Press Release

Toronto, ON–On July 27, 2008, members of the Magkaisa (Unity) Centre held its annual barbeque at Earl Bales Park in North York. The event brought together over 70 community members from the Magkaisa Centre in Toronto with guests from the Kapit Bisig (Linking Arms) Centre in Montreal. The occasion served not only to showcase various Filipino dishes and street games, but also as an informal forum for discussions amongst the members of the aforementioned centres. Mervyn Mabini, a member of Ugnayan Ng Kabataang Pilipino Sa Canada/Filipino Canadian Youth Alliance-Ontario (UKPC/FCYA-ON) stated that, “the barbeque was a venue for different sectors of the community to come together and learn from each other’s experiences.”

The Magkaisa Centre is a community centre that focuses on empowering Filipinos in their struggle for human rights, equality and development, similar to the Kalayaan centre in Vancouver, British Columbia, and the Kapit Bisig centre in Montreal. The Magkaisa Centre houses several organizations – SIKLAB Ontario (Sulong, Itaguyod Ang Karapatan Ng Mga Manggagawang Pilipino Sa Labas Ng Bansa), a progressive organization that advances the rights and welfare of Filipino migrant workers in Canada, the Philippine Women Centre of Ontario (PWC-ON), a non-profit organization that advocates for equality, genuine development and the liberation of all Filipino women and UKPC/FYCA-ON, an organization that identifies the issues faced by Filipino youth and and their evolving role in the building of a strong Filipino community.

This event served as an opportunity for the organizations to share the programs Magkaisa Centre offers to the Filipino community in Ontario throughout the year.

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