This paper examines Toronto's Access T.O. policy, a policy created to transform Toronto into a sanctuary city. I argue that the Access T.O. policy has made progress towards turning Toronto into a practicable sanctuary city. However, I also highlight areas where the policy needs improvement and further expansion. I also show how the City of Toronto's Access T.O. policy offers an alternative approach to migration and settlement policies found at the level of the Canadian federal state and illustrate how these policies diverge and contradict. The Access T.O. policy, like other sanctuary cities, is shown to provide an alternative understanding and implementation of citizenship, belonging, rights, ethics and morality, human agency, security and borders to that found in federal state policies. The paper provides background information on sanctuary cities prior to entering this aforementioned discussion and concludes with considerations for Access T.O.'s continued expansion and implementation.

On November 19, 2014, a panel of experts convened at Ryerson University to discuss the consequences of recent developments in Canada’s immigration and settlement policies. These developments have been summarized in the RCIS Working Paper A Critical Review and Assessment of Canada’s Fast Changing Immigration Policies by Lotf Ali Jan Ali. The panel consisted of Ratna Omidvar, Executive Director of the Global Diversity Exchange; Morton Beiser, Professor of Distinction in Psychology; Gil Lan, Assistant Professor, Ted Rogers School of Management; and Naomi Alboim, Adjunct Professor at Queen’s University School of Policy Studies. The panel was chaired by Academic Director of RCIS, Harald Bauder. In this Research Brief, we summarize the main points of the discussion.¹

On November 19, 2014, a panel of experts convened at Ryerson University to discuss the consequences of recent developments in Canada’s immigration and settlement policies. These developments have been summarized in the RCIS Working Paper A Critical Review and Assessment of Canada’s Fast Changing Immigration Policies by Lotf Ali Jan Ali. The panel consisted of Ratna Omidvar, Executive Director of the Global Diversity Exchange; Morton Beiser, Professor of Distinction in Psychology; Gil Lan, Assistant Professor, Ted Rogers School of Management; and Naomi Alboim, Adjunct Professor at Queen’s University School of Policy Studies. The panel was chaired by Academic Director of RCIS, Harald Bauder. In this Research Brief, we summarize the main points of the discussion.¹

This paper examines Toronto's Access T.O. policy, a policy created to transform Toronto into a sanctuary city. I argue that the Access T.O. policy has made progress towards turning Toronto into a practicable sanctuary city. However, I also highlight areas where the policy needs improvement and further expansion. I also show how the City of Toronto's Access T.O. policy offers an alternative approach to migration and settlement policies found at the level of the Canadian federal state and illustrate how these policies diverge and contradict. The Access T.O. policy, like other sanctuary cities, is shown to provide an alternative understanding and implementation of citizenship, belonging, rights, ethics and morality, human agency, security and borders to that found in federal state policies. The paper provides background information on sanctuary cities prior to entering this aforementioned discussion and concludes with considerations for Access T.O.'s continued expansion and implementation.