The Congress of Progressive Filipino Canadians (CPFC) greets International Worker’s Day with heightened militancy and marks the day as a significant time to reclaim and advance the struggles of the working class all over the world. Initially wrought 125 years ago, International Worker’s Day was born out of the demands and struggles of American workers for an 8 hour work day and safe working conditions during an era where workers’ lives were characterized by long working hours and unsafe conditions that led to countless abuses, injuries and deaths. Today, these same issues arise and worsen as the neoliberal agenda of globalization increases its attacks on the lives of the working class peoples all over the world. Now more than ever, in this time of economic crisis and uncertainty, CPFC encourages all workers to build genuine solidarity to intensify the struggles and resistance against the increasing onslaught brought upon by the neoliberal agenda of globalization.

CPFC maintains that advancing the working class struggle can only be realized by placing the struggles of the workers in and from the Global South at the forefront. In Canada, as the Federal government continues to implement anti-worker and anti-people policies, racialized workers from the Global South and working class communities suffer first and are the hardest hit. The Federal government’s rapid implementation of neoliberal policies that prioritize corporate private interests have led to the privatization of public services, healthcare and the casualization of labour.

Instead of generating stable and meaningful employment for all workers, the Federal government implements regressive labour and immigration programs, such as the Temporary Foreign Workers Program and the Live-in Caregiver Program, to systematically recruit workers from the Global South and relegate them into sources of cheap labour. Palpably seen through the lived realities of the Filipino Canadian community, Canada’s 3rd largest visible minority group and largest source of temporary foreign workers and live-in caregivers, the CPFC maintains that the institutionalization of these labour and immigration programs are manifestations of Canada’s concerted efforts to amplify labour contractualization and flexibilization. We recognize that the systemic subjugation of temporary foreign workers through denying them genuine settlement and integration in Canada is an effort to cheapen the wages of all Canadian workers and to maximize profits.

Recognizing that our presence as a transnational community is a direct product of neoliberal globalization, we at CPFC stand in solidarity with the over 10 million overseas Filipino workers who toil in 150 countries as they are forcefully displaced by neoliberal labour programs such as the Philippines’ Labour Export Policy. We also stand in solidarity with the Filipino workers of the Hanjin shipyard in their struggles against their deplorable working conditions which have led to the recent death of 31 year old Alvin Danulag and 24 other workers. Hanjin, the world’s 4th largest ship-building and Korean-owned company, employs over 15,000 workers in the Philippines. Its lack of compliance to occupational health and safety standards, its exploitation of workers by paying them less than the legislated minimum wage and its practice of contractual employment concretely illustrate imperialism’s rapacious assaults on workers. We are alongside MAKABAYAN (Manggagawa para sa Kalayaan ng Bayan/Workers for People’s Liberation), the leading progressive force of the Philippine labour movement, in their efforts to organize Hanjin shipyard workers and Filipino workers to fight for their rights and demand for safe working conditions.

We, the Congress of Progressive Filipino Canadians, stand in solidarity with all workers in Canada and beyond. We condemn any government strategy of exploiting workers through labour programs that perpetuate a life of permanent impermanence. We will continue to expose and oppose the neoliberal agenda of globalization and strive towards our genuine settlement and integration.

Workers of the world unite!
Expose and oppose the neoliberal project!
Stop the global contractualization of labour!
Down with imperialism!

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Organizations under the CPFC:
National Alliance of Philippine Women in Canada
SIKLAB Canada (Sulong Itaguyod Karapatan ng Manggagawang Pilipino sa Labas ng Bansa/Advance and Uphold the Struggle of Filipino Canadian Workers)
UKPC/FCYA-National (Ugnayan ng Kabataang Pilipino sa Canada/Filipino Canadian Youth Alliance-National)
Philippines-Canada Task Force on Human Rights

For more information, contact:
Joy C. Sioson
(416) 519-2553
pwc-on@magkaisacentre.org
www.magkaisacentre.org

Toronto, ON–April 21, 2011–An unabashed display of collective brilliance, strength and unity by Filipino Canadian workers will commence at “Advancing the Working Class Struggle: A Critical Look at Canada’s Labour and Immigration Programs.” Organized by SIKLAB-ON, a progressive Filipino Canadian workers organization, in collaboration with UKPC@UofT/York (Ugnayan ng Kabataang Pilipino sa Canada/Filipino Canadian Youth Alliance–Ontario at University of Toronto and York University), the celebration and public lecture will expose the true nature of two Canadian labour and immigration policies – namely, the Live-in Caregiver Program (LCP) and the Temporary Foreign Worker’s Program (TFWP) – as brought to life by the stories of Filipino Canadian workers and event panelists. Kicking off at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) Room 5280, this event is set for Saturday, April 30th from 2:00 to 5:00 PM. As the final culmination of UKPC@UofT/York’s lecture series and successful round of intense political education, this celebration is surely not one to be missed.

