Organizing a forum for tomorrow at city hall. Warning: This is a small room, so won’t be much room for the public, who are specifically invited, unless the venue gets changed. Seems a bit odd to me, as does the timing — a few days after other mayors have been in the news, speaking out (Nenshi) or getting attention for efforts they’d already been making earlier (Tory), and also with one day’s notice. Kinda scrambly. News release below
Mayor Invites Public to Forum on Syrian Refugee Crisis
As part of the mobilization of mayors across the country to support in the humanitarian crisis facing Syria, Mayor Gregor Robertson (who also serves as the Chair of Canada’s Big City Mayors’ Caucus) is inviting the public and key stakeholders to a public forum at 7 pm. Tuesday September 8 at City Hall.
Chris Friesen, Chair of the Canadian Immigrant Settlement Sector Alliance (CISSA-ACSEI), will be joined by senior officials from Immigrant Settlement Services and Eyob Naizghi, Executive Director of MOSAIC,to share background information with the public, many of whom wish to help but are still unclear as to what are the various actions they can take to help address the crisis and assist those in need.
The invitation is open to anyone who wishes to attend. The City hosts the Mayor’s Working Group on Immigration and the Vancouver Immigration Partnership, whose members form part of the mobilization of civil society in Vancouver to address key issues facing immigrants and refugees. The work on the Sanctuary City which has taken place over the last year in the city will be a solid platform for launching an initiative to help with the Syrian refugee crisis.
When: 7 pm. September 8th, 2015
Where: Town Hall meeting room, Main floor, Vancouver City Hall
Who: Mayor Gregor Robertson and City Council, Chris Friesen – Chair of the Canadian Immigrant Settlement Sector Alliance (CISSA-ACSEI), and senior officials from
Immigrant Settlement Services and Mosaic.