Annual Report

Continuing the Flow of Community Service

2013 - 2014

Ottawa Chinese Community Service Centre

www.occsc.org

InTACistheEmploymentServices
ini a veoftheOCCSC

In-TAC 2015
Sixth Annual Appreciation Gala
In-TAC hosted its sixth Annual Appreciation Gala Express Entry to Integration
on Thursday, April 23rd with over 200 guests
in attendance, where Ottawas business leaders,
community stakeholders, government representatives and newcomer graduates of In-TACs programs, gathered to celebrate another year of successful partnerships and collaborations.

OCCSCAnnualReport20142015

Presidents Report
Celebrating Our 40th Anniversary and Moving Forward!
This is the 40th year of operation for the Ottawa Chinese Community Service Centre (OCCSC) and
we have much to celebrate with our achievements and success assisting immigrants, newcomers and
refugees settle in the nations capital. I wish to thank our founders, Bill Joe, David Fung, Simon Ng,
and David Su for their great care and foresight in establishing the agency which has grown into one of the foremost settlement
agencies in Ottawa. With funding from three levels of government: Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC), the Ontario
Ministry of Citizenship, Immigration and International Trade (MCIIT) and the City of Ottawa; the OCCSC is one of only two
immigrant settlement agencies in Ottawa offering the full suite of settlement programs - Client Services, Language Training
and Employment Support. With respect to its Workplace Language Training (ELT) and LINC programs, the OCCSC is the
only settlement agency offering training 6 days a week, including Saturdays and evenings, throughout the year.
Like other settlement agencies, our organization has been examining the changes to immigration policies and programs which
affect how we serve our clients. As a result, the past year has seen the OCCSC moving towards innovative technologies to be
able to interface with potential clients on-line and through the use of web-based forums. We are pleased that CIC newly approved a pre-arrival pilot project and we are proactive in aligning what we do with the Express Entry system.
Our organizational mission is to advance the full social and economic integration and participation of newcomers, immigrants
and Chinese Canadians in Ottawa. I am proud to inform our members and community that there are also a lot of non-Chinese
that come to receive our services. Our organization has been active and successful in serving our mission during the past
2014/15 year as the various program reports in this annual report will attest.
The Board is fully aware of the challenges presented by funding reductions and therefore we have worked closely with the
senior management to actively explore other opportunities, such as social enterprise to secure or expand our services.
On behalf of the Board of Directors, I want to take this opportunity to thank all our volunteers, mentors, partners, sponsors
and donors for their invaluable support in serving our mandate. Most of all I want to express my appreciation to our dedicated
staff. In delivering the various programs and services, they live up to our organizational values of client-based professionalism, commitment and inclusiveness.
With our resourceful Board of Directors, forward-thinking Executive Director, talented management team and excellent staff,
I believe we are in a good position to tackle new challenges and continue to fulfil our mandate in the context of on-going
changes and challenges in the coming years. Let us Celebrate the OCCSC 40th Anniversary and Move Forward!!