When scrutinized through the experiences of the growing Filipino Canadian community, now Canada’s 3rd largest visible minority group, a critical examination of Canada’s labour and immigration programs will not leave its neoliberal character and anti-worker impacts unscathed. As the LCP and TFWP continues to funnel highly educated migrants through Canada’s pool of cheap and disposable labour, the urge to critically examine the nature of work Filipinos are relegated to perform becomes a necessity for not only the Filipino Canadian community, but for Canadian society at large. “As workers who uphold the bare bones of Canada’s economy, who bear the brunt of an economy in crisis, we refuse to be silenced just as much as we are unafraid to express the truth behind our realities as workers,” says Bryan Taguba, SIKLAB-ON member and panel speaker.

As the true neoliberal face of policies such as the LCP and TFWP is unmasked through the daily realities of the Filipino Canadian community, it is clear that its promises of permanent residence, family reunification and economic development is unlikely to be fulfilled for the thousands it has held under contract. Its promises of economic growth has contrarily been one-sided: immigration now accounts for half of Canada’s GDP growth. “Our history as a community has taught us valuable lessons. We are not falling for the tired tactic of using temporary foreign workers to drive down the wages of all Canadian workers,” asserts Jean-Marc Daga, a SIKLAB-ON member. “Otherwise, how can we settle, integrate and genuinely develop as a community when we subsist through programs that are akin to modern-day slavery?” Daga asks. A critical look at these programs will show that permanent, instead of contractual migration, will end Canada’s exploitative practice of importing and deporting workers.

Testimonials from SIKLAB-ON members will illustrate that the struggles of Filipino Canadian workers is integral to the struggles of the Canadian working class and beyond. As Taguba states, “We leave the Philippines and come here to live a better life. But once we’re here, what we see is a continuation of what we have left behind: we still work in contractual or temporary jobs with no benefits.”

“Advancing the Working Class Struggle” will critically examine Canadian labour and immigration policies and highlight the call of progressive Filipino Canadians for a just and genuine settlement and integration. Igniting militancy and resistance, the public lecture will truly demonstrate the strength of the working class as a force to be reckoned with.

“Advancing the Working Class Struggle: A Critical Look at Canada’s Labour and Immigration Programs”
SIKLAB-ON’s celebration of International Workers Day
3rd and final lecture of UKPC@UofT/York’s lecture series
Featuring panel presentations on the LCP and TFWP
Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) Room 5280
252 Bloor St. West, Toronto ON (above St. George subway station)
Saturday, April 30th, 2:00 – 5:00 PM
Free to the public

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For more information, contact:
Ken Santos
416-519-2553
ukpc-on@magkaisacentre.org
www.magkaisacentre.org
Facebook: Ugnayan Ontario
Twitter: ugnayanontario

ADVANCING THE WORKING CLASS STRUGGLE:
A CRITICAL LOOK AT CANADA’S LABOUR AND IMMIGRATION PROGRAMS
SIKLAB Ontario’s (Advance and Uphold the Struggle of Filipino Canadian Workers)
Celebration of International Worker’s Day,
featuring a panel discussion on the Live-in Caregiver Program (LCP)
and the Temporary Foreign Workers Program (TFWP)

Saturday, April 30th, 2011, 2:00 – 5:00 PM

OISE Room 5280
Ontario Institute for Studies in Education
252 Bloor St. West (above St. George subway station)
Venue is wheelchair accessible

Free admission
Light refreshments will be served

Final lecture of UKPC@UofT & York’s series
Ugnayan ng Kabataang Pilipino sa Canada/Filipino Canadian Youth Alliance–Ontario @ University of Toronto and York University

In celebration of International Worker’s Day, SIKLAB Ontario, in collaboration with UKPC@UofT and York, ignites their militancy in upholding the working class struggle through a panel discussion on Canada’s labour and immigration programs from the perspective of the Filipino Canadian community.

