Translating Lived Experience Into Immigration Policy
Translating Lived Experience Into Immigration Policy
With The Honourable Ratna Omidvar
Q&A FEATURE
Few people in Canada have bridged lived experience, community advocacy, and public policy as seamlessly as Senator Ratna Omidvar.
Before shaping national conversations on immigration and citizenship, Senator Omidvar experienced displacement firsthand. After meeting as university students in Germany, she and her husband moved to pre-revolution Iran, a country she still loves deeply. When her husband was called to serve in the Iran鈥揑raq War, they fled with their baby, joining thousands of others trying to leave. With cans of milk and bags of diapers, and money hidden in the pipes of a dismantled stroller, they crossed the border under dangerous and uncertain conditions. The experience of navigating systems, relying on them, and at times fearing them has stayed with her ever since. It feels all the more present at a time when so many others are forced into similar realities.
From frontline work in Toronto鈥檚 settlement sector to legislative change in the Senate, Senator Omidvar鈥檚 career has been defined by a constant effort to translate lived experience into systems that work better for others.
In this conversation, she reflects on that journey, the limits of research without application, and why rebuilding trust between the public, policymakers, and academia is more urgent than ever.
You鈥檝e spent much of your career working on migration and displacement. What first drew you to this field, and how has your own personal story shaped that path?
My personal story is the foundation of my engagement with migration, because for me, the personal is not only foundational, but also political.
Taking the perspective of lived experience, whether mine or that of others, and translating it into coherent policy options and then, hopefully, into legislation is never a straight line. But I feel that my own personal experience gives me grounding. It gives me authenticity.
You鈥檝e worked across community organizations, philanthropy, and government. Was there a moment early in your life or career that made you realize migration would become central to your work?
I started off at St. Stephen鈥檚 Community House, surrounded by immigrants attending English classes and citizenship classes. I got steeped into that reality. Then, I transitioned to a place called Skills for Change, although it had a different name then. When I think of my accomplishments, I think about what I learned during my time there about the lived reality of people trying to seek work, and how systems and structures impede them instead of facilitating them. That's where I got interested in the complexities of credential recognition, integration of citizenship law, refugee law, and all of that.
When I eventually went to the Maytree Foundation, I got far more involved in policy, specifically the research on credential recognition and solutions. From there, I came to 成人大片 (still Ryerson at the time), and for two years and a bit, I created this think tank called the Global Diversity Exchange. And I thought that would be my last gig, I really did! But then, I was called to the Senate.
Looking back on your time in the Senate, is there a moment or initiative that you feel particularly proud of?
It鈥檚 hard for me to say, because for a legislator, the Holy Grail is changing law.
I think my Senate record shows that I brought that interest and passion [on migration matters] to the Senate. I created the Working Group on Immigration and we moved the needle in ways that were not outwardly seen, but people on the inside could.
I was also pretty instrumental in pushing forward the Citizenship Reform Bill, whose goals were to make citizenship easier to get and harder to lose. One of the more significant efforts I'm really proud of was when I was the chair of the Senate Social Affairs Committee and we launched a substantive study on low-paid temporary work in Canada.
I'm also very proud of the work I did in the charitable sector, where I was successful in changing a law related to income tax, it was important.
From your perspective, what does academia do well when it comes to influencing policy, and where does it fall short?
I think academics do a great job researching, absolutely top notch, but they have a harder time translating that research into policy ideas that will stick. For example, it鈥檚 one thing to say, 鈥渢he government must ensure this.鈥� But what specifically should be done? How? Academics are less able to do that. I think 成人大片 is somewhat different. It has reshaped my opinion of academics.
Indeed, after your time in government, you鈥檝e returned to an academic environment, here at 成人大片. What motivated that decision and what are some of your advocacy goals now?
I've always been a risk taker in my life. I walk through doors when I have no idea what is coming next.
So, very shortly before I retired, I got a call from 成人大片 asking if I would become their Public Policy Fellow. I wanted to stay engaged, and since I had worked here before, the answer was an easy yes. I will say this, every activist needs an institutional perch, and this institution has provided me with that. I am so incredibly grateful that all my sometimes 鈥榗razy鈥� ideas are heard, and that I'm able to act on them.
Recently, I have been more focused on what I think is important, such as niche issues like Bill C-12, practical implementation-ready proposals, or pie in the sky ideas like the Global Skills Partnerships we are working on. 成人大片, CERC Migration, and the newly launched Global Migration Institute have given me the range to do what I want to do.
Looking ahead, what are the most urgent questions or challenges in migration that both scholars and policy makers need to confront together?
The single most urgent issue is restoring confidence and trust in the immigration system, so that the lost consensus is regained. That is the number one issue. How? I believe the best way is to show and tell Canadians that immigrants succeed, and when they succeed, everyone benefits. It has to be in their interest as well.
I also believe that whilst Canadians may be critical of the immigration system, they are not anti-immigrant. That is what is different about us compared to other countries where an anti-immigration narrative is sweeping over. Mind you, we're not immune to it, but there is ground for optimism.
As we launch the Global Migration Institute at 成人大片, what are some things you hope that it will achieve?
We have all kinds of think tanks in this country, on sustainability, the environment, trade, the economy. We do not have a think tank devoted to immigration. I actually think it would be fantastic if we had a think tank that would take all the knowledge on migration that resides here and translate it into something useful and usable, for policy and for public consumption.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