Vivian Chan
President
OCCSC Board of Directors

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OCCSCAnnualReport20142015

Executive Directors Report

This is the 40th Anniversary of the Ottawa Chinese Community Service Centre
(OCCSC)! Similar to all the previous years we have been providing our immigrant settlement services the past year has presented many opportunities and challenges and we
have accomplished many things together.
As always, the OCCSC adapts to changing immigration policies and responds well to the needs of immigrants. The number of immigrants from China; whether they are skilled immigrants, sponsored families
or international students, always top other source countries. On the other hand, our services are tailored to
all cultures and good programs attract all newcomers regardless of where they have come from. Our clients, staff and volunteers are multicultural not just Chinese, which reflects the fabric of our society.
Jobs and the economy are important for both immigrants and Canada. Our employment program (InTAC) is now an important part of settlement and their clients successful economic integration will continue to grow. In-TAC helps small and medium-sized enterprises fill their expertise gaps and helps newcomers find jobs in their field. We help close to 600 newcomers per year with training and jobs. CIC
Minister Chris Alexander attended our Career Expo for IT and Finance professionals last year. More than
1,000 job seekers attended. We have expanded into programs for alternative careers and entrepreneurs. InTAC also won the Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) award for Workplace Integration for its
MAPLE 2.0 /Mentorship in Action program, in partnership with sister settlement agencies in Calgary and
Vancouver. The Enhanced (Workplace) Language Training (ELT) program for Accounting and IT Professionals is in high demand with a long waiting list. With the support of the Trillium Foundation, InTAC created a social enterprise business centre in Chinatown which offers book-keeping and taxation
services, providing Canadian work experience for internationally trained accounting professionals who
have completed our bridging program for Accounting Professionals. With the Ontario Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration and International Trade (MCIIT) funded bridging program for IT professionals
we have a 70% employment rate and 90% job placement rate.
In 2015, CIC approved funding for us to offer pre-arrival services in China which will link to our settlement services in Ottawa and our partner agencies in Vancouver and Calgary. With this new program OCCSC not only provides a one-stop service model but a complete link from pre-arrival to post-arrival services. We anticipate that this will allow Canada to be more competitive bringing skilled immigrants in a
shorter time period, contributing to the Canadian economy.

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OCCSCAnnualReport20142015

Executive Directors Report

(Con nued)

Our settlement services continue to serve our clients well throughout the capital area. We are currently participating in
planning sessions with the Ottawa Local Immigration Partnership (OLIP) to seek ways of helping immigrants in Gatineau. We have organized highly successful open house events for immigrants, sector partners, business and city
service providers, in order to promote all our services. We continue to promote our programs very well through local
television and radio coverage of our services and our events, our website, social media, newsletters, and also in the Chinese media. Settlement programs include counselling support for families, seniors social support and a walk-in-clinic
for clients who may be experiencing social and psychological difficulties.
The OCCSC has a vibrant volunteer and mentorship program. With volunteer support we can have numerous activities
such as teaching how to operate computers, utilize computer programs, engage in conversational English, and assisting
with our events. Our valuable mentors become important guides to our society, workplaces, and professions. Our annual open house is usually attended by our Mayor and draws large crowds of newcomers, volunteers and partner service
agencies.
We have continued to run 16 language classes in different parts of the City. While the classes are only available to permanent residents, there continues to be an identified need for those who have become citizens. There is also an identified increased need for higher level language classes. At OCCSC this is addressed by transitioning some lower level
classes to higher level classes.
This is a memorable year the OCCSC has existed now four decades, since 1975. I give tribute to our founders, all our
past and present board members, volunteers and staff for their wonderful contributions. Like all other settlement agencies, we have weathered many challenges. This year we received some funding cuts and we will maintain our services
by undertaking new initiatives to raise funds such as social enterprise activities and of course fundraisers celebrating
our many successes helping newcomers and immigrants, like the one planned for later this year. We will also implement leading edge technology for our on-line infrastructure to allow global access to our services. In engaging employers and the business sector, we will get support from the private sector to support immigrants and benefit from it as
well.
I thank our funders for their continuing support and trust in our services. I wish to thank our outgoing Board members
Luise Czernenko-Reid, Treasurer; Chantal Michaud, Chair, Personnel Committee; and Director Ake Blomqvist. I welcome new Board members and with our Board of Directors diligent governance, I am grateful and confident that OCCSC can continue to accomplish our goals many years to come.

