne #YallaVoteCanada dans leur bureau situé à l’intérieur d’un espace de cotravail au centre-ville.’

The article is also available in Arabic.

CBC Toronto, August 4, 2021

Lebanese diaspora in Toronto remembers Beirut blast 1 year ago 'like it was yesterday’

‘For four minutes on Aug. 4, 2020, Jad El Tal thought his parents were dead.

Those minutes felt like hours to El Tal, who was in Toronto waiting for them to return his call from the Lebanese capital.

The explosion at the port of Beirut killed more than 200 people. It tore through his parents' neighborhood two kilometers away and shattered their home. El Tal's uncle's home was also destroyed.

His loved ones' lives were spared. The emotional scars, however, live on a year later.’

CBC Metro Morning, May 21, 2021

Reflections from an Israeli Canadian and a Palestinian Canadian

Shireen Salti, Executive Director of the Canadian Arab Institute interviewed on CBC Metro Morning with Ismaila Alfa to discuss her experiences as a Palestinian-Canadian who grew up under Israeli occupation for 15 years.

You can listen to the whole interview here.

Globe and Mail, May 18, 2021

When it comes to the Mideast conflict, it is important to know the difference between criticism of policy and criticism of people

Shireen Salti, Executive Director of the Canadian Arab Institute was interviewed by John Ibbitson of the Globe and Mail regarding support for Palestinian human rights in Canada.

“For Ms. Salti, the rights of Palestinians are bound up within the larger movement for social justice. “The fight for social justice includes queer rights, Palestinian human rights, tackling anti-Arab racism, anti-Indigenous racism, anti-Black racism,” she said.”

CBC News, May 16, 2021

People of colour stressed and working high-risk jobs, study shows

The Canadian Arab Institute’s partnership with Brock University highlighted in a CBC article.

“People of colour are under a lot of stress and working high-risk jobs during the pandemic, according to a new survey.”

The Hill Times, January 4, 2021

At Canada’s universities, institutional racism more than a case of a few bad apples

The Canadian Arab Institute’s policy brief on Dismantling Systemic Racism in Canadian PostSecondary Institutions: Arab Students’ Experiences on Campus written by our research fellow, Aisha Shibli was featured in this article as the need for race-based data in university campuses intensifies.

“Although Canadians of Arab origin are twice as likely to have a post-secondary degree than their Canadian counterparts, results from a national survey of 265 Arab respondents revealed that one- third of the respondents not only experienced discrimination or unfair treatment due to their ethnic, racial, religious, or social differences, they were also subjected to various stereotypes within their Canadian post-secondary institutions.“

University Affairs, December 31, 2020

2020: Canadian higher education in review

The Canadian Arab Institute was mentioned in the University Affairs review on the 2020 Canadian higher education review.

“In November, we published a story about the Canadian Arab Institute’s partnership with Brock University and the University of Toronto to investigate the impact of COVID-19 on racialized communities. It’s not as if racism and anti-racism efforts didn’t exist before 2020.”

+972 Magazine, December 28, 2020

In Canada, the IHRA has begun to stifle Pro-Palestinian Voices

Executive Director and Board Member of CAI discuss Canada’s IHRA definition of antisemitism that is creating an increasingly hostile environment toward critics of Israel.

“As proud Arab-Canadians with parliamentary and legal backgrounds, we have faith in our legislatures and democratic institutions. And we hope that the federal and provincial governments will begin to include Palestinian-Canadians at the table.”

Omni TV Arabic, December 22, 2020

COVID-19 has exacerbated inequalities for the Arab community

Omni TV Arabic featured CAI to talk about amplifying the voices and policy priorities of Arab-Canadian youth. Our Executive Director spoke about CAI's most recent research project in collaboration with Brock University investigating the impact of COVID-19 on equity seeking groups and the importance of civic engagement among Arabs in Canada.

Toronto Star, November 4, 2020

In post-COVID Canada, racialized communities will face the most challenges

The Canadian Arab Institute’s groundbreaking research project was featured in the Toronto Star. The article sheds light on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on equity-seeking groups in Canada. Alongside co-investigators Dr. Walid Hejazi and Brock University President Gervan Fearon, CAI’s Research Project is highlighted in collaboration with Brock University.

“It is the hope of CAI that this research project, and future research initiatives, will enable all racialized communities in Canada to benefit from the economic, social, health, and educational opportunities this great country offers.”

University Affairs, November 24, 2020

Researchers investigate how racialized groups are faring during the pandemic

The Canadian Arab Institute and Brock University outline the impact of the COVID-19 Research Project on equity-seeking communities in the country.

“We really wanted to look at this from a race-based data collection lens and we wanted it to be research done for the community, by the community.”

New Canadian Media, September 2, 2020

Unemployment Among Arabs in Canada Remains High

The Canadian Arab Institute comments on high unemployment rates among Arabs in Canada citing a study put together last June by CAI.

“CAI noted that according to 2016 Census data, Arabs’ unemployment rate was the highest among visible minorities at 13.5 per cent. Unemployment among Arabs is higher than that of any other visible minority in Canada, including South Asian, Chinese and Black people.”

CBC, August 12, 2020

Rola Dagher, president of Cisco Systems Canada, calls on Canadians to help rebuild Beirut

Arab Canadian community visionary Rola Dagher, president of Cisco Systems Canada, calls on Canadians to help rebuild Beirut.

She said called about 10 Lebanese-Canadian leaders she knew and convinced them they had to give back to the community.

