Busting myths about refugees and immigrants

Deyanira Benavides in Owen Sound to bust some myths 
about refugees and immigrants 

Identity politics has become a major disrupter in democracies in Europe, Australia and the U.S.  Now, it is appearing in Canada.  Much of the appeal to ‘Canadian Values’ seems to hang on a misunderstanding of those who come to Canada looking for what we have – peace, order and (more or less) good government.

The Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound NDP is sponsoring a free public discussion about refugees and immigrants, and Canada’s policies regarding them, with noted immigration advocate, Deyanira Benavides …

 Saturday, September 29th 2018, from 1 pm

Owen Sound Public Library auditorium downstairs

824 1st Ave W, Owen Sound, ON N4K 4K4

Admission is free

On Saturday, she will explore the immigrant and refugee experience from both her own perspective as a former refugee and the perspective of others. In particular, she will focus on the Canada-US Safe Third Country Agreement and the current climate in Ontario. Are Canadian authorities right to deny refugee status to persons who come here from the United States?

Ms Benavides has practiced as a paralegal in a number of law offices in Toronto and  Southwest Ontario since 1988. She herself was a refugee from El Salvador and her work is informed by that experience. She is an accomplished advocate and a dynamic speaker with decades of stories representing others who have managed to find their way out of intolerable situations to make a life in Canada.

She has served on the Boards of several organizations in the area of St Catherine’s and Welland, Ontario. She is the Past President of the Canadian Hispanic Congress and was an Advisory Member to the Ontario Council on Multiculturalism and Citizenship (by Order in Council, Government of Ontario).

 Currently, Ms Benavides is an advisor to Legal Aid Ontario’s Immigration and Refugee Law Advisory Committee and to the Canadian Hispanic Congress, Toronto, Ontario.