This is the right call because this is one of the effective ways to combat various forms of extremist moments. Combating disinformation is the key. The extremists use social media, chatrooms, and websites…
Canadian armed forces are not alone. Right-wing extremism has, for a long while, been resurgent all over Canada. Still, it has mainly gone unattended compared to the prominent focus on the likes…
Abid Jan Director Capacity Building at United Way East Ontario 6 articles April 25, 2022 All forms of bigotry are not alike. The roots of each form of discrimination and hatred are…
We have so much to learn from others’ good work without reinventing the wheel. Thanks to Covid, since the pandemic, there has been an encouraging focus on equitable economic recovery. However, this…
“I was pulled over today for speeding. The officer did not know me nor did I know him, but we each showed one another a mutual display of respect in our interaction.…
Research shows that distrust of the police is consequential for public safety. However, there is a shortage of interventions that demonstrably reduce negative police interactions with the communities they serve. A training…
Today is the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, and everybody can do something to knock down barriers. Author of the article: Abid Jan Published in Ottawa Citizen Mar 21,…
Hate and extremism are prevalent online and pose substantial risks for youth who are often online daily. This report seeks to understand where youth encounter hate and extremism online, how they respond,…
Abid Jan speaks on CityNews Ottawa’s The Sam Laprade Show about steps we all can take to better understand and get involved in the local anti-racism movement. Today is the UN’s International Day…
The occupation is over. OPS/RCMP/OPP have done their job. The power of a healing community needs to kick in to support those in need. The following story from CBC reminds me of…
Two things to note here: 1) Ottawa is supposedly a liberal town, but StatsCan data consistently put it in the top municipalities with the most police-reported hate crimes. 2) OPS hate crime…
Of course, the occupation is over. However, the fears of further polarisation and deepening divide have grown many folds deep inside. Of course, we deserve relief now, but healing is more important…
Remembering Rabbi Bulka as we enter the last two days of Kindness Week 2022 – taking place February 18-25.
Every institution needs to follow the PSAC’s lead or come up with an alternative (if an association doesn’t exist or is biase) to ensure this: “…Now more than ever, our union is…
Hailing from Pakistan, I know firsthand the harmful and deadly consequences of mistrust between the community and the police. That’s why it hurts the most when some “activists” don’t leave any opportunity…
Abid Jan February 3, 2022 In the 1990s, youth violence connected to gangs and drug-related crimes was escalating to unprecedented levels in many neighbourhoods within the city of Boston. A record of…
UWEO and UFA partners issued the following statement today. The United for All coalition strongly condemns the racist, anti-Semitic, and xenophobic symbols, signs and acts used at this weekend’s protests in downtown…
We hoped things would miraculously improve after a deadly attack that claimed six lives in Quebec City on January 29, 2017. Instead, we lost more lives to hatred. Overall police-reported hate crimes…
In 2016, people gathered and shouted at a bus full of refugees: “We are people”. In other words, they meant, “you are not.” It was pure hatred. Hate is not the same…
Today, we remember the 6 million Jews who were murdered and millions of other victims during the Holocaust. Sadly, we have seen a rise in antisemitism and hate in Ottawa and across…
Yet another painful discovery: 93 potential burial sites found near former B.C. residential school We need to be very clear about our vision of reconciliation. I hope it is not that the…
A son took his old father to a restaurant for an evening dinner. Father being very old and weak, while eating, dropped food on his shirt and trousers. Other diners watched him…
A Winnipeg professor is developing a tool kit to help teachers in the province identify the early stages of extremism in their students so it can be addressed before thoughts and musings turn…
Calgary sees jump in hate-motivated crimes with 346 reported to police in 2021 Calgary is not alone in seeing a jump in hate crimes. Interestingly, however, in August 2021, Alberta Hate Crime…
Barrie police chief Kimberley Greenwood says the criminal code doesn’t allow hate crime charges for the attack on a young black woman in downtown Barrie. In Canada, hate crimes fall under very…
Mark Sangster, vice-president of Waterloo-based cybersecurity firm eSentire, said about the rising online hate crimes: “”I think that’s the problem is a lot of people are suffering in silence here and we’re…
In June this year, the Ottawa Carleton District School Board (OCDSB) voted to “immediately and completely” end its involvement with the School Resource Officers program, where officers are assigned to schools to…
if we do it right, we can significantly improve the way local people interact with law enforcement and social services. Author of the article: Abid Jan Published in Ottawa Citizen | Dec…
December 6, is the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women – still one of the most important days of commemoration on our calendar. It marks the sombre anniversary of…
This is an interesting story. Accordingly, “the court support program will share $250,000 in provincial funding with two other programs designed to support women of colour.” Alberta cabinet minister Rajan Sawhney, MLA…
What should be our priority keeping in mind that 1) Ottawa is #2 on the list of most police-reported hate crimes in Canada and 2) data from Statistics Canada paints a disturbing…
Inspiring – a great way to promote respect, equity and inclusivity. The Power of One exhibit is thought-provoking and inspires and empowers all people to make the world a better place through…
UWEO and the United for All Coalition members issued the following statement today. Over the past few weeks, unacceptable instances of anti-Semitic and homophobic graffiti and posters have appeared around Ottawa. The…
A lesson for us here in Ottawa. ‘Defund the Police’ faure has Minneapolis residents taking matters into their own hands amid crime surge. As the crime rate in Minneapolis continues to rise,…
