For immediate release
May 18, 2012

Toronto, ON—A crowd of over 70 participants gathered to celebrate and enrich an unfolding history of workers’ resistance during the May 10th opening night for the “Workers: Makers of History” exhibit, part of the Mayworks Festival of Working People and the Arts. Hosted at the Beit Zatoun house in downtown Toronto, the exhibit featured community-based art pieces that both depicted and transformed the Filipino Canadian community’s experiences as a transnational community largely composed of workers. Aside from highlighting various personal and collective narratives of struggle as immigrants and temporary workers, the exhibit moreover became a testament to the transformative capacity of art and culture to expand that narrative into realizing the community’s vision of becoming genuinely settled and integrated within Canadian society.

The exhibit is a culmination of a collaborative project between Marissa Largo, Toronto-based artist and educator, and the Maleta [Suitcase] Project. It featured pieces from both Largo’s “Maleta Stories” exhibit, which originally premiered in the world-renowned contemporary art event Nuit Blanche, and the Maleta Project, a community-based project by progressive Filipino Canadian organizations. Centred around the theme of migration, the exhibit wove together migration histories that spanned across generations and communities, the combination of which depicted both the reality of Canada’s history as a settler-nation and the limitless possibilities of transforming this history towards building a society wherein its immigrants and workers can achieve their full participation and entitlement as vital contributors to the society.

Represented in multimedia art pieces, the exhibit pushed and raised awareness of how neoliberal labour and immigration policies are changing the face of Canada today—particularly evidenced through the Filipino Canadian community’s marginalization as Canada’s largest source of cheap and disposable labour. Despite being one of Canada’s fastest growing communities, the combined impacts of these neoliberal policies in effect legislate the community into poverty and non-participation in Canadian society. Such targeted yet exploitative measures, implemented to ensure competitiveness in an otherwise struggling economy, moreover represents an assault to working people and undermines the overall working class struggle as a whole.

The opening night featured powerful keynote speeches and cultural performances from members of the Magkaisa Centre and the Mayworks Festival. A keynote speech by Marissa Largo remarked on art and culture by saying, “Community art practice…facilitates the creation of alternatives to a society, which has institutionalized marginalization for Filipinos and other groups as seen in our schools, communities, workplaces, and migration policies.”

While the exhibit proved to be an unequivocal pronouncement of the community’s resistance against being relegated into the margins, participants immediately recognized the significance of sharing their maleta stories and reclaiming our history as workers. As one participant shared, “I didn’t expect to be this moved by the exhibit. I came to this exhibit because it was part of the Festival, but I didn’t expect to be moved by it.”

Through its framework of community collaboration, critical engagement and developing art practice, the maleta stories at “Workers: Makers of History” presented a growing challenge against the dominant narrative, one that simply accepts Canada’s need for cheap labour, the current regressive changes in immigration, acts of austerity and its impacts on all working class Canadians. Borne out of an empowered process, the exhibit not only reclaimed the role of workers as the true makers of history, but also represented a foray into creating a new culture of resistance. This exhibit was also be part of the “Workers’ Struggles Amidst Neoliberal Globalization” conference educational series, a North American workers conference this August 11th and 12th.

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WATCH the “My Folks” music video, which debuted at the “Workers: Makers of History” exhibit

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

Tita, Elmer and members of the solidarity group came to our apartment to sing Christmas carols and progressive songs from the national democratic movement. This was the activity in Montreal that propelled us to join and be engaged in the support and solidarity movement for human rights and the restoration of civil liberties in the Philippines. Tita and Elmer were pioneers and leaders of this movement, which eventually spread across the country and continues today as part of the progressive movement of Filipinos and Filipino Canadians in Canada.

Throughout their stay in Montreal and in our continuous association with them, Elmer and Tita had always been consistent and uncompromising in their support for and solidarity with the struggle of the Filipino people for social and national liberation. Tita was always present in all of our major political, fundraising and other solidarity activities. For us who joined this progressive movement of Filipinos, Tita was an inspiration and a model to follow in building a support and solidarity network. She was among the first who planted the seeds of progressive and militant politics within the Filipino community—a progressive politics that eventually grew and expanded nationwide within the Filipino Canadian community. This pioneering work has earned Tita a rightful place in the history of Filipinos in Canada and the progressive Filipino Canadian movement.

Today, this progressive movement is represented by the Congress of Progressive Filipino Canadians—an umbrella organization of youth, women and immigrant workers of Philippine origin that works for the genuine settlement and integration of Filipinos, along with their full entitlement and participation in all facets of Canadian society.

Tita, we are all thankful for your pioneering efforts and in helping plant the seeds of progressive politics in the Filipino Canadian community. You will forever live in the hearts and memories of Filipino Canadians who cherish the struggle for democracy, human rights and international solidarity. You are part of the collective history of our continuing struggle for genuine settlement and integration in Canadian society.

Cecilia Diocson and Emmanuel Sayo
On behalf of the Congress of Progressive Filipino Canadians

Toronto, ON—Amidst the engulfing impacts of the economic crisis on workers’ lives, a national conference aims to spark up vital discussions towards generating a wave of resistance for genuine social change. The Congress of Progressive Filipino Canadians (CPFC), its member organizations and allies invite all to participate in “Workers Struggles Amidst Neoliberal Globalization,” to be held on August 11^th and 12^th at the United Steel Workers Hall in Toronto. As workers’ lives and conditions are being edged onto the precipice of society by the crisis of neoliberal globalization, the conference hopes to meet this critical moment by underscoring the important role that all workers have to play in addressing the challenges and opportunities at hand.

We are at a current juncture whereby the impacts of neoliberal globalization can no longer be denied. The fragile state of the economy, otherwise touted as having reached a state of recovery, can instead be seen and felt clearly in the everyday struggles faced by multitudes of people at a global scale. Workers all over the world are forcibly conceding to neoliberal measures against their wages, employment and living conditions—such as cutbacks on wages and social services, the contractualization of work and labour and the imposition of austerity against our most basic and essential needs.

Such solutions for short-term political and profit goals are creating a long-term social and human toll in the lives and futures of generations to come. Rather than simply contending with the impacts of the neoliberal agenda, this conference is an opportunity to understand the historic and present role of the working class in the process of social transformation. By generating a confluence of perspectives about our common struggles, this conference also aims to build and strengthen linkages amongst progressive organizations, groups and individuals towards advancing our common goals.

While the neoliberal agenda has undoubtedly made itself present to the lives of all workers, it is those who are the very margins, especially women and workers of colour, that are being pushed even further. This conference also aims to understand the importance and essentiality of race and gender in the working class movement by placing the struggles of migrant and immigrant workers at the forefront. Given all the devastating assaults on workers’ conditions on all fronts, this two-day conference will generate unity amongst workers to move beyond conversation and into action by building a movement that will bring forth genuine social change and transformation.

REGISTER NOW: http://bit.ly/workersconference

“Workers’ Struggles Amidst Neoliberal Globalization”
North American Conference
August 11 & 12, 2012
United Steelworkers Hall
25 Cecil Street (Spadina& College)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Organized by the Counterspin secretariat (CPFC & allies)

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

SIKLAB Canada, a progressive Filipino Canadian workers organization, announces its new national council for the year 2012. The council members include Cora Cadiz, National Chairperson; Yolyn Valenzuela, National Vice-Chairperson (East); Arlene Oropel, National Vice-Chairperson (West); and Bryan Taguba, Secretary General. Since October 2005, SIKLAB Canada has been steadfast in advancing and upholding the struggles of Filipino Canadian workers through their program of educating, organizing and mobilizing the community towards their just and genuine settlement and integration in Canadian society.

