Canada Philippine Parliamentary Friendship Group

As the chair of the Canada Philippine Parliamentary Friendship Group for the past number of years, I have been able to learn more about Canada’s Filipino heritage community and at the same time encourage a better understanding of the community here in Canada and in the Philippines.

There group includes approximately 50 parliamentarians from all parties and both the House of Commons, and the Senate. When we began in 2011, we started off modestly with only four members. We recognized right away that we needed to have an event on Parliament Hill. With the support of the Philippine Embassy and some local Filipino talent, we recognized Philippine Independence Day. The event was a huge success and since then we have done many other things including an initiative that was introduced by my predecessor the late Senator Enverga, which was a flag raising event on Parliament Hill.

If I were to highlight a few of the achievements I would include the following:

• A trip to the Philippines where we met Members of Congress and Senators,
• The creation of a national Philippine youth internship program,
• The promotion of June as Filipino Heritage Month
• Recognizing and supporting Filipino organizations here in Canada

The pandemic has slowed us down, but I hope to continue using the CPPFG as an important tool to support Canada’s Filipino Heritage Community and build a stronger and healthier relationship between two great nations.

• Authorized by the Official Agent for Kevin Lamoureux