The Province of Alberta will expand learning opportunities for students by developing a Filipino language and culture curriculum, Premier Rachel Notley announced on February 7 in a meeting with Filipino community leaders.

She’s following in the footsteps of Tarana Burke, the New York activist who coined the phrase ‘me too’ in 2006 to empower women who have experienced sexual harassment and assault.

Hopefully, lawyers born in the Philippines and licensed to practice in British Columbia will be more represented in the province’s judicial system in the future.

The federal government launched a new online intake process for the sponsorship of parents and grandparents (PGP) at noon Eastern time on January 28^th. In less than 11 minutes of being online and 27,000 “interest to sponsor” online forms signed and submitted, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) closed the site, leaving a number of Canadians hoping to avail of the program frustrated.

The 2019 Dahong Pilipino, the one and only Filipino Canadian business and community directory in British Columbia, comes out in early February with a full page ad for the Canadian Filipino Net website.  

A recent Statistics Canada report reveals findings that, in 2017, Filipino immigrants enjoy an employment rate of 88.5 per cent, higher than their Canada-born counterparts at 84 per cent and even higher than other immigrants at 78.9 per cent.

Following a successful conference in 2005 that culminated in the publication of critical work by Filipinas of different generations and varying perspectives on the Filipina experience, Pinay Power II: Celebrating Peminisms in the Diaspora is slated for April 17 to 20 at the McGill University in Montreal.

Canada expects to receive 330,800 new permanent residents in 2019. According to the 2018 annual report to Parliament by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), the number of new arrivals is projected to increase to 341,000 in 2020, and 350,000 in 2021.

On December 12, 2018, Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the appointment of four new Canadian senators. The selection has filled all 105 seats in the Senate and brought to 49 the number of senators named by Trudeau since he became prime minister in 2015.

A coalition of non-profit and advocacy groups across Canada continues to advocate for migrant workers' rights, including caregivers, a year ahead of the expiration of the foreign care workers program in November 2019.

“Dance is the hidden language of the soul.” —Martha Graham

The B.C. legislative assembly has passed a new measure aimed at providing better protection for temporary foreign workers in the province.

Canada’s House of Commons on October 30 unanimously passed M-155, a motion officially designating the month of June as Filipino Heritage Month across the country.

The Canadian Race Relations Foundation (CRRF) celebrated its 10th biennial awards of excellence gala dinner at the Delta Marriott Hotel in Winnipeg on September 27 this year.

Community leader and Canadian Filipina professor Dr. Leonora (Nora) Angeles was recently honoured with a Civic Merit Award, one of Vancouver’s highest honours.

They’re the first Canadians of Filipino ancestry in Ontario to be elected to council in their respective municipalities.