Sharon Kan
Executive Director
OCCSC

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OCCSCAnnualReport20142015

Service Statistics
CLIENT SERVICES
Newcomers served
Unique visits (first time using OCCSC's service)

1,859
1,716

Number of child visits (childminding)

784

Group activities
(workshops, info sessions, and others-including homework club,
story time and conversation circles)

514

Volunteers

176

LANGUAGE PROGRAM
Total number of LINC students enrolled

800

Average monthly clients enrolled /contracted

300/288

Total number of LINC instruction hours provided

4,158 (hours)

Total number of children enrolled in child minding

38

Total number of classes

16

EMPLOYMENT SERVICES
Number of new clients served:

826

Training for ICT and Accounting professionals

161

Employed and professional job placements

277

Country of origin of our clients

67

Hours of training offered

1,828 (hours)

Number of hiring employer partners

386

Number of volunteer professional mentors trained

45

Number of employers trained

109

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OCCSCAnnualReport20142015

Client Services
During fiscal year 2014-2015, the Client Services Department delivered the following program/services:
Programs/Services
Settlement
Program for Newcomers
1

Eligible Clients
Landed immigrants, care-givers

Funder
Citizenship and Immigration Canada

Newcomer Settlement Program

Landed immigrants, foreign born

Canadian citizens, refugee claimants

Ontario Ministry of Citizenship, Immigration and

International Trade

Chinese Family Service

Low income Chinese Canadian residents of Ottawa

Community and Social Services Department, City

of Ottawa

Diverse Seniors Social Support

Chinese seniors

Champlain Local Health Integration Network,

Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care

2
3
4

1) Settlement Program
Although both the federal and the Ontario governments provide funding for settlement services, the federal governments
settlement program is by far the more significant, in dollar
amount and in terms of impact. The major difference between
the two lies in the fact that the federal settlement program
restricts it service to recent newcomers whereas the Ontario
program can be assessed by refugee claimants and foreignborn Canadian citizens, in addition to permanent residents.
During the fiscal year 2014-2015, the two programs combined
served
a total of 1859 individual clients, of whom 1716 were permanent residents, 135 were Canadian citizens and 4 refugee claimants and 4 others
with other kinds of visas.
These two programs provide settlement needs assessment and referrals,
information and orientation workshops and support services such as crisis-intervention. The federal program, in addition, also provides on-site
child-minding service for clients who have young children while accessing our settlement service. It also provides bus tickets to newcomers in
order to encourage them to take part in our settlement services.

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OCCSCAnnualReport20142015

Client Services
In addition to one-on-one sessions, the two programs delivered 514 group based activities including topical information sessions, support groups for newcomer youths,
women and seniors, and community tours such as visiting
retirement homes and other community resources. A total
of 7044 people participated in these activities.
Our settlement workers have been very busy in Barrhaven
and Kanata where a significant number of Chinese immigrants have settled. As OCCSC does not have the resources to rent additional program space in these two
communities, our settlement workers have been successful
in securing program space for our program group activities by partnering with local community resource and health centres such as South Nepean Community Health Centre and
Western Ottawa Community Resource Centre. Other partners include the Ontario Early Child Centre and Good Shepherd
Barrhaven which have also given our settlement workers permission to access their facilities. To these partners, we want to
express our deepest gratitude.

2) Childminding Service
On-site child-minding service was a unique feature of
our settlement program at our main office. Newcomers
with young children can leave their young children with
our childcare workers while they access our settlement
services or attend our language training classes. Our
childcare workers also travelled to Barrhaven or Kanata
to our partners locations where our settlement workers
organized settlement related activities for newcomers.
During the past year, up to 784 children benefited from
our childcare service.

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OCCSCAnnualReport20142015

Client Services
3) Volunteers
Another key feature of our settlement program
was the role played by volunteers in supporting
our agencys settlement program. Last year, our
volunteer coordinator recruited, trained and deployed 176 volunteers in program activities
throughout our agency. Altogether, they contributed a total of 5264 hours of their time helping
newcomers and helping our agency to better
serve newcomers. They served as instructors in
our computer/internet literacy classes and English
conversational circles. 45 of them served as mentors to newcomers who were looking for professional jobs in Ottawa. Others acted as administrative support for our volunteer coordinator, or participated in special events as translators, poster
designers, photographers and logistics support in
our Community Welcome Fair held in June 2014.
Who were our volunteers? Many of them were Canadians with professional work background. Their mentoring skills
and experience were especially appreciated by newcomer job seekers. As well, many were university or high school
students looking for real work experience for academic and employment purposes. For these volunteers, the most important aspect of being a volunteer was simply the joy and gratification they felt in helping others in the community
without remuneration in whatever way they could.

