Mel Tobias (1939-2017), a world wanderer, was a man of many parts with many friends who loved him. He was always looking for “a place where his spirit can run free.” He found “his corner of the sky” in Vancouver, British Columbia. He became the quintessential Vancouverite – learning, earning, yearning and living for life. He made every minute of his life count.

In Canada, the tradition of getting together with loved ones over a large feast to express gratitude for a happy event and other blessings goes back many years. It began long before the Pilgrims arrived in the United States and started a similar celebration there. But it was only in 1957 when the second Monday in October was proclaimed a statutory holiday for Canadian Thanksgiving.

It was the autumn of 2015. It all started with coffee, lots of it, and many weeks of it, at my favourite Vancouver coffee shop in Olympic Village, with my journalist friend who didn’t stop the pitch until I gave in. My friend, who wishes to be anonymous, kept talking about ‘Filipinos should have a better presence in Canadian media”. That’s true.

Now nearing its eighth year anniversary, the One Filipino Cooperative (OneFilCoop), first-ever Filipino cooperative established in British Columbia (B.C.), proudly looks back at its achievements and vows to expand its services to help its members cope with affordability issues.

Forty years ago, in the summer of 1977, an organizational meeting, spearheaded by Solomon Exmundo, was held in Toronto.

An avid observer of how Filipinos behave in Canada once remarked that there were probably as many Filipino associations in Canada as there were islands in the Philippines.

Since 1982, caregivers and domestic workers (CDWs) from developing countries have come to Canada to take care of the young, the elderly and the disabled.

Forty-eight years ago, on February 10, 1969, 15 Filipino immigrants — all women, mostly in the health care field, signed an application for incorporating the first Filipino Canadian association in the country: the Victoria Filipino Canadian Association.

It's December again and most of us begin the shopping trek for Christmas presents for family and friends. But others have been working on presents all year long for people they don't even know - couples in crisis, children who can't afford to go to school, families with no decent housing or medical care. For these 'others', Christmas calls, and they respond, every day.

It's not often that a non-profit society finds itself in this dilemna: owning a number of real estate assets, in Vancouver BC no less, in the tight real estate market of the 2000's, with an opportunity to turn these underutilized and aging properties into more productive assets, but whose stewards - the board of directors - may be risk averse.

The Canadian Filipino Net website is happy to announce its collaboration with Dahong Pilipino under its Community category.