Making up the largest community of temporary foreign workers, live-in caregivers and deskilled immigrants, majority of whom are women, the Filipino Canadian community is relegated to serve as Canada’s pool of cheap and disposable labour. Worse, neoliberalism’s attacks on public health, housing, childcare, public services and education have pushed Filipino Canadians and the rest of the working-class community in Canada even further into the margins.

Testimonials from community members will concretize and contextualize Canada’s labour and immigration policies – specifically the Live-in Caregiver Program and the Temporary Foreign Workers Program. By advancing the community’s call for a just and genuine settlement and integration and full participation in Canada, this event aims to boldly uphold the Filipino Canadian community’s place in the working-class peoples’ struggle for freedom and social transformation.

As progressive Filipino Canadians, we mark May 1st as a significant time to uphold our calls to advance the struggles of racialized and working-class peoples in Canada. We invite everyone to join us in a stimulating and productive discussion as our panel of community organizers and workers share our lived experiences and our community’s resistance in the face of neoliberalism’s escalating attacks on racialized and working-class peoples in Canada.

For more information, contact:
Kenneth Santos
416-519-2553
ukpc-on@magkaisacentre.org
www.magkaisacentre.org
Facebook: Ugnayan Ontario
Twitter: ugnayanontario

Toronto ON—SIKLAB-Canada, a national formation of progressive Filipino Canadian workers organizations, demands Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) to cease the Three Amigos’ deportation order and to grant their right to remain in Canada. Dubbed as the “Three Amigos,” Arnisito Gaviola, Antonio Laroya and Ermie Zotomayor fill the top ledger of CIC’s list of temporary foreign workers who are slotted for deportation. Now having fulfilled their terms of work after arriving in 2007 to work at a gas station and restaurant in High Prairie, Alberta, their current order for deportation quickens their expiry as “disposable workers” who have already completed their terms under the Temporary Foreign Workers Program (TFWP). SIKLAB-Canada fervently demands to stop the deportation of temporary foreign workers as a call to eradicate the cycle of importing and deporting cheap migrant and immigrant labour, as instrumentalized by Canada to perpetuate the neoliberal agenda of globalization.

After dispensing hours of cheap labour at the gas station and restaurant, the Three Amigos were subsequently laid-off after a year and a half due to recession downsizing. They found similar jobs in Thompson, Alberta and were promised renewed work permits by their new employer, but were arrested in June 23, 2010 for not being able to provide the necessary work permits. They currently await their court hearing, which is scheduled for March 2011.

While the economic expediency provided by the cheap labour of migrant workers enables Canada to drive down wages and remain competitive during periods of economic crisis, it is precisely these workers who are often the first and hardest hit by downsizing practices. It has been a convenient yet racist practice to either grant or deny residency to migrant workers in order to dictate or prevent their terms of settlement and integration into Canadian society. Like hundreds of thousands recruited through the TFWP, the three men stand on shaky and perilous ground with their status being tied to the employer-specific work permits with no chance of receiving permanent residency in Canada.

“The case of the Three Amigos is yet another addition to Citizenship and Immigration Canada’s stack of violations against the same workers they utilize to enable Canada to stay globally competitive,” states Roderick Carreon, Chairperson of SIKLAB-Canada. “We will not stand for the anti-immigrant tactic of criminalizing the workers who are holding up the bare bones of the economy, of those who bear the burden of economic accumulation at the expense of their own development,” adds Carreon.

Historically, the shift in the 1970’s from immigration for permanent settlement to migration for temporary employment mirror’s Canada’s never-ending thirst for cheap labour under neoliberal globalization. As it stands, the TFWP is used to fill so-called labour market shortages in Canada, with its low-skilled category carrying the bulk of job classifications. Streams under the low-skilled category include the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program, the Live-in Caregiver Program, and an expanding number of service-sector occupations, all deemed as the dirty, dangerous and difficult jobs that no other Canadians are willing to take. With the amendments in immigration policies and the expansion of the TFWP evidently making immigration processes more employer-friendly, the so-called reliance of employers on temporary foreign workers divert away from the fact that job opportunities under the low-skill category are jobs that are unappealing to workers who enjoy freedom in the Canadian labour market.

“We stand with the Three Amigos in our refusal to be choked in by immigration policies that prevent the fulfillment of our lives as Filipino Canadian workers,” says Kelly Botengan, spokesperson of SIKLAB-Ontario and former worker under the Live-in Caregiver Program. “We are not merely economic units that are to be disposed of when no longer needed. Our active contribution and participation in Canada is key to the development of Canadian society as a whole,” asserts Botengan.