It’s all about the use of social media. The same tech that enables social media to galvanise social justice activists is being used by hate groups seeking to organise and recruit paddlers…
This is heartbreaking. People live in fear like this because some take their implicit bias and hatred to extremes. It doesn’t mean only one person in Quebec City, one person in London…
Lest we forget: The status-quo prevails. For clarity, Canadian legislation is framed so that a police officer needs to obtain written consent from the Attorney General before s/he can proceed with charges…
Ottawa police see a 33 percent increase in hate crime in 2021. Does it mean we didn’t prevent enough hate? Or did we need to spread more kindness? The latter is because…
What a Day before Canada Day – for which Thank Yous are not good enough. June 30, 2019. What a day it was! How lucky is Ottawa, and how fortunate it is to be in…
Very sad to hear about the passing of Rabbi Bulka today. My condolences to his family and friends. Rabbi Bulka will always remain in my prayers and my heart as a kind…
Some of us wrongly interpret systemic racism as an accusation that everyone in the system is racist. Systemic racism means almost the opposite. It means that we have systems and institutions that…
A powerful message. Thanks to MP Mumilaaq Qaqqaq for the service & truth telling. We all have the responsibility to understand the history and address ongoing oppression and hate. Watch Nunavut MP’s…
United Way East Ontario and the United for All Coalition issued the following public statement today. On behalf of the United For All Coalition, we are sharing this statement about the horrific…
There is no age in history where human beings have not committed unimaginable excesses against their fellow human beings. The later generations always come, admit the wrongs, and try to reconcile with…
Nearly all major American cities are seeing spikes in violent crime. Rosa Brooks, an associate dean at Georgetown Law, believes: “The ‘defunding the police,’ I think was not a helpful slogan, and…
Black and racialized populations — including in Ottawa — face daily degradation in almost all walks of life. Abid Jan – Ottawa Citizen The scale and complexity of systemic racism have confused…
Thanks to the United for All (U4All) Champions for their leadership and continued commitment. A great show of commitment and dedication at the highest level again!!! U4All Champions Table met today to…
United Way East Ontario and the UFA Coalition issued the following statement today. United For All partners are deeply disturbed by the highest increase in harassment and intimidation of the Asian community…
The concept of “defunding the police” refers to the idea of reallocating funds away from traditional policing and investing them in other programs and services, such as mental health services, education, and…
Very interesting read. Here is the bottomline: “…While “diversity and inclusion” may sound a lot like antiracism, they’re really not the same thing. In some organizations, asking the Chief Diversity Officer or…
The best first step for those who wish to address racism yet do not necessarily know where to start is arming themselves with an understanding of how racial oppression: – Was socially…
Having worked for UWEO for close to 11 years now, I have thought about this question every day as I work to foster constructive change in our communities and our City. Our…
Character is indeed an important aspect of an individual’s personality and identity. It includes traits such as integrity, honesty, responsibility, and compassion, among others. Having strong character can help a person make…
Chief Sloly responded well to the question about systemic racism. The reality is that those within OPS and outside who claim there is no systemic racism represent a denial of institutional-based racism,…
The truth about systemic racism is not easy to communicate to many. One of the great nineteenth-century English philosophers of liberty and opponents of African slavery, John Stuart Mill, once put it…
This interesting report points only to one factor affecting one population segment. In our community in Ottawa, we know very well from which neighbourhoods most of the mental health-related 911 calls originate.…
What looks and feels normal during a particular age is not always normal. The inequity in Ottawa took me on a journey into the past. What I came to know made me…
United For All’s multi-pronged strategic approach to addressing hate and violence in Ottawa as the risk of hate and extremism – across racial, ideological, political and religious motivations – becomes a major…
Had the honour to convene United for All’s Champions Table meeting yesterday. This table supports the Coalition in building social cohesion and community resilience to counter violent extremism in all its forms.…
Well said, Minister Patty Hajdu: “Racism is not an accident. The system is not broken. It was created this way.” Here is a lesson for those who deny systemic Racism. Systemic Racism…
United for All is a strong voice of more than 120 organisations who collectively had the same call to action. Adam: The Ottawa community must speak up for Police Chief Peter Sloly…
Many of us have this misunderstanding that White Supermacy is a recent phenomenon that came to light with Oklahoma City bombing and got a shot in the arm with Trump’s election, and…
If you have children, and certainly if you have more than one, you know that each one presents differently and that you hold the highest outcomes for all of them. But when…
Ottawa Anti-Racism Forum – July 28, 2020. 1:00 -3:00pm United for All Coalition, in collaboration with the City of Ottawa, would like to cordially invite you to participate in the virtual Anti-Racism…
Research has shown that microaggressions and unconscious bias have a negative impact on the mental health of people of color at work, which may include issues with emotional regulation, lower self-esteem, anxiety, depression, hypervigilance,…
On November 19, 2019, Ottawa formally joined the Strong Cities Network at the launch of the United for All Coalition. Partners signed commitment to Strong Cities Network’s approach https://youtu.be/sInOiOZxRn4
Abid Jan has 17 years of extensive work experience with social services practice in Ottawa for high need populations (children and youth, seniors and low-income demographics, individuals and families in crisis) in…
Abid Jan, Ottawa Citizen December 30, 2009 Community development can be like the work of physicians and nurses. Like a health professional, you don’t cry when see your patients in agony and…