Citizens for Public Justice - CPJ

There has been longstanding public support for immigration in Canada—so why does it seem like public sentiment is shifting negatively?

At events across the country on the Renewed Canadian Welcome Book Tour, contributors to CPJ’s new book (from McGill-Queen's University Press) are sharing important reflections on migration, justice, and belonging. One of the contributors, Dr. Patti Tamara Lenard, reminds us of the importance of challenging anti-immigrant narratives and continuing to build policies and communities that welcome newcomers with dignity and respect.

You’re invited to join us online and in person at uOttawa on May 28th to hear from Dr. Lenard, engage in conversation, and learn how people across migrants, advocates, and experts are working together to uphold rights for immigrants in Canada.

RSVP by clicking the link: cpj.ca/events/arcw-uottawa

It’s the end of May, which can only mean one thing for the CPJ community: it’s time to gather, share a meal, and build our public justice movement!

On May 28th, we invite you to join an evening of celebration and solidarity online and in person at the University of Ottawa:

At 6 p.m., we are delighted to present Dr. Patti Tamara Lenard and Shabnam Salehi at the Ottawa stop on the Renewed Canadian Welcome Book Tour, where we’re gathering with migrants, advocates, and experts across the country to generate a better conversation about refugees and migrants in Canada.

After a break for refreshments (rumour has it there will be falafels present), CPJ members will vote in our 2026 Annual General Meeting. The AGM is a great moment to learn about our public justice movement’s history and get involved as a member by making a donation of any size.

To register, head to the event page: cpj.ca/events/arcw-uottawa

See you there! 🍅

How do we create a more welcoming and inclusive Canada? And what can YOU do to help?

During our cross-country tour, contributors to A Renewed Canadian Welcome (published by McGill-Queen's University Press ) have been sharing important reflections on migration, belonging, justice, and solidarity. In a conversation with CPJ, Shabnam Salehi reminded us why centering the voices and lived experiences of refugees and migrants matters.

You have the opportunity to hear from Shabnam and other advocates at The Renewed Canadian Welcome Book Tour: University of Ottawa on May 28th. Together, we’ll engage in urgent conversation and reflect on how we can build stronger and more welcoming communities together.

🗓️ Thursday, May 28th
🕰️ 6 p.m. ET
🏛️ uOttawa - Room 4004 in the Faculty of Social Sciences building (120 University Private)

✨Click the link to register to attend in person or online: cpj.ca/events/arcw-uottawa/

Winnipeg: next week is your chance to hear from local community and labour organizer Diwa Marcelino, who is a community and labour organizer with 25+ years of grassroots experience at local and national levels, based in Treaty 1 territory.

You’ve still got time to register for the Renewed Canadian Welcome: Winnipeg! Join us at St John's College to generate a better and rights-upholding conversation about refugees and migrants in Canada and to mark the release of CPJ’s award-winning book A Renewed Canadian Welcome (from McGill-Queen's University Press).

📅 Tuesday, May 19
🕰️ 7:00-8:30pm CT
🏛️ St John’s College (Room 201) at 92 Dysart Road
✨ Click the link to register to attend in person or online: cpj.ca/events/arcw-wpg-st-johns

WINNIPEG: The federal government is making decisions that undermine refugee and migrant rights—which is why the message of CPJ’s new book, A Renewed Canadian Welcome from McGill-Queen's University Press, is so crucial and timely.

We need YOU to join the conversation. Join us at St John’s College for the Winnipeg stop of Renewed Canadian Welcome Book Tour.

📅 Tuesday, May 19
🕰️ 7:00-8:30pm CT
🏛️ St John's College (Room 201) at 92 Dysart Road

✨ Click the link to register to attend in person or online: cpj.ca/events/arcw-wpg-st-johns

Diwa Marcelino is our event’s featured speaker: Diwa is a community and labour organizer based in Treaty 1 territory with 25+ years of experience at the intersection of migrant rights, worker justice, and grassroots organizing. He is a co-founder of Healthcare for All Manitoba, organizer with Migrante Manitoba, and currently serves as interim Chairperson of the Council of Canadians and board member of KAIROS.

72,514 voices for debt justice have reached Parliament.

After 16 months of education, mobilization and advocacy, the Turn Debt into Hope Canadian Coalition symbolically delivered petition signatures calling on Canada to support the cancellation of unjust sovereign debt and urgent reforms to the global financial system.

Read all about it and urge your MP to advocate for debt justice: https://kairoscanada.org/coalition-delivers-72514-signatures-for-debt-justice-to-parliament

In an article for the UN’s refugee agency (UNHCR), Milad Rajabi states: “Refugee experience should be the top priority when making policy. Those with lived experience must be given opportunities to lead.”