SIKLAB-Canada will continue to expose and oppose all racist and anti-worker neoliberal immigration and labour policies that criminalize workers to prevent their successful settlement and integration in Canada. The struggle for a truly inclusive and multicultural Canadian society is at stake as immigration policies continue to expand a racially color-coded labour market geared towards temporary workers instead of programs for permanent immigration and settlement.

Expose and oppose Canada’s neoliberal agenda of globalization!
Stop the deportation of temporary foreign workers!
Onward with the demand for genuine settlement and integration!

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Organizations under SIKLAB-Canada:
SIKLAB British Columbia (Sulong Itaguyod ang Karapatan ng Manggagawang Pilipino sa Labas ng Bansa/Advance and Uphold the Struggle of Filipino Canadian Workers)
SIKLAB Ontario
SIKLAB Quebec

For more information, contact:
Bryan Taguba
(416) 519-2553
siklab-on@magkaisacentre.org
www.magkaisacentre.org
Facebook: Siklab Ontario

The Congress of Progressive Filipino Canadians (CPFC), a national alliance of Filipino Canadian workers, women and youth organizations, is not surprised with the announcement on the increase in immigrant visas approved by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) in 2010, numbering 280,636, as well as with the CIC’s announcement to cut-back on visa approval for family sponsorship and skilled workers categories. The increase in visa approval for one immigration class and the decrease in another has been a regular practice at CIC in order to ensure that the numbers of immigrants coming into the country does not exceed their limit or quota for each year. Indeed, while Canada may appear to open its immigration doors for immigrant applicants in 2010, it simultaneously closes and slams any opportunity for immigrant families in Canada to genuinely settle and integrate by hindering their reunification with other members of their families, particularly with their parents and grandparents.

Minister Kenney’s honest admission at the House of Commons that “we need more newcomers working and paying taxes and contributing to our health-care system,” is a concrete revelation that Canada’s immigration policies are tailored to meet the labour demands of the country. Canada’s immigration doors is kept open only to those who will directly contribute to the country’s economic and social growth, keeping it consistent with its immigration history where immigrant and racialized communities remain welcome as long as they are deemed to be “economic assets,” and as long as they remain to be part of the country’s reserve army of cheap labour.

CIC’s statement that visa approval for family sponsorship, particularly for parents and grandparents of immigrant families, will be decreased in the coming years, is a clear message that, even though, Canada is in dire need of workers that will provide cheap and profitable labour, it will carefully select and deny applicants who pose to be a “burden” in the country’s economic and healthcare systems. Hence, despite the fact that the majority of immigrant and racialized families have relied on the help of parents and grandparents to provide childcare for their family members, and to some extent, to other members of the community, their contributions in Canadian society are not recognized as significant, painting them, simply, as a group that will “drain” the country’s resources.

With the population of Filipino Canadians close to over half a million, our community has contributed and continues to contribute to the economic and social growth of the country for nearly forty years. Bryan Taguba, a member of SIKLAB Canada, a Filipino Canadian worker’s organization, and the Filipino Canadian Youth Alliance (UKPC/FCYA), asserts that “our community’s struggles for economic survival have left both parents to work longer and to take on numerous jobs in order to make ends meet. As a result, our families have turned to our grandparents for help in providing childcare and in helping maintain the household.” Coming from the concrete experience of the Filipino Canadian community, CPFC strongly contends that when families are struggling economically, as most immigrant families are, putting kids in daycare centres has never been considered an option because of its high cost and also because most immigrant parents do not have the regular 8 am to 5 pm work shifts.

CPFC, further, asserts that CIC’s move to limit family sponsorship is another step in putting-up structural barriers in the settlement and integration of immigrant and racialized communities. Cecilia Diocson, Executive Director of the National Alliance of Philippine Women in Canada (NAPWC), states that “it is a known fact that for the majority of newly-arrived families in Canada, both parents have to work. It is also a known fact that Canada does not have and refuses to implement a universal childcare program that will benefit all families in Canada. Therefore, the presence of parents and grandparents bring significant support and contributions to immigrant families – financially, culturally and socially. For CIC to deny these important contributions is a major blow to the future of all immigrant communities in this country.”

