October 1, 2019 - Some of us who are Filipino immigrants to Canada still remember a time when we went to a polling place, generally a school, to cast our votes – pressing our thumbs on purple ink pads while election officers, usually teachers, wrote our names and addresses on very large books. Some elections went on late into the night. In some places where there were power outages, voting was done by lamplight or candlelight. Voting in Canada is figuratively and literally a world away from those times.  

Manitoba went to the polls on September 10 and delivered a second term for the Progressive Conservatives of Premier Brian Pallister.

Voters in two constituencies also handed victories to two Canadian Filipino politicians.

September 16, 2019 - With residents numbering e 35,110, Yukon remains the least populous jurisdiction in Canada.

This is according to the Yukon Bureau of Statistics’ summary of figures from the 2016 national Census conducted by Statistics Canada.

As part of its North American expansion plans, Jollibee Foods Corporation (JFC) opened its sixth Canadian location in Toronto on September 6 with over 6,500 customers served that day. There are two stores in Winnipeg, Manitoba, one in Edmonton, Alberta and one each in Scarborough and Mississauga, Ontario.

The Philippines Social Security System (SSS) opened an extension office at the Philippine Consulate General offices in Vancouver’s Canada Place. This is the third Canadian location with others located at Philippine Consulate General offices in Calgary, and Toronto as the main branch.

Canada’s Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) has partnered with law enforcement authorities in the Philippines to protect children from sexual exploitation.

The collaboration also aims to identify and bring perpetrators of harm to justice.

The Vancouver Committee for Domestic Workers and Caregivers Rights (CDWCR) is holding a series of workshops on the recently passed programs for caregivers and domestic workers.  Other topics to be discussed are ways to improve their lives in Canada.

Timmins is home to a small community of Canadian Filipinos.

In the 2016 Census, Statistics Canada counted 135 people of Filipino descent in the northeastern Ontario city, which has a total population of less than 42,000.

With a volunteer staff’s perseverance and hard work, Year 3 (from 1 July 2018 to 30 June 2019) was another good year for Canadian Filipino Net.  Much appreciation goes to managing editor Rachel Reid. And to webmaster Arlene Wright for meeting unforgiving publishing deadlines and making the stories shine on the website pages every 1^st and 16^th of each month. 

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau posted on Facebook photos of his visit to a Filipino restaurant in Toronto.

“Celebrating Filipino Heritage Month with Salma Zahid and a big plate of food in Scarborough,” the social media-savvy politician wrote on June 14.

The Canadian government announced on June 15 the launch of two new pilot programs for caregivers.

In a media release, the government stated that the Home Child Care Provider, and Home Support Worker programs will open for applications on June 18.

Throughout Canada, Canadian Filipinos are partying this entire month of June to celebrate Canada’s first Filipino Heritage Month. Below are just some of the events being held to celebrate this national declaration and the Philippines’ 121^st Independence Day.

It’s a great time to be a Canadian Filipino.

People who are new to Canada are in some situations at risk of being abused and exploited.

These include foreign workers and family members, whose wellbeing depends on others.

A global network concerned about human rights in the Philippines has launched a chapter in Canada.

International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines-Canada (ICHRP-Canada) was established at a meeting on May 11 and May 12 in Ottawa at the national headquarters of the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC).

Mabuhay! Be recognized and be proud as Filipinos!

Celebrate everything Filipino as Canada for the very first time honours all Filipinos with the designation of June as Filipino Heritage month across the country.