The federal government is making decisions that don’t honour the lived experience of refugees—which is why the message of CPJ’s new book, A Renewed Canadian Welcome (from McGill-Queen's University Press) is so crucial and timely.

We need YOU to join the conversation. Join us next week at UBC’s St. Andrew’s Hall for the the first west coast stop on the Renewed Canadian Welcome Book Tour.

📅 Tuesday, May 5th
🕰️ 7 – 9 PT
🏛️ St. Andrew’s Hall (UBC) – 6040 Iona Drive

✨ Register here to attend in person or online: cpj.ca/events/arcw-van-st-andrews

Milad Rajabi is one of our event’s featured speakers: he is a refugee advocate, storyteller, and community leader based in British Columbia. He is the Co-Founder of Refugee Talk, a nonprofit and charity that works to uplift refugee voices and create space for refugees and newcomers to share their stories with dignity and purpose.

The event will also feature scholar-practitioner Lynn Weaver, Dena Nicolai of World Renew , Tim Dickau from CityGate Leadership Forum, and Mark Glanville, Director of the Centre for Missional Leadership.

“Centering the perspectives of refugees and other migrants is crucial to create space for just and informed policy making and communities that move beyond “welcome” to mutually beneficial integration, growth, flourishing." – Lynn Weaver, contributor to A Renewed Canadian Welcome and featured speaker at CPJ’s May 5th event.

Canada is making huge decisions that will impact the lives of refugees and migrants in this country. But do the decisions we're making uphold human rights? On May 5th, join us in person and online for a discussion of this question at the first west coast stop on the Renewed Canadian Welcome Book Tour.

📅 Tuesday, May 5th
🕰️ 7 – 9 PT
🏛️ St. Andrew’s Hall (UBC) – 6040 Iona Drive
✨ Register here to attend in person or online: cpj.ca/events/arcw-van-st-andrews

The event will feature a stacked lineup: Lynn Weaver, Dena Nicolai of World Renew, refugee advocate, storyteller and community builder Milad Rajabi, Tim Dickau of CityGate Leadership Forum, and Mark Glanville, Director of the Centre for Missional Leadership.

A Renewed Canadian Welcome (published by McGill-Queen's University Press) is an award-winning new book that blends personal narrative with sharp policy critique and asks the question: what would our immigration policies look like if they were reimagined from a human rights perspective, informed by lived experience? To find out how to get your copy, visit the event page: cpj.ca/events/arcw-van-st-andrews

If you live in Canada, you likely have neighbours who are here through temporary foreign worker programs. But what are the real human impacts of these programs?

➡️ We need the Canadian public to learn about this question and get involved in the discussion. Citizens for Public Justice and Simon Fraser University's Labour Studies Program are bringing together Dr. Evelyn Encalada Grez and long-time Filipino community activist Cenen Bagon for an urgent conversation on this topic at The Renewed Canadian Welcome Book Tour: Vancouver, Simon Fraser University.

📅 Thursday, May 7th
🕰️ 5:30 – 7 PT
🏛️ Harbour Centre, Room 1600 (Canfor Policy Room), 515 West Hastings Street
✨ Register here to attend: cpj.ca/events/arcw-vancouver-sfu

Dr. Encalada Grez is a co-founder of Justice for Migrant Workers, J4MW and a contributor to A Renewed Canadian Welcome, CPJ’s new award-winning refugee and migrant rights book published by McGill-Queen's University Press. Her chapter is titled “Temporary Foreign Worker Programs for Agriculture in Canada and Transnational Family Pains,” and she shared reflections with us on the stakes of Canada’s temporary foreign worker programs:

“There are severe human costs to these programs that are not well known nor widely discussed. There are countless stories, voices and faces of human beings who are erased in immigration statistics, programs and streams that we need to see and hear. These programs lack humanity and are principally driven by profit and exploitation. It is important to discuss the concerns of migrants to ask ourselves what kind of country we actually are and want to become for all those who live and work here.”

🎙️In 2026, we need to have a different conversation about refugees and migrants in Canada—and CPJ's new book will be a key part of it.

Born of CPJ’s refugee and migrant rights work and published by McGill-Queen's University Press, the new book A Renewed Canadian Welcome provides eleven visions from migrants and advocates for immigration policies developed from a human-rights based framework and informed by the lived experience of refugees and migrants. It blends personal narrative with sharp policy critique and unpacks:

🔶Refugee resettlement
🔶 Immigration detention
🔶 Temporary migrant workers
🔶 The Safe Third Country Agreement

For a limited time only! Pre-order your copy before March 17th and enjoy free shipping! Get your copy here: cpj.ca/a-renewed-canadian-welcome