As such, contrary to CIC’s statement alluding that the approval of parents and grandparents of immigrant families will pose a burden to the economic and health-care systems of Canada, the move to increase the denial of family sponsorship applications is an outright attack to the efforts of these families to genuinely settle, integrate and fully participate into the Canadian society. CPFC maintains that the announcement that family sponsorship of parents and grandparents will not be in CIC’s priority list, unravels the hypocrisy of its own reunification program. Diocson contends that “it is hypocritical that the Conservative government talks about family values in its political platform, but when it concerns immigrant families, preserving family values and immigrants’ desire to reunite with immediate family members becomes of no importance.” Kenney’s mandate to cut-down visa approval of this particular group of people is a clear indication that CIC is not genuine in its efforts to implement its own program of family reunification. Instead, it serves as the very institution that promotes family separation, further perpetuating its negative impacts and leaving immigrant communities to deal with them.

Thus, as Canada, through CIC, continues to implement its neo-liberal agenda of privatization, liberalization and deregulation, we, at CPFC, will continue to expose the hypocrisy of the current Conservative government. We will remain steadfast in opposing the ongoing backlash on marginalized and racialized communities in Canada that strip us of our full participation and entitlement in Canadian society. We are also determined to remain vigilant against the implementation of neo-liberal policies that will, further, push the working-class people in Canada at the very end of the economic margin.

Expose and oppose Canada’s neoliberal agenda of globalization!
End the attacks on family reunification of immigrant and racialized communities in Canada!
Onward with the demand for genuine settlement and integration!

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Organizations under CPFC:
National Alliance of Philippine Women in Canada (NAPWC)
SIKLAB Canada (Advance and Uphold the Struggle of Filipino Canadian Workers)
Ugnayan ng Kabataang Pilipino sa Canada/Filipino Canadian Youth Alliance – National
Sinag Bayan Arts Collective – National
Philippines Canada Task Force on Human Rights (PCTFHR)

For more information:
Contact Joy C. Sioson
www.magkaisacentre.org
pwc-on@magkaisacentre.org
416-519-2553

Coinciding with the Philippine Women Centre of Ontario’s 10th year anniversary, the occasion also commemorates the group’s advancements in educating, organizing, and mobilizing around the issues faced by Filipinos in Canada on the struggles against systemic racism, economic marginalization and poverty, as well as, violence against women, in order to make the future generations of Filipino Canadian community count.

The night is a show of appreciation and admiration for the 8 founding members of SIKLAB-ON, who consistently and unwaveringly support, sustain, and strengthen a politicized Filipino Canadian community. Their involvement, along with their courage strong will and resiliency, have empowered them to tackle their experiences as workers under the Live-in Caregiver Program and the challenges they face thereafter with the arrival of their families.

Yolyn Valenzuela, vice-chairperson of the national SIKLAB-Canada, jump started the jubilant event with a welcoming speech. “Filipinos have been coming to Canada for over 50 years, yet the majority of our community are still in the margins of Canadian society,” states Valenzuela. She adds, “it is imperative that we look into the long term impacts of immigration policies on our community and fight for our right to fully participate in all facets of Canadian society, with a strong voice demanding our entitlement to us as vital contributors to Canada’s growth and prosperity.”

Kelly Botengan, spokesperson of SIKLAB-ON, reaffirms that “Filipino women continue to be amongst the most oppressed and exploited in our community due to the LCP.” She further explains, “in essence the LCP is being used to further privatize childcare and medical care for the elderly and people with disabilities all of which are essential contributions made by Filipino women that Canada fails to acknowledge and poorly compensate.”

SIKLAB-ON upholds that the women coming through the LCP should be granted landed immigrant status upon arrival, be able to utilize their professional and educational credentials for occupations of their choice, and be able to bring their families with them.

SIKLAB-Canada and its provincial proponents were formed to address the rights and welfare of Filipino migrants and has evolved to comprehensively look into advocating for the just and genuine settlement and integration of Filipino Canadian workers and their families in Canada. With the rapidly growing Filipino Canadian community, the challenge to nurture a strong community that is capable of exercising their full participation and entitlement has become more important than ever before.

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Click here to see the event pictures!

To learn more about and register for the “Creating, Strengthening and Nurturing the Filipino-Canadian Women’s Struggle for Genuine Liberation and Empowerment Conference” click here.