In recognition of the need to build a genuine movement for social change achieved through nothing less than class struggle as workers, women and youth, the new composition of the National Council are taking SIKLAB Canada into greater heights with its involvement in the organizing for the upcoming conference titled “Workers’ Struggles Amidst Neoliberal Globalization,” to be held in 11th until the 12th of August in Toronto. This national conference aims to put forth a vital and critical discussion amongst progressive organizations, groups and individuals about our struggles and conditions as workers under the present crisis of capitalism.

Since its establishment as a national organization, SIKLAB Canada has been at the forefront in exposing and opposing the systemic violence perpetuated against Filipino Canadian workers, particularly those who are under Citizenship and Immigration Canada’s Live-in Caregiver Program (LCP) and the Temporary Foreign Workers Program (TFWP). The current downward shift in the Canadian economy has all but intensified Canada’s dependence on cheap and disposable labour, which has both exacerbated our marginalization as temporary workers and has normalized the casualization and racialization of labour overall.

At the unseated heart of the continued competitiveness of the Canadian economy is the devaluation of our labour, manifested in the expansion of temporary migration schemes such as the LCP. “We have long witnessed the impacts of the LCP as a program that has legislated both the poverty of the Filipino Canadian community and the oppression of the thousands of Filipino Canadian women who enter through the program, while it has erstwhile been touted as a ‘model program’ by CIC and has facilitated the expansion of the TFWP,” says Cadiz, current National Chairperson and founding member of SIKLAB BC and the Philippine Women Centre of BC. “As such, we refuse this continued cycle of poverty and temporariness by heightening our struggle against all measures imposed by neoliberal globalization against all workers’ lives.”

“The fight to scrap the LCP and the call for universal childcare has long been a political campaign of SIKLAB. It is at the very core of our struggle as progressive women, and as a community,” states Cadiz. “With every move to silence and quell our growing movement, SIKLAB, along with the women and youth, will all the more be vigilant in our struggle against the rottenness and hypocrisy of Canada’s neoliberal agenda of globalization,” she adds.

The new SIKLAB national council vows to continue to lead the Filipino Canadian community’s struggle for a just and genuine settlement and integration, genuine development and empowerment through the implementation of its national program and campaigns. The council looks forward to making definitive leaps and bounds in reaffirming its commitment in helping advance the struggle of the working class in Canada.

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

Toronto, ON—Once again, witness the Filipino Canadian community’s histories and experiences unfold as the “Maleta [Suitcase] Project” becomes featured at the 27th annual Mayworks Festival of Working People and the Arts. Titled “Workers: Makers of History,” this exhibition brings to the fore the struggles of the Filipino Canadian community, who now compose Canada’s largest source of immigrants and temporary foreign workers, as a pivotal part of the overall struggle of the working class in Canada. The exhibit will run from May 10th until the 13th, and will feature an opening night that will be accompanied by keynote speeches by artists and cultural performances. This exhibit will also be part of the “Workers’ Struggles Amidst Neoliberal Globalization” conference educational series.

Featuring pieces from the Grand Maleta Art Exhibit that was originally held in October 2010, each collectively-produced art piece vividly depicts the struggles of a transnational community largely composed of workers—the majority of whom are relegated to low-wage, casualized and deskilling service sector jobs as Canada’s pool of cheap labour, whose vital contributions are fundamental to the sustenance of an economy wracked by crisis.

Exposing the impacts of Canadian immigration and labour policies through Filipino Canadian narratives of migration, the exhibit will unravel the community’s collective experience and resistance against systemic racism, economic marginalization, deskilling and non-accreditation. These systemic barriers segregate the community into a low-wage and highly disposable labour force, yet are tantamount to the boundless potential of mounting a comprehensive struggle that encompasses resistance against the intersecting forces that marginalize the community. “This exhibit is a standing invitation to all visitors from all walks of life to share their ‘maleta stories’—their direct or distant stories of migration to Canada—and to contribute to the growth of the installation,” says Marissa Largo, Toronto-based artist and educator.

With the austerity measures brought upon by the Conservative government that have worsened workers’ conditions, as seen through cutbacks on public services, wide-scale casualization of jobs and the increase of temporary migration schemes, all workers now face a reality that locks them into a state of permanent impermanence. Rather than succumbing to this state of forced temporariness and the denial of our contributions as members of the working class, “Workers: Makers of History” will celebrate the multitudes who dare to struggle for their rightful place as makers of history. Fuelled by the need to advance our full participation and entitlement in Canadian society, the exhibit will surely uphold the legacy of the working class of expanding the practice and consciousness of freedom.

“Workers: Makers of History”
A community-based arts exhibit from the “Maleta [Suitcase] Project”
Featured at the Mayworks Festival of Working People and the Arts
Opening night: May 10, 7:00 – 9:00 PM
Exhibit runs from May 10th – 13th
Beit Zatoun House
612 Markham Street (Bathurst & Bloor)

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

Toronto, ON—The progressive Filipino Canadian community, alongside the member organizations of the Magkaisa Centre, sends its militant greetings and solidarity with the hundreds of campus food service workers across Toronto demanding their entitlement in calling for new work contracts that allow for better wages and benefits. Campus food workers from York University and the University of Toronto, along with the Unite Here Local 75 union, took to the streets of Toronto on April 16th to assert to corporations like Aramark and Compass that their anti-worker and anti-union tactics, such as locking workers into insufficient working contracts and creating strategic divisions amongst workers, will not keep them from organizing to obtain better wages and benefits. Rather than being immobilized by such practices, campus food workers across are exercising their pivotal role in advancing the rights and struggles of all Canadian workers.

The conditions that have lead to workers demanding for new contracts include working full time hours on contractual and casual basis which lead to working without benefits, and earning poverty wages. In many cases, workers well beyond their youth only earn “student” wages that are below Ontario’s $10.25 per hour minimum wage. With the majority of campus food workers being employed by Aramark or Compass, two global food service corporations, workers toil through the most menial tasks without sufficient payback.

It is not an accident that within the university campuses, Aramark and Compass have sectioned workers in different areas of the university campuses to have different contracts from one another even though all face similar working conditions. The strategic move of Aramark and Compass to divide workers within the campus is a clear example of neoliberal practices perpetuated by private corporations that undermine and divest from workers’ lives, yet inevitably constrict their genuine productivity and development as individuals and as a whole. These are barriers that corporations would like to uphold for their private advantage and are used to silence workers and inhibit their rights to call for better conditions. In recognition of the rights and conditions at stake, workers refuse to let these ploys keep them from organizing across campuses.

It is even more crucial to remember that the majority of campus food workers come from racialized and marginalized communities who are relegated to the service sectors, earning minimum wages in jobs many Canadians will turn their noses to. Already legislated into poverty by Canada’s neoliberal immigration and labour policies, alongside the cuts to settlement funding and public services, this further exemplifies how working class people of colour are highly impacted by Canada’s austerity measures as they are pushed to the bottom of the economy and systemically made immobile. Yet the current demands and mobilizations of the campus food service workers testify to the agency that all workers in Canada have in standing tall and marching forward with militancy in voicing out not only against their poor contracts, but also against the intensifying implementation of Canada’s neoliberal agenda.