4) Chinese Family Services

Funded for years solely by the Community and Social Services of the City of Ottawa, this program has been helping
low-income Chinese Canadians who are mostly long-time
residents by providing them with counselling support, crisis-intervention and practical assistance in accessing social
services such as social housing and social assistance. 52%
of clients served during fiscal year 2014-2015 were Chinese seniors, 43% had citizens status, 64% were female and
72% were Mandarin-speaking.
In addition to individual services, our counsellor also organized a number of group activities during the year. This
included a couple of tours of the Glebe Centre nursing
home, a recruitment session with the Ottawa Police Service, an income tax information session and a workshop on
the professional training required for practicing as a nurse
or a personal support worker in Canada.

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OCCSCAnnualReport20142015

Client Services
5) Diverse Seniors Social Support (DSSS)
Funded by the Champlain Local Health Integration Network, DSSS has
been a joint project with 7 community based partners including 4 settlement agencies. Jewish Family Services of Ottawa was the lead agency
which was responsible for administering the program. One full-time
community outreach worker has been seconded to OCCSC to outreach
to Chinese seniors by organizing cultural, social and recreational activities to keep them socially active and connected to the community.
In the past year, our work was focused on helping Chinese seniors who
were tenants of three Ottawa Community Housings senior buildings.
Our outreach worker helped them coordinate Tai-Chi practice sessions,
English conversation classes, information workshops and cultural events
such as the Mid-Autumn Festival parties. She also organized two friendly visits to the Chinese residents at Glebe Centre nursing home. Close to 900 group activities or events were organized and this
was made possible by the support of a team of 58 volunteers who contributed a total of 3,572 hours of their own time in serving
our clients.
For a short period of time during the past fiscal year, a part-time social worker was hired to work with Chinese seniors with
more complex personal and health needs. Unfortunately, the service had to be terminated because funding was not extended.
Currently, Chinese seniors who have special needs can contact our counsellor with the Chinese Family Service program.

6) Announcement
Our close collaboration with the Jewish Family Services of Ottawa has
borne a new fruit. In May 2015, we will launch a new service that will target
the Chinese community and it is called Walk-in Counselling Clinic. Our
agency will officially become another site of the Walk-in Counselling Clinic Network in Ottawa. This service will be offered between 11:00 am and
5:00 pm every Tuesday starting in the second week of May. As it name suggests, the service requires no appointment. Clients in need can come to our
centre on Tuesdays and they will be served by two professional social workers on a first-come-first-serve basis. Anyone who needs someone to talk to,
regardless of the nature, is welcome. Our two social workers can speak Cantonese, Mandarin and English. Confidentiality and privacy are guaranteed.

Rupert Yeung
Client Services Manager
OCCSC

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OCCSCAnnualReport20142015

Employment Services
In-TAC 2014 in Review
2014 marked a year of continued success for In-TACs
employment support services. Thanks to the efforts of
our dedicated team, all of the projects outperformed and
exceeded their mandated contribution agreement targets
and deliverables. The major achievements and milestones include:
1.

The Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration and International Trade successfully awarded the NaviCan IT
Project a new three-year funding agreement (2014 2017) to support newcomer professionals from the ICT
sector.

2.

In-TAC hosted its 1st National Symposium entitled:

Where Business Meets Immigration Policy Makers.
Participants from across Canada attended, including; British
Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia.

3.

In-TACs 2nd Annual Career Expo, Ottawas largest

job fair for IT and finance professionals, was held at
the Ottawa Convention Centre. There were 900 job
seekers and visitors in attendance and over 40 hiring
employers and community resources looking to fill
over 1000 job vacancies. The Honourable Chris
Alexander, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration
Canada, was the keynote speaker.

4.

In-TAC hosted its 6th Annual Appreciation Gala Express

Entry to Integration at the National Arts Centre, where Ottawas business leaders, community stakeholders, government representatives and newcomer graduates of In-TACs
programs gathered to celebrate another year of successful
partnerships and collaborations.

