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Debbie Douglas

making good on the promise of diversity

YWCA Toronto
women of distinction award 2004: social action and justice

Debbie Douglas has worked tirelessly since her high school days to improve the lives of women and girls. Now the head of Ontario's preeminent umbrella advocacy organization for immigrant serving agencies, Debbie Douglas has taken her lifelong interest in race relations and social justice to new levels.

As the Executive Director of Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants (OCASI), Ms. Douglas is called upon to respond to the pressing issues facing the settlement and integration of Canada's largest immigrant population. Active at local, provincial and federal levels, Ms. Douglas has distinguished herself as an advanced thinker with a keen eye for the reality of life in Canada for recent immigrants, particularly in Toronto, where 43% of the total population is made up of those who have made this city home within the last three years. Focused on justice issues such as disproportionate rates of poverty among people of colour, particularly women and their children, as well as barriers to accessing the labour market, and the plight of undocumented residents, Ms. Douglas has had her work cut out for her. By all accounts she has more than risen to the challenge.

Born in Paradise, Grenada, Ms. Douglas immigrated to Toronto with her family in 1973, in what has turned out to be a defining experience and the impetus for her illustrious career. A familiar face in Toronto, Ms. Douglas has been active on numerous boards and working groups, including the Centre of Excellence for Research on Immigrant Settlement (CERIS), The Ryerson University School of Social Work's Advisory Committee, and the City of Toronto's Immigrant and Refugee Working Group. She is also the Co-Chair of the National Immigrant and Settlement Working Group at the Canadian Council for Refugees. Ms. Douglas has also played an important role in the development of Shirley Samaroo House, a shelter geared specifically to the needs of immigrant and refugee women who had experienced violence. Ms Douglas also played a role in the development of Toronto's Black feminist community. Not ever confining herself to one method of creating a climate of justice and equity, Ms. Douglas had also chaired the Board of the Inside-Out gay and lesbian film festival.

Debbie Douglas began her activism at a young age. With her young baby in tow, she was named class president in her senior year of High School. During the same year, she became involved in the Equity Office at the Toronto District School Board, and participated in a week-long camp addressing anti-racist practices. She impressed her teachers and the Equity office so much that she was asked back as the facilitator the following year. She continued her work with the Toronto District School Board for over 15 years. Ms. Douglas always went beyond the call of duty, and became an important source of support for young people, particularly young women, seeking answers to their questions and experiences of racism, or support and guidance on the trials of being a young mother.

Her work in anti-racism training spun off into a private consulting business which gave her access to an impressive client list of Toronto area arts organizations, non-profits and social services all seeking to address change and improve access to Toronto's diverse population.

In 1990, Debbie Douglas took on some new challenges that began a brief venture in the arts. She is the co-producer of Canada's first video about women & AIDS, AnOther Love Story. Ms Douglas is the producer and co-writer of the film Tama Ba Tama Na, Enough is Enough, about violence against women, which debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival and the Women's Television Network. She is also a published author and co-editor, contributing to two Sister Vision Press anthologies, Piece of My Heart and Maka: A diasporic Juk. She used this medium once again to address issues of social marginalization and the urge for social justice.

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