Together with the York and UofT food service workers, we will continue to expose such shameful corporate practices and will refuse to accept the exploitation that companies such as Aramark and Compass subject workers to. Alongside other racialized, marginalized and working class peoples, we will continue to support trade union and other democratic rights of the working class in the pursuit of its historic mission of fighting for social liberation.

Stop the anti-worker practices by global food service corporations!
Advance the democratic rights of workers and promote fair agreements with campus food service workers!
Expose and oppose the neoliberal project!
Advance the movement towards genuine settlement and integration!

Support Unite Here Food Service Workers by signing this petition: http://bit.ly/unitehere75petition

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For more information, contact:
Charie Siddayao
(416) 519-2553
ukpc-on@magkaisacentre.org
www.magkaisacentre.org
Facebook and Twitter: ugnayanontario

Toronto, ON—The Congress of Progressive Filipino Canadians (CPFC) and its allies welcome and invite all to participate in “Workers’ Struggles Amidst Neoliberal Globalization,” a North American conference which will be held on August 11^th – 12^th at the United Steel Workers Hall in Toronto. The conference aims to put forth a critical and dynamic dialogue amongst progressive organizations, groups and individuals about our struggles and conditions as workers under the present crisis of capitalism.

Throughout history, we have witnessed and felt imperialism’s assaults on the working class. Now more than ever, workers’ lives are becoming more insecure and unstable as the neoliberal agenda of globalization intensifies its attacks on workers’ employment, wages and standard of living.

This conference will provide an opportunity for all to discuss and deepen our understanding of workers’ realities and struggles under neoliberal globalization. Through this gathering, we hope to further understand the historic role of the working class in building a movement for social change.

“Workers’ Struggles Amidst Neoliberal Globalization”
North American Conference
August 11 & 12, 2012
United Steelworkers Hall
25 Cecil Street
Toronto, ON Canada

Organized by the Counterspin secretariat (CPFC & allies)

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For more information, contact the Conference Secretariat:
John Kevin Nerier or Joy C. Sioson
(416) 519-2553
pwc-on@magkaisacentre.org
www.magkaisacentre.org

Objectives:

1. Address the unique struggles and challenges of East and Southeast Asian youths
2. Exchange and develop ideas on youth development between different ethnic groups and community sectors
3. Explore methods and community resources to nurture youth’s potential

Panel:
Youth representatives from Chinese, Korean, Filipino, Vietnamese community, community leaders from education, economy, sociology, mental health and government sectors

Date: April 14, 2012

Venue: Scarborough Civic Center, Council Chamber
150 Borough Drive, Toronto

Time: 2:30 to 4:00pm

Capacity: 150

Registration: online, by email or in person

Target: Youth, parents and people who care about youth

Registration Deadline: Apr 9, 2012 (Monday)

Admission: Free (First come, first serve)

For immediate release
March 22, 2012

Toronto, ON—In celebration of this year’s International Women’s Day, over 80 participants gathered to heighten their militancy and strengthen their resistance at the Philippine Women Centre of Ontario’s forum, “Taking the Revolutionary Road: Heightening Women’s Resistance Against Neoliberalism.” Organized in collaboration with Ugnayan ng Kabataang Pilipino sa Canada/Filipino Canadian Youth Alliance—Ontario at York University and the University of Toronto (UKPC/FCYA-ON @ York and UofT), the forum engaged participants from both campuses and beyond during each back-to-back session. The forum also set a successful start for the upcoming string of educational events in preparation for the conference titled “Workers Struggles Amidst Neoliberal Globalization,” to be held later in August this year.

In outright refusal of the intensifying violence perpetuated against women in light of the current downward economic spiral, the forum challenged all women to reclaim their rightful role in taking the revolutionary road towards building a women’s movement that strives for nothing less than genuine equality and liberation for all women and humanity as a whole. Speakers Rachel Gorman, Tania Das Gupta, Evelyn Encalada and Cecilia Diocson focused on various aspects of women’s struggles and resistance that altogether highlighted the need to build a strong women’s movement based on an anti-imperialist and working-class perspective.

In “Occupying identity politics,” Dr. Rachel Gorman, professor at York University, delved into the event’s theme by presenting some key ideas and challenges in sustaining revolutionary movements. She described the current social and political landscape within the terms of “global apartheid,” wherein the delineations of race, class and gender oppression are tightly circumscribed to further workers’ exploitation and to sustain an economy in crisis—seen especially in the temporary migration programs and labour casualization mechanisms that divide workers to harness profits and resources. As such, the challenges of this global apartheid system must be met head-on without recourse to liberal or reformist solutions and must recognize the various aspects of people’s identities as crucial parts of a collective working-class struggle.

Speakers Dr. Tania Das Gupta and Evelyn Encalada (from Justicia for Migrant Workers), both university educators and activists, shared their experiences and insights on the specific issues of women and workers in the cleaning and healthcare sectors, as well as Seasonal Agricultural Workers, respectively. They describe how the implementation of neoliberal policies has commodified and devalued women’s labour as migrants and as casual workers alongside the privatization of public services and the casualization of work, the impacts of which can no longer be denied by workers as a whole. This endless drive for cheap labour and the nature of work that racialized and migrant workers perform can give rise to their boundless potential for breaking down such forms of oppression through self-organization and political action.

As well, Cecilia Diocson, Executive Director of the National Alliance of Philippine Women in Canada (NAPWC), continued the discussion on temporary work programs and migrant labour by focusing on the Live-in Caregiver Program (LCP) and by sharing the NAPWC’s struggle to scrap this racist and anti-woman program. The continued existence of the LCP as a de facto mechanism to serve Canada’s growing childcare and healthcare needs has entrenched a relentless reliance on women’s exploitation and oppression as domestic workers, which then stands in direct opposition to the goals and values of the women’s movement and the overall struggle for women’s liberation. With over 90% of women coming through the LCP being from the Philippines, the Filipino Canadian community’s poverty and social exclusion is a testament to the downward development of women as legislated through this program.

As emphasized by each speaker, now is a crucial moment to expose the realities of imperialist globalization that have lead to the downward development of all women, majority of whom are from the Third World. As the forum demonstrated, not only are race and gender are essential aspects of the revolutionary working-class movement, but also that the possibilities of furthering this movement are well and alive today. Members of PWC-ON and UKPC/FCYA-ON@York and UofT will continue to be steadfast in exposing and opposing the neoliberal agenda’s attacks on all women and will continue to advance the struggle for genuine women’s equality and liberation.

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For more information, contact:
Philippine Women Centre of Ontario
(416) 519-2553
pwc-on@magkaisacentre.org
www.magkaisacentre.org

Toronto, ON—For this year’s International Women’s Day, members of the Philippine Women Centre of Ontario (PWC-ON) call on everyone to celebrate women’s historic role in social change by heightening militancy and gathering at their forum titled “Taking the Revolutionary Road: Heightening Women’s Resistance Against Neoliberalism.” Organized in collaboration with the Filipino Canadian Youth Alliance of Ontario (UKPC/FCYA-ON) at York University and at the University of Toronto, the forum is set to take place on Thursday, March 8that York University and on Friday, March 9that University of Toronto’s Ontario Institute for Studies in Education. The forum also forms part of an educational series in anticipation of “Worker’s Struggles Amidst Neoliberal Globalization,” a worker’s conference to be held in August 2012.