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OCCSCAnnualReport20142015

Employment Services

5.

Our newly designed, volunteer-led, professional mentorship program for new immigrants, was launched in September with accreditation from the Human Resources Professional Association (HRPA).

6. Our Pan-Canadian project, Maple 2.0 Mentorship in

Action, established our national presence through its
partnerships with the Immigrant Services Society of BC
in Vancouver and Immigrant Services Calgary.
In addition to the cultural competency trainings for
employers and work-mentorship placements offered to
our internationally educated professional clients,
MAPLE 2.0 held 14 alternative career events across
Canada, actively engaging 351 employers and 1,970
internationally educated professional job seekers.
The team of Maple 2.0

7.

In-TAC organized a series of important events that facilitated direct connection with hiring employers, promoted entrepreneurship and improved our overall programs results, including: two Immigrant Entrepreneur
Corners, three Talent Dens, four advisory committee
meetings, and the opportunity to co-host the New Entrepreneur Ottawa Network (NEON 2014).

8. For the fifth year in a row In-TAC hosted a CRA designated Tax Clinic. Over 30 volunteers provided two days
of free support services to 168 low income Ottawa residents to help file their tax returns.

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OCCSCAnnualReport20142015

Employment Services
9.

Over 3,000 new immigrants received employment support services through the various
programs offered at In-TAC.

10. We maintained a 70% employment rate for graduates of our bridge training programs,
and welcomed 150 new employer partners to
our existing employer pool.
11. The Accounting and Taxation Co-op
Project, our pilot social enterprise initiative, had a profound social impact
while steadily improving its revenue
generating capacity. 35 volunteer in
terns contributed 4772 volunteer hours
to the initiative. 32 interns acquired
Canadian professional work experience
and 20 new small business clients benefited from our services.
12. The NaviCanIT project underwent a comprehensive evaluation conducted by an
exter
countability.

nal evaluator, to ensure program ac-

2014 also witnessed a number of changes that affected both our capacity to serve new
immigrants, and the future direction of our services delivery.

1. The new three-year NaviCanIT Project was approved with a reduced budget. We lost a full-time staff
member as a result of the 20% budget shortfall in first 8 months, which consequently delayed our on-going
capacity building plan.
2. For the first time in our programs history, the new contract requires a shared contribution of $200 from
eligible program participants. The governments new direction has highlighted the pressing need for the
implementation of new self-sustainability efforts.
3. The Accounting and Taxation social enterprise initiative provided 32 interns with much needed local work
experience. Our business client roster grew steadily and 60% of our interns were hired by local companies
while completing their co-op placements. The successful placement rates resulted in a high turnover of
interns which overstretched our limited business development resources and became a bottle neck in our
business service delivery.

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OCCSCAnnualReport20142015

Employment Services
In-TACs 2015 Outlook
1.

The newly approved Pre-Arrival Project will enhance our national presence and offer us opportunities to work with immigrants before their
departure. Implementation of the project will not be without its challenges; the innovative virtual service delivery model, the coordination of
wide service catchment areas - both in China and in Canada, destination
specific needs and time differences will make the management and implementation of the project a demanding endeavor.
2.

Three of the 6 employment project

contribution agreements are due to expire at the end of the 2015 fiscal year. Two proposals have been submitted to the com-

petitive bidding process.

Suc-

cessful applicants will be notified

by the end of 2015.
3.

The blended service delivery

model using new technology will become the new norm in our
project delivery to expand the accessibility of our services while
improving the efficiency of delivery.
4.

The pilot Accounting and Taxation social enterprise will enter a critical phase; we will need to find a way to revamp
the business model to break through the bottle neck in order to balance and cope with the growth and the turnover of
interns who successfully land professional jobs.

5.

The external environment is also very precarious with the instability and continued decline of government funding.
The changes brought on by the new Express Entry System and the uncertainty of the economy will limit the support
of our employer partners, which will affect our self-sustainability plan.

