National Alliance of Philippine Women in Canada
Philippine Women Centre of B.C.
Communique

Communiqué of: “Making the Filipino Community Count in BC”

February 27, 2007

The Philippine Women Centre of British Columbia (PWC of BC) and the National Alliance of Philippine Women in Canada (NAPWC) successfully held a BC-wide gathering themed “Making the Filipino Community Count in BC” from February 9 to 11, 2007 in Vancouver, BC, Canada. The conference brought together 70 members of the Filipino community from BC, along with participants from Quebec and Ontario.

Working to promote the settlement, integration, and full participation of the Filipino community in BC, this gathering was the culmination of the community work that local Filipino organizations have been carrying out as part of a national three-year NAPWC project in partnership with Canadian Heritage since May 2006. 

Cecilia Diocson, Executive Director of the NAPWC, provided the keynote address and emphasized the urgent need to cross the threshold of what she called "social breakthrough" in the community's continuing efforts at full participation and integration in Canadian society.

Two panels featuring testimonials and speakers helped advance our understanding of the project’s four priority issues. The first panel focused on the issues of Filipino women facing violence and trafficking and Filipino youth combating systemic racism, discrimination, and social exclusion.

Heizel Gullem shared her plight with social and economic violence while working as a live-in caregiver under the LCP and with physical, mental, and emotional violence while married to an abusive spouse. She encouraged other women suffering abuse to break their silence and the importance of collective support offered by organizations like PWC of BC.  Sheila Farrales and Monica Urrutia, community organizers, provided insight into the analysis of the socio-economic context and policies, like the LCP, which make Filipino women more vulnerable to violence and prostitution. They stressed the importance of women-centred organizations in addressing these issues.

Rainiel de Guzman, national council member of the Filipino-Canadian Youth Alliance (FCYA), delivered an emotional sharing on his family’s migration experience and the importance of community participation and leadership among Filipino youth. Carlo Sayo, national chairperson of FCYA, shared his organization’s community work among Filipino youth facing social exclusion and systemic racism within immigration policies and the education system, and its connection to the alarming rise of high school dropouts among Filipino youth in BC.

The second panel presented the issues of Filipino migrant workers, particularly live-in caregivers under the LCP, and the issues of non-recognized Filipino professionals. Gloria Remirata, a teacher from the Philippines and current member of SIKLAB - BC, shared her struggles as a live-in caregiver and the process of reuniting with her three children. Glecy Duran, Western Vice Chairperson of SIKLAB-Canada, explained their work in promoting the rights and welfare of live-in caregivers facing deportation, divorce and family disintegration, and violations of the Employment Standards Act. 

Leah Diana, community organizer of the Filipino Nurses Support Group (FNSG), described FNSG’s community-based work and its effectiveness in advocating for the full recognition of Philippine-trained nurses. Danielle Bisnar, community organizer for PWC of BC, presented the preliminary findings of research aimed at overcoming the Filipino community’s economic marginalization and lack of opportunity by looking into professional accreditation.

The following day, Luningning Alcuitas-Imperial, Chair of NAPWC, delivered the framework for the capacity training workshops.  She stressed the Filipino community’s fundamental right to be individually and collectively involved and integrated in various aspects of Canadian society in order to help combat our extreme marginalization.  She shared examples of NAPWC member organizations’ best practices in policy engagement and also asserted the urgent need to continue to build the community’s capacity and skills through deeper integration into the community, study of the public policy process and practice of skills in order to serve the community.

The capacity-training workshops gave us the opportunity to raise our understanding of the four priority issues to a level of policy analysis and assessment. Participants learned to identify relevant policies hampering the community’s full participation and learned to formulate recommendations. Each workshop then organized their discussions into a Policy Brief for each priority issue.

The Policy Briefs were presented by workshop participants to the plenary in a role play of a Mock Parliamentary Hearing. Nine professors, lawyers, and community organizers were selected to form a mock intergovernmental working group on immigrant communities in Canada. 

The workshops and the Mock Parliamentary Hearing were an important training for us to practice our much-needed skills in policy engagement. At times serious and humorous, community organizers bravely answered questions from the mock parliamentarians and all participants assessed the process afterwards as a positive, empowering and enlightening example of practicing our skills in lobbying work and policy engagement.

Participants came out of the conference with a deeper awareness and understanding of the long-standing and emerging issues facing the Filipino-Canadian community, a greater unity among participating individuals and organizations, and the skills necessary in public policy engagement.  But most importantly, the gathering strengthened the collective voice to make the Filipino community count in BC.

Photos attached.  For more photos of the February 9 to 11, 2007 "Making the Filipino Community Count in BC" consultation, please visit website:
http://kalayaancentre.net/assets/images/photos/2007/makingcountfeb07_index.htm

For more information, contact Philippine Women Centre of BC:
phone: 604-215-1103
email: pwc@kalayaancentre.net
or visit website: www.kalayaancentre.net/pwcofbc