In celebration of the working-class women who took to the streets towards the creation of the first-ever International Women’s Day, this forum hopes to advance the pivotal role that women play in creating history and to continue this legacy of resistance by confronting the present challenges that women face under neoliberalism. Through neoliberalism’s racist, anti-worker, and anti-woman policies, women are forced to absorb the burdens of an economy in crisis. This forum calls on all women to heighten their resistance as key contributors in creating and leading the movement for genuine change.

An empowering and dynamic line-up of speakers will surely enliven all participants to assert the rightful role that women play as leaders in paving the revolutionary road, one that will lead towards a true realization of a collective vision of their community’s full participation and entitlement within Canadian society. Cecilia Diocson is the Executive Director of the National Alliance of Philippine Women in Canada (NAPWC) and has been a tireless advocate for over 25years for the equality, development and human rights of Filipino women and the Filipino Canadian community. York University professor Rachel Gorman is a Marxist feminist scholar whose research is committed to advancing a critical analysis of race, class and gender, particularly in the areas of health and disability studies. Professor Tania Das Gupta also teaches at York University and her scholarship is dedicated to developing critical perspectives in the areas of: the South Asian diaspora, anti-racism, immigration issues and women, work and families. Evelyn Encalada is an educator, researcher and community organizer, whose PhD research focuses on the Mexican women’s transnational labour movement. She is also a co-founder of Justicia for Migrant Workers (J4MW), an award-winning political collective that has promoted the rights of migrant farm workers in Canada since 2001.

“Though we contribute immensely to Canadian society, women’s perspectives and capacities for change are generally marginalized and denied,” states Lydia Vamvouras, member of PWC-ON and UKPC@UofT. “Since there is a real need for our voices to be raised, we will bring our analysis and our histories of resistance to the forefront through this forum.” With the forum’s focus on heightening not only awareness but also knowledge of current policies, it invites all participants to create the necessary change to confront the impact of these policies on their everyday lives. For workers, youth, and women, it is time to bring out steadfast criticism against neoliberal policies, armed with the collective capacity to effect change, assert our rights for genuine settlement and integration, and to struggle for true equality.

“Taking the Revolutionary Road: Heightening Women’s Resistance Against Neoliberalism”
A forum to celebrate International Women’s Day
Thursday, March 8th, 6-8pm at 313 Student Centre, York University
Friday, March 9th, 7-9pm at 5250 OISE, University of Toronto

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For more information, contact:
Qara Clemente or Charie Siddayao
(416) 519-2553
pwc-on@magkaisacentre.org
www.magkaisacentre.org
http://bit.ly/iwdrev

TAKING THE REVOLUTIONARY ROAD:
HEIGHTENING WOMEN’S RESISTANCE AGAINST NEOLIBERALISM
A forum by the Philippine Women Centre of Ontario to celebrate International Women’s Day

GUEST SPEAKERS:
Cecilia Diocson, Executive Director of the National Alliance of Philippine Women in Canada
Rachel Gorman, Professor at York University
Tania Das Gupta, Professor at York University
Evelyn Encalada, Researcher and community organizer

THURSDAY, MARCH 8, 6 to 8pm
York University, 313 Student Centre

FRIDAY, MARCH 9, 7 to 9pm
University of Toronto, OISE 5250

CO-ORGANIZED BY UKPC@YORK AND UofT
Ugnayan ng Kabtaang Pilipino sa Canada/Filipino Canadian Youth Alliance
at York University and the University of Toronto

Part of the “Worker’s Struggles Amidst Neoliberal Globalization” Conference Educational Series

In celebration of International Women’s Day, members of the Philippine Women Centre of Ontario in collaboration with UKPC at York and UofT are welcoming all to a forum that aims to heighten women’s resistance against neoliberal globalization. The forum is set to take place at both York University and the University of Toronto, where guest speakers Ms. Cecilia Diocson, Executive Director of the National Alliance of Philippine Women in Canada,  York University professors Dr. Rachel Gorman and Dr. Tania Das Gupta, as well as researcher and community organizer Evelyn Encalada, will invite everyone to join in a dynamic discussion about the impacts of neoliberalism that strike at the core of our very lives as women.

Amidst the onslaught of the crisis of neoliberal globalization, women all over the world are facing intensifying oppression and exploitation, particularly as the commodification of their labour and sexuality are upholding the global economy. Thus, the intensifying attacks of neoliberal globalization present both grueling demands and an exciting challenge—as it relegates women’s labour and sexuality as commodities for sale, women also have the opportunity to act not merely as economic units but also as agents for our own emancipation and collective liberation. This forum will build solidarity amongst all women, workers and youth to reclaim not only the women’s movement but also to advance their place in the struggle for all of humanity.

For more information, contact:
Qara Clemente or Charie Siddayao
(416) 519-2553
pwc-on@magkaisacentre.org
www.magkaisacentre.org

Toronto, ON – Progressive Filipino Canadian women are once again indignant as another mainstream article from the Toronto Star titled “Shortage of live-in caregivers leads to ‘nanny poaching’” induced dehumanizing, anti-worker, and racist sentiments that normalize the idea that thousands of Filipino women under the Live-In Caregiver Program (LCP) are cheap and disposable commodities that could easily be acquired and traded. By touting the myth that a shortage of available live-in caregivers are leaving employers and nanny agencies helpless, the mainstream media once again, masks the reality of marginalization, deskilling, and underdevelopment of women from the Global South who are recruited under this program. The National Alliance of Philippine Women in Canada (NAPWC) demands that in lieu of misleading and irresponsible statements, the media must challenge all Canadians to question and unmask the real agenda behind the Canadian government’s failure to provide a genuine solution to implementing a national strategy for childcare and healthcare as requisite to Canada’s genuine development and the successful settlement, integration and full participation of its immigrant communities.

Amidst the consecutive appearance of sensationalized news pieces on the LCP, the NAPWC remains resolute in calling for the scrapping of the LCP along with Temporary Foreign Workers Program (TFWP) as modern day slavery programs. NAPWC firmly asserts that the TFWP and LCP are labour programs created by the government to meet the increasing demand of upper and middle-income class Canadians to acquire cheap and dispensable labourers in the absence of a national childcare strategy and deteriorating health care system.

Built upon four repressive fundamental pillars, caregivers under the LCP are required to fulfill their mandatory live-in requirement in two years within 48 months, work only for one employer at a time and have temporary working status—all of which make caregivers vulnerable to all forms of abuse and exploitation. Due to the program’s eligibility requirements, a majority of Filipino women under the LCP are either professional nurses in the Philippines or have a university-level background on healthcare or other professional fields. Though undeniably skilled, the LCP relegates the workers under it into unskilled jobs that often pays them at a rate lower than the minimum wage. Aside from performing childcare, care for the elderly or care for people with disabilities, this program ties its workers to perform additional housework such as cleaning, cooking, walking the dogs, washing the car and other unspecified and often dehumanizing duties that are outside the specifications of the program. Thus, as a response to what one nanny agency stated in the article, women under the LCP leave their employer not because there are simply other employers willing to accept them, but rather as the stringent and exploitative conditions inherent within the program leave them no other choice. Such conditions, including being on-call for 24 hours/7 days a week, clearly show that this is a job that no other Canadian would take.

