Submitted by Yasir Naqvi, MP for Ottawa Centre
This year, the holy month of Ramadan began on March 22.
Ramadan marks a sacred time of year for the Muslim community here in Ottawa Centre and around the world. This month-long journey of fasting and prayer encourages spiritual growth, reflection and compassion for those less fortunate.
I was pleased to partner with the Catholic Centre for Immigrants to run a Free Tax Clinic this year. With their help, we were able to help close to 100 individuals and families file their taxes. With this service, those who may be struggling to make ends meet can have peace of mind in having their taxes filed. I am also pleased to announce that through our federal government’s Community Volunteer Income Tax Program (CVITP Grant Program), four organizations in Ottawa Centre were able to access funding to run their own free tax clinic. This includes Centre 507, Somerset West Community Health Centre, OCAC (Ottawa Chinese Alliance Church), and Sprott Tax Students’ Association (STSA).
Our federal government continues to offer funding streams that provide direct help to members of our community and to our local organizations. As part of the 2SLGBTQI+ Federal Action Plan, the call for proposals for the Community Capacity Fund is now open. This fund aims to address the main priority of sustainable capacity funding for 2SLGBTQI+ organizations who work to end discrimination, violence, and barriers faced by the community. This is another step towards further promoting inclusion, advancing equity, and increasing safety in our community.