In 2015, integrating new immigrants into the labour market continues to be the top priority for both the
government and new immigrants; engaging employers will be the key to success. We will continue to focus
on our strengths and expertise in this regard, and leverage our innovative services delivery model to provide
better services to immigrant professionals arriving in Canada.

Ying Xie
Senior Manager
Employment Services

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OCCSCAnnualReport20142015

Language Program
In this reporting period, April 1, 2014 March 31, 2015, OCCSC LINC served over 800 students, delivering 4,158
hours of classroom teaching and had 24 children in its Care for Newcomer Children (child minding) service.
As before, classes were provided at the central location (Kent St.), at 1 location in Kanata and 1 in Barrhaven, to
better serve the clients who live in those areas. LINC levels provided at all sites are from L1 to L6, with almost all
classes being multilevel.
LINC continued to provide high quality services to students of different ethnic and language backgrounds (please
refer to the graph below), following the LINC curriculum and the Contribution Agreement. The idea of smaller
classes (we are contracted for 18 students per class), a friendly environment, with excellent teachers and a variety of
class schedules continued to attract new students. We remain the only provider in the city that offers evening and
Saturday LINC classes, in addition to the classes offered in the morning and in the afternoon.
We were contracted for 288 per month and almost every month we met the target and sometimes exceeded it (with
over 300 enrolled students at times). LINC continued to maintain and further develop its outreach, having more than
80 sites regularly visited on a monthly basis by the staff, promoting the program and recruiting new clients.
In order to serve somewhat increased number of newcomers with relatively higher level of English, we continued to
be pro-active in transforming some lower-level class (1/2) into higher-level (3/4/5), to meet the need for such classes (e.g. our Saturday afternoon class level was changed to level 4/5).
We have been delivering cost-recovery courses, such as English Beginner and Intermediate throughout the year, for
non-LINC eligible clients, following the identified demand for such courses.
With the invaluable help from our volunteer-teachers, we continued with the Conversation Circles, offered three
times a week to all those, LINC-eligible or not, who wanted to improve their English conversational skills.

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OCCSCAnnualReport20142015

Language Program
LanguagesspokenbytheLINCstudents(20142015)
60.0%
50.0%

Mandarin
49%

Arabic
Spanish

40.0%

Vietnamese

30.0%

22%

African
dialects
Amharic

20.0%
10.0%

8%

6%

5%

4%

2.0% 1.5% 1.5% 1.0%

Tigrigna

0.0%

Cantonese
Dari/Nepali
Russian

LINC students testimonials:

I am a newcomer here in Canada. I landed here on January 22, 2009. After 6 months, I was very depressed that I
didnt find a job fir for my career in my trade. Then I worked in a janitorial works to support my family. So many
times I wanted to go back home. I worked day and night to sustain the living. Many agencies that I was going to ask
for help and community centres could not help me, but I was not losing my hope still searching, asking, continue to
communicate with people, especially Canadians who could help me on how and when to find the right way or path to
reach my goal to land a job or any training.

When my wife and I started a process of applying for Canadian citizenship, we learned that we will need an English
proficiency certificate to support our application. I then went to the language assessment centre and after the test,
they recommended me to go to OCCSC LINC program, where I started in September 2013. From there, my life took a
new turn. I had more energy after starting attending my LINC class, I saw that my communication became better and
I was learning a lot.

We did a lot of presentations in class that helped me with communication and conversation in real life. I learned
about Canadian culture, multiculturalism, about newcomers with different backgrounds, banking, police, health,

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OCCSCAnnualReport20142015

Language Program

employment, because of many presentations by guest speakers that the program bring to the students. Last November
there was a presentation on power of Trade. I was very happy, because I think it was something for me I talked
with the woman who presented and she registered me for the course on trade. I finished it in 3 months and now I am
waiting to write an exam at the Ontario College of Trades. Finally, I found a job in my profession!