TORONTO,ON – More than 50 members of the Filipino community from Toronto and Montreal gathered on October 11, 2008 to celebrate SIKLAB Canada’s three years of educating, organizing and mobilizing Filipino migrant workers. The event was celebrated with a dinner and a forum on the Live-in Caregiver Program at the OISE building at the University of Toronto. SIKLAB–Canada is a national progressive organization that advances the rights and welfare of Filipino overseas workers.

With the theme, “Sulong Migranteng Pinoy! Towards genuine development, equality and human rights,” the event gathered migrant workers, women and youth to discuss urgent issues facing the community, including the lack of visibility in Canadian society and Citizenship and Immigration Canada’s Live-in Caregiver Program (LCP).

“Despite our large numbers, Filipinos in Canada are virtually invisible in the larger society,” says Roderick Carreon, Chairperson of SIKLAB-Canada. “Through our organizing work, we hope to increase our visibility and participation in Canadian society to address the most confronting issues facing our already marginalized community,” stated Carreon.

Carreon also encouraged members of the community to participate in Canadian society, but “participation in the sense that we do not become just vote banks during election times. Our participation should lead to increased visibility and ultimately to our successful settlement and integration in Canada,” he stated.

Filipinos are the third largest visible minority group in Canada, numbering over 500,000. The largest concentration of Filipinos in an urban area is in the Greater Toronto Area, with over 250,000.

The group also had a discussion on the Live in Caregiver Program based on the community’s perspective and the corresponding issues that the community face. According to Manny Sayo, a community researcher and one of the main discussants at the event, “almost half of the total population of the Filipino community in Canada have in one way or another been negatively impacted by the LCP.” He also stated that “the program systematically streams our community to poverty and that the impacts of the program would be felt by the succeeding generations.” Sayo encouraged the youth in the audience to deepen their understanding of the LCP and its impacts through community integration and use that knowledge for the benefit of the community.

The group also used the opportunity to reiterate their call on scrapping, what they call “the racist and anti-woman LCP”. The group is advocating for the abolition of the restrictive requirements of the program and is calling for landed immigrant status once they enter Canada.

The group also listened to inspiring messages from the organization’s Manitoba, Quebec and British Columbia chapters.

With chapters in Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia and Manitoba, SIKLAB Canada holds workshops, carries out political campaigns and is involved in various public policy engagement activities. Together with other progressive national organizations such as the National Alliance of Philippine Women in Canada and Filipino-Canadian Youth Alliance – Canada, SIKLAB seeks to end the cycle of poverty and strives to work towards the genuine settlement and integration of the Filipino community in the larger Canadian society and supports the movement for national democracy in the Philippines.

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For more information:

Contact: Yolyn Valenzuela- 647- 262- 2660

For immediate release: October 7, 2008

TORONTO, ON – With a federal election only a few days away, members of the local progressive Filipino community will gather this Saturday, October 11, 2008 to push for increased visibility in Canadian society and an end to exploitative labour programs like the Live-in Caregiver Program (LCP). The event to be held at the University of Toronto will also mark the three-year anniversary of the group’s advocacy and organizing work amongst Filipino migrant workers across Canada.

The dinner and forum will take place this Saturday, October 11, 2008 in the OISE building, University of Toronto, Room 2211 at 6:00 pm.

Organized by SIKLAB-Canada (Advance the Rights and Welfare of Filipino Overseas Workers) the event entitled, “Sulong Migranteng Pinoy! Struggle towards equality, genuine development and human rights,” expects to gather migrant workers, women and youth to discuss urgent issues facing the community, including the lack of visibility in Canadian society and Citizenship and Immigration Canada’s Live-in Caregiver Program (LCP).

Since the early 1908′s nearly 100,000 Filipino women and their families have come to Canada under the LCP and its predecessor the Foreign Domestic Movement (FDM). Filipino women make up 96% of workers under the LCP.

“Despite our large numbers, Filipinos in Canada are virtually invisible in the larger society,” says Roderick Carreon, Chairperson of SIKLAB-Canada. “Through our organizing work we hope to increase our visibility and participation in Canadian society,” he said.

Filipinos are the third largest visible minority group in Canada, numbering over 500,000. The largest concentration of Filipinos in an urban area is in Toronto, with over 250,000 of them in Greater Toronto Area alone.

“As live-in caregivers in Canada, we exist in the shadows of the Canadian society,” says Kelly Botengan, SIKLAB-Ontario spokesperson, who came to Canada under the LCP. “Although our labour contributes greatly to the Canadian economy, our temporary status has ultimately silenced us.” According to Botengan, under the program, caregivers must fulfill the 24 month within 36 months of live-in work requirement before they can apply for their permanent residency status.