"I said, 'We can't be sitting here and just watching the news.' I said: 'We're blessed for being in a country like Canada that is safe but it's our job and our duty to give back to our community,'" she said.

We need to start the conversation and we need to start something and we need to lobby the government and we need to go after every single Lebanese person in Canada to start a movement.'" 

The Hill Times, August 10, 2020

‘When you have the will, there is a way’: Canadian-Lebanese Liberal MP Fayçal El-Khoury’s rise to federal political power

Arab Canadian MP Faycal El-Khoury discussed Canada’s efforts in providing humanitarian aid to Lebanon after the tragic explosion that took place on the 4th of August 2020.

“The Canadian people show generosity in every part of the world when catastrophe strikes, and I’m sure now they will do the same thing”. El-Khoury responded.

CP24, August 7, 2020

Toronto's Lebanese-Canadian community rallies to raise money for relief efforts in Beirut

A group of Canadian-Lebanese business leaders have joined together to raise money for relief efforts in Beirut after a series of explosions earlier this week left nearly 150 people dead and thousands of others injured.

Mohamad Fakih, founder and CEO of Paramount Fine Foods, announced the Lebanese Canadian Coalition at a news conference on Friday while reflecting on the devastation of his former homeland.

“By choice, I am Canadian—a proud Canadian—but I will always be a child of Lebanon,” Fakih said. Additionally, the group says it will look to the federal government to match the funds raised. Donations are eligible for a charitable tax receipt and can be made here. 

Toronto Star, 6 August 2020

Lebanon must rise again to be a source of beauty

The Founder of the Canadian Arab Institute, Dany H. Assaf, shares his thoughts on the tragic explosion in Beirut on Wednesday August 5th 2020. “For Canadians, the reason to care relates to our national interests in Lebanon. On the national security front, with the global social, political and economic issues surrounding migration coming out of the war in Syria, there is a clear Canadian national security interest that Lebanon is serving as a potential source of stability and openness in a troubled region and world.”

Assaf calls for action for Canada to “truly help beyond aid in the wake of another needless tragedy”, in order for Lebanon to again “be a source of beautiful things and heed the words of those who took the streets under the banner “One Lebanon”.

Arab News, 6 June 2020

Protests in US put racial discrimination in Canada under scrutiny

This article outlines the systemic racism experienced by the Black population in Canada, and the need for credible leadership to effectively combat anti- black racism. In the article, Executive Director of CAI, Salti, extends the discussion to the systemic prejudice experienced by Arabs and Muslims in Canada.

“We need to be anti-racist in a society where we have multiple communities, and diverse communities, and multiculturalism is literally at the heart of what we do here in Canada.” While standing in solidarity with black Americans, Salti said the US situation has opened up a window for Canadians to talk about all forms of discrimination.

The Record, 28 May 2020

Nonprofit sector is essential and at risk of financial devastation

Our Interim Executive Director Shireen Salti has co-authored this article with Rosalind Gunn and Anjum Sultana on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the nonprofit sector, as well as Canadian civil society at large “Nonprofits have been at the forefront of policy advocacy ensuring the needs of Canada’s most structurally marginalized communities are not forgotten in the government’s responses. This is especially necessary as we know that Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Arab and South Asian communities stand to lose the most during this pandemic.”

Massey College, 21 May 2020

Massey College Principal Nathalie Des Rosier‘s was joined by our Interim Executive Director Shireen Salti and Board Member Ola Mohajer to share the Canadian Arab Institute’s research on history, migration patterns, and civic engagement, as well as challenges faced by newcomers to Canada. The conversation highlighted the various contributions members of the Arab community have made — and continue to make in Canada.

Aga Khan Museum, 9 May 2020

The Canadian Arab Institute has recently partnered with Aga Khan museum on a exhibition titled “Don't ask me where I'm from” looking at immigration from the lens of second generation artists.

To watch the full video, click here.

New Canadian Media, 5 May 2020

All hands on deck: it’s time to allow internationally trained physicians to join the fight

Our Interim Executive Director Shireen Salti co-wrote this piece along with Anjum Sultana and Georgette Morris on the systemic barriers experienced by medical professionals trained abroad. This article highlights the importance of supporting internationally trained physicians in combating COVID-19.

First Policy Response, 1 May 2020

Foreign-trained doctors are an untapped resource in Pandemic Fight

Our Interim Executive Director Shireen Salti co-authored this piece proposing policy recommendations to support foreign-trained doctors residing in Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic. The article emphasizes the need for lowering barriers to entry for physicians to practice medicine in Canada in order to efficiently address this health crisis.

The Hill Times , 4 December 2019

Diversity, inclusion minister should act as ‘catalyst’ with cross-ministerial power, say advocates

Our Interim Executive Director Shireen Salti was quoted in The Hill Times weighing in on the new government’s ministerial role on diversity and inclusion.

“Shireen Salti, interim executive director at the Canadian Arab Institute, said she’ll be watching to see if Ms. Chagger will be empowered to “act as a catalyst ensuring that diversity and inclusion is evenly applied across governments,” and that doesn’t work as “a stand-alone ministry.”

The role should involve looking at the various functions of government and ensuring that underrepresented communities see some outreach and affirmative action, and that equal opportunities apply across sectors, something Ms. Salti said needs to be addressed for Arab Canadians, who represent the largest demographic of newcomers right now.”

City News - 21 September 2019

Calls for leaders to address racism in Canada

Members of the Arab and Black communities say they aren’t shocked by the Trudeau brownface/blackface controversy. Instead, we should be asking what each leader is doing to address racism and develop policies that are inclusive of all Canadians.