I am very thankful to LINC program at OCCSC that gives newcomers the hope and the right way to get to our goals.
For me, LINC program must be here for all newcomers who will also get to their goals and become productive persons who will integrate in Canadian society. They will not only have better communication skills, but they will also
better understand Canada, real life here, people, culture, tradition and so they can be good Canadians in the future.
Paul (from the Philippines), LINC 5/6
______________________________________________________

It is very lucky for us, the new immigrants, to live on the vast land of this beautiful country Canada. However, we
may encounter a lot of difficulties to integrate in the different fields of the society. Among them, language is the biggest
challenge. Even though you can freely go to the shopping malls, the stores, the fitness centres or even the cinemas, you
would feel isolated and very passive if you dont understand the language which is so important for a better communication or clearing out misunderstandings.

I was very lucky to join in the LINC class at OCCSC in which the teacher provides us with a variety of very practical
teaching contents. After only one unit of studying, Ive learned some basic expressions and vocabularies on banking
and shopping with which Ive applied in my daily life. For example, one day after I received the receipt from the cashier at a shopping mall, I found the price of one item did not match the one on the tag. I immediately recalled the expressions I learned at LINC class and went to find the manager with a great confidence. Even though I must have
made a lot of grammatical mistakes, I applied all the words learned in the class in my communication with him who
could understand me well. After verifying everything, the manager refunded me the money and also let me keep the
item free. On the way home, I felt like that I had integrated into this new country and become a free man!

Mr. Sun (From China), LINC 1/2

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OCCSCAnnualReport20142015

Language Program

LINC childminding had a good number of children throughout the reporting year, even though the number was lower
than the year before. It is the nature of the program like LINC that you never know how many students (if any) will
have children to take care of while they are in the classroom. In addition, there have been several other options in the
recent years for such parents to place their children in an all-day daycare, etc. Care for Newcomer Children (CNC)
service at OCCSC was available only in the morning for LINC students. Even though it is unpredictable how many
LINC students we will have with child minding needs, this is an important support service that enables those clients
with children eligible for our program to bring them in while they attend their language classes.

Snezana Minic
Language Program Manager
OCCSC

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OCCSCAnnualReport20142015

Treasurers Report

The past fiscal year, April 1, 2014 March 31, 2015 was another busy and challenging one. Highlights include
meeting the increasing demand for client services in the face of continuing constrained funding and exploring
means for delivering services to unfunded clients and vulnerable groups.
The total revenue for the fiscal year April 1, 2014 March 31, 2015 was $3,081,968(compared to $3,063,287 in
fiscal year April 1, 2013 March 31, 2014). The total expenditure was $2,992,511 (compared to $2,973,703 in
fiscal year April 1, 2013 March 31, 2014). Revenue and expenditure detail is presented below in Table 1: Sources
of Revenue and Table 2:

Table 1: Sources of Revenue

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OCCSCAnnualReport20142015

Treasurers Report

(Con nued)

Table 2: Expenditure
Nature of Expenditure

Apr.1, 2014Mar.31,2015

Apr.1, 2013Mar.31,2014

Amount ($)

Amount ($)

Advertising and community relations

37,456

60,684

AGM expenses, fundraising and membership

13,612

12,347

Consulting and professional fees

12,876

8,835

Office equipment

15,191

11,176

Office and general expenses

139,826

103,069

Rent and utilities

303,114

312,607

2,333,579

2,334,865

Communication/Telephone

48,857

37,890

Training

15,106

27,558

Travel

52,970

45,853

Other expenses (e.g., repairs, maintenance, payroll

services, insurance, etc.