“Many restrictive conditions of the LCP leave many live-in caregivers with no choice but to stay in their employers houses and suffer from exploitative working conditions,” states Botengan.

“We are calling for the scrapping of the LCP because of the legacy of the negative impact this program has had on our women and our community,” said Carreon.

SIKLAB identifies that aside from the LCP, the lack of professional accreditation is a major cause of the chronic poverty the community suffers from.

According to Statistics Canada, Filipinos are twice as more likely to have a university degree than the rest of the Canadian population, but generally have lower incomes than the national average.

“Our nurses work as live-in caregivers and our professionals are segregated to low-paying jobs,” says Jean-Marc Daga, member of the Filipino Canadian Youth Alliance-Ontario (FCYA-ON).

Organizers say the event will commemorate the three years of educating, organizing and mobilizing work of SIKLAB across Canada. With chapters in Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia, the migrant workers group holds workshops, carries out political campaigns and is involved in various public policy engagement activities. Together with other progressive national organizations such as the National Alliance of Philippine Women in Canada and Filipino-Canadian Youth Alliance – Canada, SIKLAB seeks to end this cycle of poverty and strives to work towards the genuine settlement and integration of the Filipino community in the larger Canadian society and supports the movement for national democracy in the Philippines.

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For more information, please contact:

• Toronto: Magkaisa Centre c/o Yolyn Valenzuela at: 416-519-2553
  
• email: siklab-on@magkaisacentre.org

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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As progressive Filipinos in Canada, we support the civil complaint of Marichu Suarez Baoanan alleging trafficking, forced labour, peonage and racketeering against her former employer, Lauro Liboon Baja Jr. and his family. Baja is a 71-year old retired former Philippine ambassador to the United Nations and current foreign affairs consultant of Philippine Senate President Manuel Villar.

According to reports, Baoanan, a 39-year old nursing graduate from the Philippines, arrived in the United States in January 2006 with a diplomatic “red” passport and visa, as a “personal employee” of Ambassador Baja. She says she paid P250,000 to Baja’s wife, Norma Baja in agreement for exchange of transportation to the U.S, a visa, work authorization and help in finding a nursing job. Instead, she says she was forced to work in the five-story Philippine consular residence 16 hours a day, seven days a week and only received $200 for three months of work. She says she also received abuse from Baja’s grandson who was allowed to hit her.

It enrages us that many Philippine government officials continue to live in over-indulgence and splendor, exploiting and oppressing women workers who are forced to leave the Philippines in order to support their families back home.

The chronic economic crisis under the government of Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo continues to force over 3,000 Filipino workers abroad every day. Her anti-people policies and the continuing plunder of the country’s wealth and resources by the elite few and foreigners push us abroad in droves.

The case of Baoanan is similar to countless other cases of Filipina live-in caregivers in Canada. We recall the case of “Precious” a live-in caregiver in Canada who was forced to work for her Taiwanese employer in 2004 for 17 hours a day at 59 cents per hour for two months with no overtime or holiday pay. She was also only given one day off in two months of work. Reports of her case sparked a resolution in the Philippine House of Representatives by progressive party-list representatives of Anakpawis, Bayan Muna and Gabriela party-list groups to call on the Department of Foreign Affairs to investigate and protect women workers in Canada under the LCP.

Since the early 1908′s, nearly 100,000 Filipino women have come to Canada under the Canadian government’s Live-in Caregiver Program (LCP). The LCP sentences these women to a lifetime of deskilling and low-wage work, strips them of their dignity and leaves them vulnerable to all forms of abuse at the hands of their employer.

Organizations across Canada, namely under the National Alliance of Philippine Women in Canada, SIKLAB (Advance and Uphold the Rights of Overseas Filipino Workers) and Filipino-Canadian Youth Alliance have been calling for the scrapping of the racist and anti-woman LCP because of the negative short and long-term impacts we have seen on our women and community over the last three decades.

The recent deaths of live-in caregivers like Editha Mangaoang, Jocelyn Dulnuan and Arcelie Laoagan, and the children of former live-in caregivers: Jomar Lanot, Deeward Ponte, and Charle Dalde point to the harshest impacts of the LCP.