Contrary to the “shortage” suggested by the article, recent regulatory changes to the LCP have been implemented alongside the program’s current expansion. These band-aid solutions, such as requiring employers to pay for travel and agency fees, did not address the abuses and violations within the program. Since the employer-driven program reflects immigration’s labour-driven trajectory, no amount of regulation and enforcement will ever be effective. As well, the recent issuing of 10,000 open work permits were implemented in light of a hundreds and thousands-long backlog of permanent residency applications. Such changes only continue to deny the Filipino Canadian community their just and genuine settlement and integration as Filipino Canadian women and their families continue to be relegated into a cycle of poverty as Canada’s permanent source of cheap labour even years after completing the program.

Scrap the anti-woman and racist LCP!
Universal childcare and healthcare for all!
Expose and oppose neoliberal policies!
End the exploitation, march for genuine women’s liberation!

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For more information, contact:

Toronto, ON — On this National Day of Action to Drop Tuition Fees, members of the Filipino Canadian Youth Alliance—Ontario (UKPC/FCYA-ON) stand in solidarity with the Canadian Federation of Students and all students as we demand to drop tuition fees and student debt and to advance our entitlement towards universally accessible post-secondary education in Canada. As students who come from a marginalised community, the high cost and unabated increase of tuition fees not only denies us our right to education, but also presents a major barrier that prevents us from genuinely settling, integrating and successfully participating in Canadian society.

With the onslaught of Canada’s neoliberal agenda, as seen through the rabid implementation of austerity measures and cutbacks on public and social services, public funding for universities are unabashedly slashed in favour of the deregulation of higher education, all for the sake of corporate interests and profitability. As these measures intensify the privatization and corporatization of public education, it is not a coincidence that tuition fees have skyrocketed to almost 10% on average within the past two years and continue to rise. Currently, student debt in Canada amounts to $15 billion, a staggering figure which reveals that most students are sentenced to a life of debt and economic uncertainty.

In Ontario alone, students pay the highest tuition fees in Canada—numbering $6,640 per year on average—a 244% increase from what students used to pay 20 years ago. To quell growing dissatisfaction amongst students, Premier Dalton McGuinty garnered support by making education central to his political platform and touted his announcement to provide 30% tuition cuts, a move that privileges benefits for middle-class students. Only 1/3 of all eligible students will receive the 30% reduction. Instead of implementing policy changes to increase provincial budget in education and reduce tuition fees altogether, the provincial Liberal government chose to implement band-aid solutions to address this growing crisis. In line with the politics of distraction, this move is nothing more than an effort to pit students against each other by privileging the needs of certain groups of students over others. McGuinty’s promise is rendered meaningless by those students who need tuition cuts the most: such as part-time students who come from working-class backgrounds, mature students and single mothers who struggle to make ends meet.

For Filipino Canadians, the high cost of post-secondary education presents harsher realities that affect the community at large. Starting from the non-accreditation of foreign educational credentials and non-recognition of previous professional training, Filipino Canadians and other racialised immigrants are often stuck in dead-end, low-paying jobs, thus making post-secondary education even more difficult to access. Worse, for temporary foreign workers under the Live-in Caregiver Program, the issue of accessibility does not even factor into the equation as downright policy restrictions prohibit them from taking educational upgrading courses.

As the older generation of Filipino Canadians has limited access to post-secondary education, it is then no surprise that the youth and students are further pushed into the margins as they inherit the community’s cycle of poverty. Often required to work to support and supplement their families’ incomes, Filipino Canadian youth alongside previous generations are streamlined to become Canada’s permanent sources of cheap labour. Academic and community-based research has shown that Filipino Canadian youth experience staggering rates of downward social mobility, and now have one of the highest high school drop-out rates in major cities such as Vancouver and Montreal. These form the crux of the social, economic and financial barriers that Filipino Canadian youth continue to face in accessing education.

We, members of the Filipino Canadian Youth Alliance—Ontario, assert our position that education should be a basic right and not a privilege for the few. We will continue to expose and oppose any government’s neoliberal efforts to slash public funding in education that prevent marginalised individuals and communities from fully participating in Canadian society. Together with all racialised, marginalised and working class students and communities, we will march forward and continue our fight to make education accessible to all towards our genuine development as individuals and as a society.

Drop the fees! Eliminate tuition fees and student debt now!
Stop the privatization of public education!
Onwards with the demand for accessible education!
Advance the movement for genuine settlement and integration!

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

The Filipino Canadian Youth Alliance, Philippine Women Centre of BC and SIKLAB for Migrant Workers condemn the racist acts of neo-Nazi group Blood and Honour for setting a young Filipino man on fire while sleeping on a couch on Commercial Drive in 2009. We hold Canada’s legal and policing system accountable for not acting fast enough to penalize and dissolve the white supremacist group. On Feb. 13, during the hearing of the men charged with burning the Filipino man, Filipino Canadians will take to the streets in protest of the racist acts.

Despite being the third largest minority group in Canada, Filipino youth are faced with racist systemic barriers and limited access to resources in Canada. Education obtained in the Philippines is often not recognized, pushing college kids back to high school upon arriving in Canada. There are few public services that integrate Filipinos successfully while being culturally-sensitive to the realities and struggles of migration.

In the case children of Filipino nannies entering Canada through the Live-in Caregiver Program, reunification with their families occurs 5 to 15 years after being separated. Depression and anxiety are prevalent in the Filipino community due to separation from family and isolation. Because of meager earnings and unrecognized qualifications by the Canadian state, poverty amongst first generation Filipinos permeates into future generations to create a legacy of poverty. As a result, Filipino youth are overrepresented in escalating high school and post-secondary drop-out rates, low-income communities, and service sector jobs.

Racism and class oppression of people of colour still exists. Canada has and continues to be built on the backs of exploited immigrant communities. These forms of systemic racism and violence that the educational, immigration and labour systems have imposed on Filipino Canadians have marginalized Filipino communities since the 1980s, when foreign credentials became invalidated and Filipinos were streamlined into the Live-In Caregiver Program (LCP). Today, Filipinos are reduced to “working horses,” or as Immigration Minister Jason Kenney has said, “economic units.”

Canada’s history is muddled with racist policies such as the colonization and genocide of First Nations people, the Chinese Head Tax, the Japanese internment during WWII, the refusal of entry to Indian refugees on the Komagatu Maru ship in 1914 and the recent Sri Lankan refugees on the MV Sun Ship in the summer of 2010. Through these race-based policies, the state has effectively sowed an anti-immigrant sense into Canadians.

Filipino communities have also faced a history of racism and violence in Canada, with the banning of Filipino youth at the Scarborough Town Center in 1993, the hate graffiti and physical violence against Filipino youth at the Vancouver Technical School in 1999, and the deaths of two young Filipino men, both sons of nannies who entered Canada under the LCP. Mao Jomar Lanot was a victim of school bullies at Vancouver’s Sir Charles Tupper Elementary in 2003 and Jeffrey Reodica was shot to death in the back by two plain-clothed Toronto police officers in 2004. Filipino youth have been targets of police brutality and racial profiling, as they are immediately labeled as gang members.

