Inter-Cultural Association of Greater Victoria

10/03/2026

📣 Registration is OPEN for Fall English Classes at ICA! 🍂

Want to feel more confident speaking English at work, at school, or in everyday life? Join our fun, low-cost English classes for adults and youth in Greater Victoria.

✅ Friendly, experienced teachers
✅ Practical, real-life English
✅ No immigration status required. Everyone is welcome!

This fall we're offering:
🗣️ Listening, Speaking & Workplace Success
📝 CELPIP Test Prep (Listening & Speaking, Reading & Writing)

Not sure what your English level is? Take the FREE Canadian Language Benchmarks test first. The link is on our website.

👉 Learn more and register: https://www.icavictoria.org/englishstep-up/

📧 Questions? Email [email protected]

Please share with a friend or neighbour who might be interested! 💙

Affordable English Classes ICA offers fun and low-cost English classes for adults and youth. Our classes are great for anyone (no Immigration status required) who wants to improve their real-life English skills faster. You’ll learn with friendly and experienced teachers who will help you feel more...

10/01/2026

Join us for Pathways to Permanent Residence, a hybrid information session with Masoud Manzouri, a Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant. Learn about the different ways to apply for Permanent Residence in Canada.

📅 Wednesday, October 7, 5:30–7:00 pm
📍 ICA, Open Space, 5th Floor, 808 Douglas Street, or online

This session is for Work Permit, Study Permit and CUAET visa holders.

To register, email [email protected] or call (250) 388-4728. Please let us know whether you will attend in person or online.

09/30/2026

🧡 Today is the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

This day honours the children who never returned home from residential schools, as well as Survivors, their families, and their communities. It's also a chance for all of us to keep learning about this history and reflect on what reconciliation looks like in our work and our lives.

Thank you Eddy Charlie
and Kristen Spray for the beautiful blanket! We will cherish it for years to come 🧡

Here are a few ways to take part on September 30:

🥁 South Island Powwow (Songhees Nation)
https://songheesnation.ca/south-island-powwow

🚶 Sooke Walk
https://www.facebook.com/events/sooke-bc-canada-british-columbia/walking-together-2026-sooke-orange-shirt-day/1587787756302961

🚲 2026 Truth & Reconciliation Day Ride
https://actionnetwork.org/events/2026-reconciliation-day-ride

🎙️ The Right to Truth: Protecting Indian Residential School Records
Yellowhead Institute, 12–2 PM PT, online (free, registration required).
https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/the-right-to-truth-protecting-indian-residential-school-records-tickets-1998547035984

Resources to explore at your own pace:

📽️ Honour to Senator Murray Sinclair, a 29-minute NFB documentary
https://nfb.ca/film/honour-to-senator-murray-sinclair

🎧 Residential Schools, a three-part podcast from Historica Canada
https://www.historicacanada.ca/productions/podcasts/residential-schools-podcast

09/29/2026

This past weekend, ICA hosted the first Refugee Cultural Ambassador (RCA) Training. The RCA Program prepares refugees, newcomers, and community and youth leaders with refugee backgrounds to become knowledgeable leaders who support and educate others about Canada's Private Sponsorship of Refugees (PSR) Program.

Over two days, participants learned about the refugee journey, how private sponsorship works and how sponsor groups turn plans into action, cultural responsiveness, communication and public speaking skills, trauma-informed support, and the community resources that help newcomers settle after they arrive.

Congratulations to our new Refugee Cultural Ambassadors!
They'll carry this knowledge into the community, connecting sponsors with the resources that matter and helping build a more welcoming, informed Greater Victoria.

Funded by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.

09/28/2026

Yesterday, local newcomer families and youth traveled to Long Lake in Nanaimo for a memorable day on the water. Events like this create vital spaces for newcomer and Indigenous communities to connect, share traditions, and learn from one another through sport and mutual respect. A huge thank you to Canoe Kayak BC, I·SPARC (Indigenous Sport, Physical Activity and Recreation Council), Sport for Life, the championship organizers, and all participating families who made this possible!

Our group spent the Sunday morning building confidence and trying out canoeing on the lake, followed by an inspiring afternoon spectating the BC Indigenous Canoe & Kayak Championships. From watching competitive races to celebrating at the awards ceremony, it was an incredible day of connection, culture, and shared experiences.

Accessible sport and outdoor recreation play a crucial role in building community belonging, confidence, and well-being for newcomer youth and families. Dedicated funding for community programs ensures that equipment, transportation, and instruction remain accessible to everyone, removing barriers so all community members can experience the joy of sport.