It is only from the collective empowerment of the women themselves that they are able to learn and assert their rights against abusive employers. Over the past few years, several SIKLAB members in BC including “Precious” have been able to win back pay and compensation from their former employees by filing complaints with the labour board.

We salute the bravery of Marichu Baoanan to stand up against the abuse and exploitation she faced from the Baja family! We support her demands for unpaid wages and other compensations, a public apology from the Baja family and that the DFA conduct a full investigation of Baja and other diplomats with domestic workers and hold them accountable for any abuse.

Makibaka! Huwag matakot!
Scrap the racist and anti-woman Live-in Caregiver Progam!
End forced migration from the Philippines!
Justice for Marichu Baoanan and all Overseas Filipino Workers!

Statement issued: July 8, 2008 by the following organizations:

National Alliance of Philippine Women in Canada
SIKLAB – Canada (Advance and Uphold the Rights of Overseas Filipino Workers)
Filipino-Canadian Youth Alliance – Canada

Member organizations:

Vancouver: Kalayaan Centre
Philippine Women Centre of BC
SIKLAB-BC
Filipino-Canadian Youth Alliance -BC
Filipino Nurses Support Group – BC
BC Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines

Montreal: Kabit-Bisig Centre
Philippine Women Centre of Quebec
Kabataang Montreal
SIKLAB – Quebec
Filipino Nurses Support Group – Quebec

Toronto: Magkaisa Centre
Philippine Women Centre of Ontario
SIKLAB – Ontario
Filipino-Canadian Youth Alliance – Ontario

Winnipeg:
Philippine Women Centre of Manitoba

We congratulate the broad united front lead by Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN) along with other patriotic and progressive groups who rallied throughout the nation today and in Manila for reaching Mendiola Bridge near Malacanang Palace for the first time in two years. As overseas Filipinos in Canada, we are also outraged by the latest revelations regarding the controversial billion dollar Zhong Xing Telecommunications Equipment Limited (ZTE) National Broadband Network (NBN) deal.

The testimonies of Joey de Venecia III and Jun Lozada implicate top government officials in profiting from hundreds of millions of dollars in kickbacks and overpricing of the NBN deal. The government has tried desperately to cover-up this scandal and silence the whistleblowers and its opposition through coercion, kidnapping and intimidation tactics.

First Gentleman Mike Arroyo as well as other top government officials including the President herself are also implicated in the scandal.

It enrages us that this type of large-scale corruption is happening. This is not the first time that allegations of corruption have been directed against the Arroyo government. We also recall the illegitimacy of her presidency through massive cheating in the 2004 elections. We know that government corruption will eventually be shouldered by the Filipino people including overseas Filipinos in Canada who support their families back home.

As overseas Filipino migrant workers, youth and women, we are fed up with the seven years of the Arroyo regime because of the outstanding problems of joblessness, landlessness, poverty, lack of basic social services, forced migration and gross human
rights violations and political repression. The corruption and theft of the Arroyo regime enrages us while we toil in the most difficult, dirty and dangerous jobs abroad in order to send remittances home. While we face racism, violence and economic exploitation and oppression in the workforce, and continue to be the milking cows of the corrupt Arroyo government we know the local Philippine government consulates do little to nothing to advocate for our rights and welfare.

Instead of stealing more and more wealth for their own benefit and continuing to aggressively sell off its own people, the Arroyo government should be advocating for our rights and welfare as overseas Filipinos. More importantly, they should address the outstanding chronic economic and political crisis that forced us to migrate abroad.

The Filipino people including those overseas have had enough of this corrupt, fascist and fake US-Arroyo regime. We encourage and support the thousands of Filipinos who are bringing their outrage to the streets in various forms of protest. We know that it is only through another People Power that Arroyo can be removed from office.

We also support the call of the broad united front for a government to replace Arroyo that will promote the advancement of the people’s struggle for a sovereign, democratic, progressive and pro-people system.

We call on all progressive and patriotic Filipinos to register their support for the call to oust Arroyo and join in nationally-coordinated activities in the upcoming months.

Oust the corrupt, fake, puppet and fascist Arroyo! Pahirap sa migrante! Patalsikin si GMA!

February 25, 2008

Statement issued by:

SIKLAB – Canada (Advance and Uphold the Rights of
Overseas Filipino Workers)
Ugnayan ng Kabataang Pilipino sa Canada /
Filipino-Canadian Youth Alliance
National Alliance of Philippine Women in Canada
Filipino Nurses Support group – BC and Quebec