In 1999 following the racist dismissal of Filipino students from Van Tech, the Kalayaan Centre formed a group named “Filipino-Canadians Against Racism” dedicated to exposing and opposing Canada’s racist policies, empowering the community and uniting marginalized groups towards a common goal of genuine equality and participation. It is both timely and urgent that we need a resurgence of activism and organizing in the community so that we are not complacent, but are proactive and not reactive to racist events.

The blatant acts of racism committed by Blood and Honour show how systemic racism trickles down to an individual level and pervades everyday life. That the Crown charged Alistair Miller and Robert de Chazal two long years after brutalizing the young Filipino man on Commercial Drive is an act of racism and discrimination in itself. We refuse the racist policies Canada maintains to oppress our community and subject them to violence! We demand full entitlement and equal rights, refusing to be Canada’s underclass! It is our human right to build our homes and root ourselves in Canadian society!

Join us in protest of all forms of racism on Feb. 13, 2012 at 9 a.m., in front of the Vancouver Provincial Court on 222 Main St.

End systemic racism!
Scrap the Live-in Caregiver Program! Status upon arrival!
End family separation!
Equal rights for all!
Oppose economic inequality!

Contact info: pwcofbc@gmail.com | info.ukpc.bc@gmail.com
Phone: 604.215.1103
FB: Ugnayan Ng Kabataang Pilipino sa Canada|Filipino Canadian Youth Alliance BC
Twitter: @ugnayanbc
Website: http://www.kalayaancentre.net/

Toronto, ON – Progressive Filipino Canadians refuse to be deceived by the Conservative government’s latest attempt to mask the abuse, violence and exploitation perpetrated against live-in caregivers, of whom 81% are Filipino women that are under Canada’s Live-in Caregiver Program (LCP). The issuing of 10,000 open work permits to live-in caregivers, recently announced by Immigration Minister Jason Kenney, is yet another tactic to appease the growing awareness and dissatisfaction of the widespread exploitation, human rights abuses and violation of women’s rights occurring under a program that is based on the modern-day slavery of women.

Irrespective of Jason Kenney’s recent ploy, members of the Congress of Progressive Filipino Canadians (CPFC) have not wavered in their longstanding and resolute position to scrap the LCP, asserting that the program itself creates the conditions for the systemic violence, exploitation and abuse faced by Filipino women in Canada. Since its inception in the 1980s, more than 100,000 Filipino Canadian women have come into Canada through the program, a situation which has created the Filipino Canadian community’s economic, social, political and cultural marginalization in Canadian society. And for over two decades, the progressive Filipino Canadian community has been steadfast on calling for its abolition while recognizing in the immediate term that all live-in caregivers be granted permanent residency status upon arrival to Canada.

Despite the fact that the issuing of open work permits has always been a normal process for those who have completed the 24-month mandatory live-in requirement of the program, this so-called “unprecedented move,” that expedited the release of open work permits, is relentlessly pushed and packaged as a solution to unchain live-in caregivers from the bondage of poverty and slavery. Given the thousands of open work permit application backlogs that have piled up over the years, this is purely a desperate effort to salvage Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) from its bureaucratic failures in processing the papers of live-in caregivers on time – failures which have intensified the abusive, exploitive work conditions and created long months of restrictions for live-in caregivers to access the healthcare system in Canada.

“We have nothing to be thankful for with this so-called change. Not only do we contribute taxes to the Canadian economy, Canada, through CIC, amasses millions of dollars from open work permit applications alone as each one of us has to pay a $150 fee. We deserve this open work permit as we have paid and completed our work obligations,” says Grace Tan, a live-in caregiver and a SIKLAB member.

Exposing the contradiction behind Kenney’s claim that this “will help caregivers…while they wait for their permanent resident applications to be processed,” it is imperative to recall that last month, the Conservative government has declared plans to slash approvals of over 7,000 permanent residency applications made through the LCP in the upcoming years ahead. As such, it is most pressing to critically understand that the issuing of open work permits alone does not guarantee that live-in caregivers will be granted permanent residency in Canada, nor does it answer the issue of long years of family separation and reunification of live-in caregivers from the families they have left behind back in their countries of origin.

Exemplified through the Conservative government’s all-out attack on racialised and im/migrant communities through its massive neoliberal changes and reforms on immigration – from its plan to reduce the quotas for live-in caregivers to become permanent residents by 50%; decreasing skilled worker visas by 20%; reducing quotas for spouses and children by 4,000 per year; reducing the number of refugee applicants granted permanent residence by 25%; and imposing an indefinite moratorium on the permanent sponsorship of parents and grandparents, the current move of issuing open work permits, rather than assuring the granting of permanent residency, may possibly lead to dire consequences, such as prolonging live-in caregivers’ temporary and vulnerable status, or worse, downright denying them permanent residency and deporting them from the country for which they have worked hard for to settle in the hopes of eventually building a home.

With Canada’s crippling health care system, childcare crisis and a rapidly aging population, the demand for labour is not declining but soaring to its highest peak. As part of the Conservative government’s neoliberal concerted efforts of massive cutbacks and austerity measures, a 30% increase of workers have been funnelled in through the Temporary Foreign Workers Program (TFWP) within the past few years, in which the majority comes from the Philippines. Recruited for their labour yet disposed of when no longer needed, it is a hypocrisy that while immense profits are amassed from temporary foreign workers, Canada instead locks them into state of permanent impermanence, with minimal or no chance of acquiring permanent residency.

We, at the CPFC, reiterate our stance that the oppression and exploitation of workers under temporary migration programs such as the LCP and TFWP are not the answers to Canada’s economic, healthcare and childcare needs. Instead, they merely provide low-wage and privatized solution that pits foreign and Canadian workers against each other – as it is being used to drive down the wages of all working class Canadians, while simultaneously implementing the wide-scale contractualization of labour in Canadian society. This situation leaves all workers to an unsecured and unstable existence.

“The issuing of open work permits is rendered meaningless in the face of the Conservative government’s efforts to keep labour temporary. Eradicating the cyclical pattern of temporary labour migration is the only way to break our temporariness in Canada, says Cecilia Diocson, Executive Director of the National Alliance of Philippine Women in Canada.” As we continue to build the path for genuine settlement and integration, members of the CPFC will continue to demand for genuine immigration programs for all racialised, working class and im/migrant communities who call Canada home.

Scrap the racist and anti-woman Live-in Caregiver Program!
Stop the expansion of the Temporary Foreign Workers Program!
Advance the movement for genuine settlement and integration!
Permanence through genuine immigration programs now!
Expose and oppose Canada’s neoliberal agenda of globalization!

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Organizations under the 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:
Joy C. Sioson
(416) 519-2553
pwc-on@magkaisacentre.org
www.magkaisacentre.org

Toronto, ON – The Congress of Progressive Filipino Canadians (CPFC) denounces Minister Jason Kenney’s blatantly racist and repressive ban on wearing any type of face covering while taking the oath during the citizenship ceremony, a policy that represents a direct attack of hatred and Islamophobia towards Muslim women who choose to wear the burqa or niqab. This ban against Muslim women represents the latest abuse of power from Citizenship and Immigration Canada, whose recent string of announcements and policy changes have all been directed towards denying the successful settlement and integration of immigrant communities in Canada on all fronts—whether cultural, economic, social and political—while upholding the economy’s continued reliance on racialized and marginalized communities.