To learn more about upcoming youth and family activities, sign up for our newsletter.

www.icavictoria.org/newsletter-signup

09/24/2026

It passed! Victoria City Council has voted to support in principle a community health clinic and licensed daycare at 808 Douglas.

Thank you to every single person who emailed Council, shared these posts and voiced their support. Special thank you’s to Mayor Marianne Alto, Councillor , MLA and MLA for their help in crafting this motion.

Now the real work begins.

With support from the City, local partners, and local investors we will begin the process of bringing this vision to life.

Your voice remains crucial throughout this work; share widely, continue to email support for the clinic to [email protected], and tell us what a new clinic & daycare in the Downtown Core means to you.

09/23/2026

WE NEED YOU.
Add your voice. Tell your city councillor to support the vote today!

Picture this: healthcare & daycare all in the same place. One location right in the heart of downtown Victoria.

That’s what everyone was picturing today when Councillor Dave Thompson and MLA Diana Gibson joined ICA’s CEO Shelly D'Mello, board members, and staff at our 808 Douglas location.

Tomorrow morning, Council decides whether to support this vision. The need is there, the space is here. With Council’s support, families can get the care they deserve.

Make your voice heard; a few sentences are all it takes.

Email Mayor and Council at [email protected] tonight. Sample messages and contacts are at the link in our bio:
bit.ly/support-808DouglasMotion

Thank you to Mayor Marianne Alto and MLA Grace Lore MLA Victoria-Beacon Hill for your support.

09/23/2026

Big news for downtown Victoria! This Thursday, September 24, of Victoria - Local Government Council’s Committee of the Whole will consider a motion to support in principle ICA’s plan for a community health clinic and licensed daycare at 808 Douglas Street.

The motion was brought forward by Mayor Alto and Councillor Dave Thompson. If it passes, City staff will work with ICA on zoning, permitting, pick-up and drop-off arrangements, and potential funding sources.

Why 808 Douglas? ICA already has long-term nonprofit space downtown. Using it avoids the cost and delay of buying a new site, so families could benefit sooner.

What the plan would bring to our community:

Primary care: ongoing primary and mental health care for 1,200 patients initially, growing to as many as 3,600. Patients from the broader community would be connected through BC’s Health Connect Registry, alongside ICA clients.

Childcare: licensed daycare spaces in the downtown core, converted from ICA’s existing childminding space.

Every day, we see how closely health and childcare are connected. When families have both, parents can work, study and build stable lives.

Show your support: If you believe downtown Victoria needs better access to primary care and childcare, let Council know before Thursday’s meeting. Send a short note to Mayor and Council at [email protected], or reach out to your Councillor directly. Even two or three sentences in your own words make a difference.

Not sure what to say? Try: "I support the motion on a community health clinic and licensed daycare at ICA’s 808 Douglas site. Using existing nonprofit space to meet two urgent needs is a practical solution for our community. Please vote in favour."

Read the motion, plus Council contacts and a sample email: https://bit.ly/support-808DouglasMotion

Thank you to Mayor Alto, Councillor Thompson, MLA Gibson and MLA Lore MLA Victoria-Beacon Hill for your support! We hope all Members of Council will join them on Thursday.

09/21/2026

Keep the momentum going this October! Three employment workshops coming your way to help you land your next opportunity:

Oct 7 – Labour Market & Action Planning
Oct 21 – Interview Practice
Oct 28 – Skills for Success in Canada: Unlock Your Potential

Wednesdays, Room 424, ICA Office, 808 Douglas St #102, Victoria
Free and open to all ICA clients

Don't miss out. Reserve your spot now!
[email protected] | 250.388.4728 ext. 2264

09/18/2026

Join our free Personal & Career Development Series! Over 4 weeks, you'll build self-awareness, clarify your values and goals, overcome limiting beliefs, and walk away with a personal 90-day action plan to turn insight into real progress.

Hosted by Angelo Felipa Trucios, Career & Personal Development Coach.

Tuesdays, October 6, 13, 20 & 27
5:00pm – 6:00pm

After 6 years in business banking in Peru with Scotiabank, BBVA, and Zest Capital Fintech, Angelo moved to Canada in 2021 to pursue a Master's in Global Management at Royal Roads University. Through networking, coffee chats, and learning from those who'd walked the path before him, he broke into Canadian business banking at Scotiabank, and along the way, learned firsthand what the Canadian labour market really looks like for newcomers. That experience inspired him to become a Professional Life Coach in 2024, helping fellow immigrants navigate the same leap he once took. Today, after 10 years across banking in Latin America and Canada, Angelo works as a Customer Success Manager in the Global HR & Tech industry, bringing that same drive for growth into every session he coaches.

To register, scan the QR code or contact Molly Munro at [email protected].

The event is virtual and open to anyone.