19,924

18,819

2,992,511

2,973,703

89,457

89,584

Salaries and benefits including pay equity

Total Expenditure
Net Revenue

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OCCSCAnnualReport20142015

Treasurers Report

(Con nued)

The net revenue for the past fiscal year was $89,457 which measures 2.9% of the total revenue of $3,081,968
(compared
to net revenue of $89,584 or 2.92% of total revenue of $3,063,287 for the previous fiscal year

2013-14)
The positive result again this past year represents the continuing high level of financial stewardship
and competence achieved by OCCSC management and the accounting staff under the leadership of the OCCSC Board of Directors.
The Ottawa Chinese Community Services Centre, (OCCSC) would like to acknowledge our funders, especially Citizenship and Immigration Canada and the Ontario Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration, for their
continuing support.
OCCSCs continued success also depends on the support of immigration sector partners such as the LASI
group of agencies and other community groups and individuals. We appreciate their support and thank them
for their assistance.
Donations and fundraising are two major sources of our funding other than government subvention. At the
end of the 2014 2015 fiscal years, $60,940 was raised. We thank all of our donors, volunteers, members,
staff, Board, and other stakeholders for their efforts and generous support. We continue our efforts to explore
other funding sources to sustain and expand OCCSC services and programs needed in the community.
We also wish to thank our OCCSC management and staff without whom OCCSC could not achieve its goals
and provide very necessary services to our clients and the Ottawa community.
This is the ninth year that we have appointed Ouseley Hanvey Clipsham Deep LLP to audit our financial
statements for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2015. With the assistance of our Executive Director, Sharon
Kan, and our Accounting Officer, Escolastica Unira, the audit was completed in August and the results of the
audit are contained in Tables 1 and 2 above.
Finally, on a personal note, as I complete my term as OCCSC Treasurer and a member of the Board of Directors I would like to say that it has been an honour and privilege to serve with people dedicated to welcoming
newcomers and building a stronger, integrated Ottawa community.

Luise Czernenko Reid

Treasurer
OCCSC

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Governance Committee Report

The Governance Committee, currently composed of three board members, is responsible for ensuring good governance in how the board of directors functions. This includes due process in nominating and electing board members according to the
OCSCC By-Laws, adherence to governance policies such as the Conflict of Interest
Policy, and effective governance through enabling structures and procedures. From
time to time, the Board asks the Governance Committee to review the organizations by-laws and
develop

recommendations for consideration by the Board.

2015 Board Nomination and Election

According to our by-laws, we have staggered terms of office for our Board of Directors, ensuring
board continuity and stability while allowing renewal at the same time. Each board member can
stand for re-election for a second or third term, at the end of which she/he must step down.
The terms for 10 of our 12 existing board members are still valid. Due to other commitments and
priorities, Mr. Ake Blomqvist will not continue his term. His contributions to the organization are
much appreciated. The other 9 board members have agreed to continue their terms and serve on
the board in the coming year:
Vivian Chan
Mary Lee
Jonas Ma
Robert Parungao
Odette Rwigamba
Joseph Tang
Long Tran
Hazel Wong
Irene Zhou

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OCCSCAnnualReport20142015

Governance Committee Report

(Con nued)

Board directors Luis Czernenko Reid and Chantal Michaud, who have both served two full terms
over six years, are stepping down. Luise has been the Treasurer of our Board and Chair of the Finance Committee. Chantal has been the Chair of the Personnel Committee. In these important positions on the Board, they have been instrumental in the establishment of many key policies, procedures and practices for the organization. Their expertise and sound judgement have been invaluable
to the board in making decisions on overall direction and critical issues. The organization is deeply
grateful for their dedicated contributions.
The Governance Committee will be actively seeking nominations to the Board from members of
good standing this coming term, to fill positions on the board with new members whose expertise and
experiences will help fulfill our mandate. Please go to the OCCSC website to learn about the nomination process.

Jonas Ma
Chair of Governance Committee
OCCSC

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OCCSCAnnualReport20142015

Acknowledgement
We acknowledge and thank the following funders for their financial support of the OCCSC
programs and services:

1. Citizenship and Immigration Canada

2. Ontario The Ministry of Citizenship, Immigration and

International Trade
3. Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care

4. City of Ottawa Community Funding

5. Ontario Trillium Foundation

O awaChineseCommunityServiceCentre
381 Kent Street, Suite 4004
Ottawa, Ontario K2P 2A8
Tel: (613) 235-4875
Fax: (613) 235-5466
http://www.occsc.org

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