While Kenney’s burqa ban is nothing more than a racist denial of an entire people’s cultural practices, he has otherwise justified this ban as a “straightforward” matter of practice, saying that “I have received complaints from members of Parliament, from citizens, from judges of the citizenship court that it is hard to ensure that individuals, whose faces are covered, are actually reciting the oath.” Such top-down and undemocratic directives, based on complaints from within the federal government and citizenship court’s professional elites, are clear indications of the Conservative government’s denial and hostility towards Canada’s racialized populations.

Not only does the ban run against Canada’s basic values of democracy and equality, it is moreover an assertion of power that seeks to determine what practices are correct and incorrect based on assimilationist values. To raise arguments of fear and mistrust, based on the observation that you cannot tell or see if a fellow Canadian is swearing an oath, is insufficient grounds to reject anyone’s citizenship status, especially after they have successfully met all the requirements. Such requirements include: having a basic knowledge of Canada; speaking one of the official languages; and having lived and worked in Canada for three years out of five. Such pretenses of denying citizenship based on mere observation must instead be exposed as a racist act meant to discourage newcomers from acquiring their citizenship rights and to deny their contributions as participants in Canadian society.

With Canada’s Muslim population numbering about 3 percent of the population and with over 150,000 new immigrants being admitted into the country every year, the face of Canada will continue to change. Statistics Canada estimates that by 2031, one in three persons within the labour force will be born in a foreign country. Official policy towards immigrants and racialized peoples, however, continues to prevent their full participation in Canadian society. Amidst heavy-handed and punitive actions such as the burqa ban, we must seriously begin to scrutinize a state multiculturalism that, on the one hand, acknowledges diversity on paper, yet on the other, is used to justify racist and anti-immigrant practices as perpetuated by government policy. In light of recent developments, we must understand the actions taken by the Conservative government as part of a tactic to divide the Canadian working-class, deny citizenship, maintain temporariness and to spark anti-immigrant sentiments while pushing forward austerity measures as part of the neoliberal agenda.

Counter to the principles of “openness and equality,” as Kenney has stated, the ban has instead alienated and stripped Muslim women of their rights and made the Muslim community a target for attack. The flood of racist remarks and comments sparked by Kenney’s action throughout online news outlets reminds us to refuse the threat of inequality and divisiveness that pits our communities against each other while distorting our common interests as members of the working-class. Dictating our manner of dress, the rights we are entitled to and the extent to which we can participate in Canadian society is tantamount to stifling our genuine development and the potential of a truly multicultural and equal society.

As progressive Canadians, we must condemn the recent actions implemented by the Conservative government for they continue to perpetuate violence against fellow working-class Canadians and future citizens of this country. Members of the CPFC will continue to advance the struggle for the just and genuine settlement and integration of all immigrant communities towards our full participation and full entitlement as contributors to Canadian society.

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Organizations under the 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:
Reuben Sarumugam
(416) 519-2553
ukpc-on@magkaisacentre.org
www.magkaisacentre.org
Twitter and Facebook: ugnayanontario

With over 120 participants, “Counterspin 3: Building a movement for social change” Ontario-wide conference, once again, heightened, with militancy, the pivotal and crucial role of marginalized communities in Canada, such as the Filipino Canadian community, to intensify the building of a genuine progressive movement that will bring about social change in a country that continues to systemically deny communities of colour their full participation and entitlement.

Held at the University of Toronto and the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education on November 19th and the 20th, respectively, “Counterspin 3” is a continuation of the Filipino Canadian community’s assertion to counter their intensifying social and political exclusion as manifested in their struggles against systemic racism, gender oppression, and economic marginalization. Organized by the Magkaisa Centre, and under the auspices of the newly formed Congress of Progressive Filipino Canadians (CPFC), “Counterspin 3” is symbolic of the desire of members of the Filipino Canadian community to create a path towards their just and genuine settlement and integration in Canada.

Launched in Montreal on May 2010, and followed by the conference held in Vancouver in June 2011, the series of “Counterspin” conferences is a testament of the progression in the organizing within the progressive Filipino Canadian community that embraces the working-class perspective as a primary tool to advance socialism and to counter the increasing attacks of neoliberal agenda of globalization perpetuated against the working-class and racialized peoples in Canada. More so, “Counterspin” exemplifies the growing assertion within the community to build a home and a future, nurtured in the culture of resistance and empowerment.

Delegates listen to the first panel

Steeped with enthusiasm and excitement, “Counterspin 3” conference delegates deepened their understanding of the current global politics and progressive movements; the history of Filipino Canadians; and their concrete struggles, challenges and barriers in Canada, including the role of art and cultural resistance; and the importance of understanding social services as part of a community’s full participation and entitlement.

Guest speakers Ninotchka Rosca, Filipina feminist and internationally-renowned novelist; Dr. David McNally, long-time activist and political science professor at York University; and Emmanuel Sayo, community organizer and pioneer in human rights organizing in the Filipino Canadian community, opened the conference with a critical look at the ongoing crisis of neoliberalism, and the desperate measures being taken to maintain the current system of globalization and imperialism at the expense of the world’s working-class. Along with this progressive analysis of global political economy, an emphasis was also put into the roles of resistance movements in unmasking the impending demise and the rapid deterioration of the current economic system of capitalism. The organic growth of various forms of resistance, such as the Occupy Movement, and the resistance coming from progressive migrant and immigrant communities, were reiterated as key components in bringing about genuine social change.

From left to right: Dr. David McNally, Ninotchka Rosca and Emmanuel Sayo

From an engaging discussion and debate on global politics and movement, the succeeding panels presented on the concrete expressions of the Filipino Canadian community’s current reality as a transnational community; its continuing resistance against the community’s increasing exclusion and marginalization; and most importantly, its role in reclaiming the progressive culture and history of a community that, for over 20 years, has been at the forefront of exposing and opposing the systemic violence and aggression perpetuated on Filipino Canadian women, workers, and youth, and other members of the working-class in Canada.

Emphasizing the intensifying blows of the neoliberal agenda that further marginalizes, excludes, and attacks the well-being of the growing Filipino Canadian community, panelists Joy C. Sioson and Reuben Sarumugam of the Magkaisa Centre, presented on the history of Filipino Canadians in Ontario, the making of the progressive Filipino Canadian movement, and the overview of the current conditions of one of the largest ethnic groups in the province, particularly in the City of Toronto. The delegates’ attention was drawn to the direct impacts of official federal and provincial policies that shaped and continuously shape the Filipino community in Canada. They showed that the progressive Filipino Canadian movement has also been and continues to be the driving force in combating the barriers to genuine settlement and integration through community educating, organizing, and mobilizing.

Joy Sioson, chairperson of PWC-ON and Reuben Sarumugam of UKPC/FCYA-ON

Reclaiming their roles as part of the leading force in making history and challenging the market-driven economic and social policies that perpetuate their marginalization, sectoral representatives Bryan Taguba of SIKLAB, Qara Clemente of PWC, and Ken Santos and Aila Comilang of UKPC/FCYA, posed the challenge to all Filipino Canadian workers, women and youth to cultivate a culture that will develop an empowered community, immersed in the knowledge and practice of the importance of sharpening the tools and taking the revolutionary road, towards genuine liberation, equality, and human rights for future generations. The speakers also acknowledged that the path paved by those who pioneered the organizing of progressive Filipino Canadians serves as a continuing inspiration for them to lead the future of the community.

