This coming weekend, members of the Ismaili community from around the world will come together to celebrate Global Ismaili CIVIC Day. From Vancouver to Karachi, Lisbon to Nairobi, thousands of community members globally will put their ethics into action to enhance quality of life in the communities where they live.

The theme for the 2023 Global Ismaili CIVIC weekend is Environmental Stewardship. From clean energy to conservation, Ismaili Muslims will be engaged on the ground in efforts to help save and protect our precious planet.

In Toronto and Vancouver, Prince’s Trust Canada and Ismaili CIVIC will host events on Sunday, September 24. The event will engage young people of all backgrounds in exploring career paths in sustainability, while bringing together the wider Toronto and Vancouver communities for local cleanups.

Visit the Ismaili CIVIC Canada page to sign up for activities in your region.

Please join us for an informal and intimate fireside chat with Al Meghji. We will be covering a wide range of topics as raised by the participants including the np power of networking and mentorship within our community. This session will be interactive, so it is highly recommended that your cameras are turned on. We encourage you to register as soon as possible as spots are limited. 

Thanks in advance!

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Al Meghji

As a partner and head of the tax controversy practice at Osler, Al Meghji is widely regarded as Canada’s preeminent tax litigation counsel, holding an outstanding record of success in complex tax litigation matters in various courts. Al is supported by Osler’s tax group, which is consistently ranked as one of Canada’s largest and most sophisticated tax practices.

Al has been lead counsel in many of Canada’s most important and high-profile tax cases. He has appeared in the Supreme Court of Canada more frequently than any other Canadian tax litigator and has successfully argued a number of landmark tax cases in that court, including Shell Canada (widely regarded as the leading authority on economic substance and tax avoidance); Canada Trustco (that defined the scope of the Canadian GAAR); and GlaxoSmithKline (the first and only transfer pricing case heard by the Supreme Court of Canada).

More recently, Al is at the forefront of transfer pricing litigation as counsel in several significant transfer pricing cases including General Electric (TCC and FCA), GlaxoSmithKline Inc., (SCC), McKesson Canada Corporation (FCA), and most recently Cameco Corporation (TCC).

Al has been widely recognised as a leading Canadian tax litigation practitioner by third-party and peer review legal ranking directories, including Chambers Canada, Best Lawyers in Canada, Lexpert/American Lawyer Guide to the Leading 500 Lawyers in Canada and the Tax Directors Handbook. He is the only tax litigator in Canada to receive the coveted “Star Individual” rating by Chambers Global and Chambers Canada. Al was also recognised by Best Lawyers as “Tax Lawyer of the Year” and by Best of the Best 2018: Expert Guides as “One of the World’s Top 30 Tax Practitioners”.

Al is a CPA, a graduate of Harvard Law School (LLM) and a member of the Bars in Alberta and Ontario.

Join us for the second episode of Thought Leader Series: Celebrating Muslim Excellence entitled "Perspectives on Mental Health" as we explore different perspectives on mental health within the Canadian Muslim community. As we emerge from the pandemic into new socioeconomic realities, addressing mental health remains a critical conversation, particularly given the discrepancies and marginalization faced by Muslim communities. The panelists will delve into the ways in which mental health is promoted within Islam, the spectrum of cultural narratives on addressing mental health, and the impact of xenophobia and Islamophobia on mental health.

This episode will be live-streamed on Saturday, March 11 at 11am PT | 12pm MT | 2pm EST.

Please join us for an informal and intimate fireside chat with Dr. Taslim Alani-Verjee.

This session will be interactive, so it is highly recommended that your cameras are turned on. We encourage you to register as soon as possible as spots are limited. Thanks in advance!

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Dr. Taslim Alani-Verjee is a Clinical Psychologist living and working in Toronto, Canada. She is the Founder and Director of Silm Centre for Mental Health, a community-based and social justice-oriented practice that seeks to make mental health awareness and services more accessible to the communities with whom she and her team work. She is the co-founder of Feelings Unpacked, a psychoeducational mental health subscription service that seeks to help users understand and experience their emotions.

Dr. Taslim has offered many trainings and workshops related to well-being, including self-care and burnout, noticing the signs and symptoms of mental illness, and diversity, inclusion and anti-oppression training. She also teaches regularly at Lakehead University, the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) at the University of Toronto, and Adler Graduate Professional School.

Dr. Taslim has her PhD and Masters in Clinical Psychology from Lakehead University, and her Masters in International Development Studies from Dalhousie University. 

In her spare time, she enjoys, baking, dancing, and figuring out how to be a mom!

Please join us for an informal and intimate fireside chat with Noor Wais, President of the Ismaili Council for Quebec and the Maritimes.

We will be covering a wide range of topics as raised by the participants including the power of community and mentorship.

This session will be interactive, so it is highly recommended that your cameras are turned on. We encourage you to register as soon as possible as spots are limited. Thanks in advance!

