April 16, 2026 –  As of April 14, PM Carney has a total of 174  votes  after five floor crossings (four Conservatives and one from NDP) plus three Liberal MP candidates winning at the April 13 byelections; (in  Ontario, two  and in Quebec, one). PM Carney is now moving full speed ahead with serious and ambitious new plans to build Canada strong starting with the number one concern of all Canadians: affordability.

April 16, 2026 — A report titled “A Canadian bedtime story” reveals a noteworthy glance on one facet of the Filipino experience in Canada.

April 16, 2026 —  Filipino Restaurant Month in Canada (FRMC) returns this April for its fifth year, inviting Canadians to experience the richness and diversity of Filipino cuisine across British Columbia.

April 16, 2026 - Vancouver-based dance company Co.ERASGA celebrates the month of May as Asian Heritage Month with Undivided Colours, featuring performances by Co.ERASGA, Victoria’s Bayanihan Creative Collective, Kasandra La China, Sujit Vaidya and Toronto’s Dream Walker Dance/Andrea Nann. 

April 16, 2026 — The man in-charge of securing the performance venue in last year’s April 26 Lapu-Lapu festival still remembers the tragedy as if it happened yesterday. James Villamayor leads the True North Hinirang Eagles Club, a community-based socio-civic organization that was tasked to secure Apl.de.ap’s arrival and performance inside the John Oliver Secondary School in Vancouver. But half an hour after the Fil-Am hiphop artist’s performance, mayhem broke loose and cellphones began ringing inside the school building.

April 1, 2026 – A timely and unflinching conversation with Nobel Peace Prize Laureate  Maria Ressa,  moderated by  Adrienne Arsenault, Emmy Award-winning CBC News chief correspondent and host of The National newscast,  starts at 7:30  and ends at  9:00 PM on Thursday, April 2 at the Chan Centre. 

April 1, 2026 – It’s appalling that American voters enabled one man with a bloated ego and unhinged mind to cause daily economic hardships on 8 billion people in countries around the globe even if those people are not directly responsible for the closing of the Strait of Hormuz.

April 1, 2026 — Are you happy?

April 1, 2026 — April 26, 2026 marks the Filipino community’s babang-luksa (literally translated as end of mourning) for the victims of the Lapu-Lapu Day tragedy. How does that fateful evening in 2025 expose the Filipino community’s vulnerabilities and strengths?

March 16, 2026 – FilipinoBC, chaired by RJ Aquino, announced that Lapu Lapu Day of Togetherness will be held on Sunday, April 19, 2026 at Il Centro Italian Cultural Centre in Vancouver to commemorate the first anniversary of the Lapulapu Day tragedy of April26, 2025.

March 16, 2026 – There are many reasons why Filipinos are ashamed of their government these days.  Currently headed by a dictator’s son and known generally by his nickname, President Bongbong Marcos is supported by 24 senators and 318 congressmen, many of them former movie stars or TV personalities, elected for their looks rather than brains, through vote buying and dynastic family support.

March 16, 2026 — In 2014, a government report warned that because of low births and aging, Canada's population growth could be “close to zero within 20 years” without immigration. 

[Editor’s Note: Dr. Pagtakhan is a retired Professor of Pediatrics and Child Health from the University of Manitoba Faculty of Medicine (1971-1988) and the first Canadian Filipino MP (1988-2004), Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister, and Federal Minister. Widely published and lectured in medicine, politics and community advocacy, his Medisina at Politika commentary is published in Canadian Filipino Net and Pilipino Express.] 

March 16, 2026 —  Food has always played a huge part in Filipino culture. Filipinos share food generously with family and neighbours. We offer food to new friends. When there are disagreements, food can bridge our differences. To many Filipino families, the kitchen is the heart of the home, where dishes are lovingly prepared, to sustain us through our day, and to give comfort at the end of it. And when language fails, food speaks.

March 1, 2026 — A petition has been filed before the House of Commons for a review of a military agreement between the Philippines and Canada.

March 1, 2026 – At the World Economic Forum in Davos PM Mark Carney delivered on January 20, an extraordinary 16-minute speech defining a new world order led by middle power countries. The speech that shook the world and earned a rare standing ovation from the world’s most powerful political and business leaders at the WEF soon changed the global trade and economy landscape. 

March 1, 2026 — Every Filipino community has a “Marites”—a popular social media slang term for a neighborhood gossip, someone who seems to know everything and always has something to say.

[Editor’s Note: Dr. Pagtakhan is a retired Professor of Pediatrics and Child Health from the University of Manitoba Faculty of Medicine (1971-1988) and the first Canadian Filipino MP (1988-2004), Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister,  and Federal Minister. Widely published and lectured in medicine, politics and community advocacy, his Medisina at Politika commentary is published in Canadian Filipino Net and Pilipino Express.]