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Noor Wais, President, Ismaili Council for Québec and the Maritimes

Noor Wais is a CPA Auditor, CA and a member of the Order of Chartered Professional Accountants of Quebec.  Noor began his career with an international firm and gained extensive experience in a mid-sized accounting firm offering certification, accounting and tax services. Noor currently runs an accounting, assurance and tax consulting practice to small and midsize owner-managed businesses in the greater Montreal area.

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Stay tuned for a National Economic Update Webinar featuring Pierre Cléroux, Vice President Research and Chief Economist at the Business Development Bank of Canada, moderated by Shirin Kabani, Managing Director & CFO, Ninepoint Partners. He will be covering a wide range of topics including inflation and rising interest rates, the outlook of the real estate market across Canada and many more topics.

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Pierre Cléroux was appointed Vice President, Research and Chief Economist at BDC in 2012.

Pierre leads a team of experts who analyze economic data to identify business and sector trends impacting Canadian entrepreneurs. A seasoned speaker, he regularly travels across the country to help business owners understand the risks and opportunities presented by the economic environment.

Mr. Cléroux is also responsible for providing economic analysis and advice to the Bank’s senior management team, and supervises all marketing and industry research activities.

Over his 25-year career as an economist, he has held several influential positions that had a direct impact on entrepreneurs in Canada and abroad.

Before joining BDC, Pierre worked for the Government of Saudi Arabia as Vice President, Business Analysis in the National Industry Clusters Development Program. His role was to create program strategies, define sector policies and conduct financial and economic analyses of industrial projects.

Previously, Mr. Cléroux was the Quebec Assistant Deputy Minister for Economic Development, Innovation and Export Trade, responsible for the implementation of economic policies and programs to support small and medium-sized businesses and encourage entrepreneurship. He was also a strategic advisor for Montreal International, where he was responsible for attracting foreign investment from India and the Middle East, and developing international relationships and partnerships. He worked for 12 years at the Canadian Federation of Independent Business in various roles, including economist and Quebec Vice President.

Pierre is President of the Financial Services, Capital and Economy Committee of the Fédération des chambres de commerce du Québec (FCCQ).

Shirin Kabani is the Managing Director & Chief Financial Officer for Ninepoint Financial Group Inc. and its subsidiaries. Shirin has been instrumental in operationalizing the finance function at Ninepoint and has executed various strategic initiatives including an ERP implementation and finance transformation. Shirin is responsible for providing an effective financial governance framework for the company and leading the ongoing finance operations; including accounting, external reporting, treasury, planning and budgeting. Prior to her leadership role with Ninepoint, she was with Sprott Inc. for two years in Corporate Finance where she led various financial processes. In addition to her financial services background, Shirin has spent over 11 years in finance at IBM where she gained broad expertise from managing diverse business processes and operations. Shirin is a CPA and has a Honours Bachelor of Commerce Degree, with a Major in Accounting, from McMaster University’s DeGroote School of Business.

Please join us for an informal and intimate fireside chat with President Ameerally Kassim-Lakha.

We will be covering a wide range of topics as raised by the participants including the power of networking and mentorship within our community.

This session will be interactive, so it is highly recommended that your cameras are turned on. We encourage you to register as soon as possible as spots are limited. Thanks in advance!

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Ameerally Kassim-Lakha is President of the Aga Khan Council for Canada. He has a B.Comm. from McGill and MBA from Harvard University. He is a real estate developer and entrepreneur.

He was previously Vice-Chair of Aga Khan Foundation Canada, Director of the Global Centre for Pluralism Rehabilitation and Chairman of the Multi-Generational Housing Board for Canada. He has also served as the Chairman of various community organizations including the Aga Khan Education Board for Canada and the Ismaili Religious Education Board for Ontario.

Be one of a small group of people to join Alim Dhanji for an informal and intimate dialogue on his career and leadership journey. Alim will be sharing his story, as well as taking your questions. This session will be interactive, so it is highly recommended that your cameras are turned on. We encourage you to register as soon as possible. Thanks in advance!

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As President, Adidas Canada, Alim Dhanji leads the Canadian business strategy with full accountability for adidas and Rebook retail, eComm and wholesale channels, business development, brand strategy and operations.

Alim is an innovative and purpose driven global leader with 25 years of experience building diverse, high-performance organizations, from scaling fast growing B2B/B2C start-ups to transforming large, F100, global companies. Having held senior executive roles in leading companies across financial services, technology, professional services and consumer goods, he’s formed a diverse perspective and has been at the forefront of digitization, omni-channel distribution and modernizing inclusive people practices that shape the future of business and deliver legendary consumer experiences. 

This evening, join author, educator and interfaith leader Eboo Patel and moderator Dr. Aleem Bharwani for an enlightening and interactive community book reading.

Acts of Faith is a remarkable account of growing up Muslim in America and coming to believe in religious pluralism, from one of the most prominent faith leaders in the United States. Eboo Patel’s story is a hopeful and moving testament to the power and passion of young people—and of the world-changing potential of an interfaith youth movement.