As the new wave of community organizing in the Filipino Canadian community grows, progressive music, art and poetry depicting realities and common struggles become important tools in educating, and popularizing the creative nature of the community. Marissa Largo, Toronto-based artist and educator; Jean Marc Daga, spoken word artist and SIKLAB-ON member; and Neil Castro, Sinag Bayan founder and chairperson of the National Council of the Filipino Canadian Youth Alliance, elaborated on the arts and the cultural arena as an essential component in shaping and transforming art and culture as one that inspires collective action towards social change.

As an illustration of the creativity and talent within the Filipino Canadian community, various performances by Sinag Bayan Ontario took centre stage to depict the true force of the community’s culture of resistance. In “My Folks,” a combination of spoken word poetry and striking live gestures, performers conveyed the resiliency and militancy of the Filipino Canadian community to confront the systemic forces that relegate its members into exploitation and marginalization. In “Kapit Bisig Maleta Fashion Show,” various stories of migration were depicted by painted maletas (suitcases) bearing the portraits of community members as live-in caregivers, mail order brides, service sector workers, youth and the elderly, each embodied by their respective performers. Both pieces represented an all-out assertion that the Filipino Canadian community will continue to strengthen its resolve in their struggle for genuine settlement, full participation, and entitlement in the broader Canadian society.

Kapit Bisig Maleta fashion show

My Folks

Tying the Filipino Canadian community’s struggle for a just and genuine settlement and integration with understanding and accessing social services in Canada, the last panel examined the role of social services from the perspective of the Filipino Canadian community. Ilyan Ferrer, PhD student at McGill University and member of Kabataang Montreal; Danielle Bisnar, lawyer and PWC-ON member; and Cecilia Diocson, founder of the Philippine Women Centre, Executive Director of the National Alliance of Philippine Women in Canada and CPFC, examined the history of social services, the barriers faced by the community in accessing adequate services, and the impacts of the extensive cutbacks and privatization of social and public services on marginalized and racialized communities. All three speakers also highlighted the important task of building the Filipino Canadian community’s capacity to understand the democratic and public provision of social services as vital for a successful and fully developed community and society.

The creative and artistic fervor of various members of Sinag Bayan Ontario, Sinag Bayan Quebec and guest performers ended the day with a much-enjoyed cultural solidarity night. Through songs, poems and dance, conference participants and organizers alike, celebrated the great success of the day’s proceedings with performances that expressed the vision of a truly empowered and liberated Filipino Canadian community.

Jean-Marc Daga, Neil Castro and Marissa Largo

The second day of “Counterspin 3” conference was a more intimate sharing and discussion on the 15 major concerns in the Filipino Canadian community. The 15 Concerns serves as the program of action that aims to address working-class issues, and to help advance the struggle for socialism in Canada. A brief study on the history of women’s oppression was also given by Ms. Rosca to further solidify and frame the importance of putting the struggle of women at the very core of the struggle for genuine liberation of the working-class.

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For more information, contact the Conference Secretariat:
Bryan Taguba
(416) 519-2553
pwc-on@magkaisacentre.org
www.magkaisacentre.org
Twitter: #Counterspin3

Toronto, ON – With the recent announcement by Immigration Minister Jason Kenney to slash approvals of over 7,000 permanent residency applications made through the Live-in Caregiver Program (LCP), progressive Filipino Canadians firmly maintain that under the Conservative government’s policy-imposed age of austerity for all working-class Canadians, no amount of change or “improvement” can be made to the LCP and the endemically exploitative nature of the immigration system itself while it continues to stamp and seal entry to workers to toil under conditions of modern-day slavery.

With the passage of two years since Kenney’s holiday announcement of cosmetic changes to the LCP, we have seen no real improvement in the conditions of the Filipino Canadian community. Instead, amidst a worsening healthcare crisis and an ailing global economy, we have only witnessed the continuing marginalization and exploitation of Filipino Canadian women, youth and workers. We refuse to be duped by the blatantly aggressive attacks against our community as the unabated expansion of temporary migration continues to extend our vulnerability and to hold us hostage to our immigration status while we now face longer processing wait times for open permits and permanent residency status.

Under the Conservative government, Citizenship and Immigration Canada’s (CIC) plan to expand temporary migration includes reducing the number of caregivers granted permanent status—to 9,000 in 2012, down from 16,000 this year—and extending wait times for open permit applications from six to eight months to up to 18 months. Also, the development of the “Supervisa” for parents and grandparents has phased out permanent residency and family reunification through parent and grandparent sponsorship indefinitely. It is no accident that such slashes and cuts are occurring while recorded applications for entry under the LCP are at their highest, and while demand for the cheap, yet skilled provision of childcare and healthcare is at its peak.

Members of the Congress of Progressive Filipino Canadians (CPFC) assert that the LCP has never been an answer for Canada’s childcare and healthcare needs. Instead, it has merely provided a temporary, low-wage and privatized solution for our inadequate and declining healthcare system. Since its implementation in the 1980s, it has systematically brought over 100,000 Filipino women and their families to settle in Canada under the guise of conditional opportunities, yet continues to deny them their just and genuine settlement and integration, as majority of the Filipino Canadian community continue to suffer the impacts of deskilling, family separation, systemic racism and economic marginalization.

“We strive to contribute to Canadian society while the concerted efforts of the neoliberal agenda prevent us from genuinely settling, integrating and fully participating in a place that is now also our home. Alongside our mothers who have been brought in under the LCP, we continue to be segregated to low-wage and casualized jobs. While newcomer families are trapped in a cycle of poverty, it is no surprise that we have some of the highest high school dropout rates in Canada’s major cities,” says Neil Castro, Chairperson of UKPC/FCYA’s National Council.

An estimated $25 billion is what the Canadian government is saving in healthcare costs due to the contribution of over 2 million unpaid caregivers, who often perform duties that would require the attention of healthcare professionals and support workers. Under the live-in caregiver program, healthcare professionals, especially nurses from the Philippines, are placed under strict conditions not to practice their profession or go back to school in order to complete their requirements. Often paid at a rate of less than minimum wage, live-in caregivers perform care work for all demographics in Canada, but also perform housework and additional duties outside the specifications of the program. The work of unpaid caregivers and live-in caregivers is an example of the cost cutting and privatized measures our government has taken to buttress our crippling healthcare system.

In addition, the all-around costs of immigration, including applications for work permits, landing fees, board and lodging, purchasing goods and contributing taxes, are being made at the expense of transnational working class communities, while Canada saves further healthcare dollars. “We cannot accept being cheap disposable commodities,” says Cecilia Diocson, Executive Director of the National Alliance of Philippine Women in Canada. “We refuse to live under constant fear and threat of deportation while we contribute so much to Canadian society.”

“Our lives are more than just numbers,” contends Roderick Carreon, National Chairperson of SIKLAB Canada. “Our lives cannot be capped like quotas. We must demand genuine immigration programs and demand a stop to temporariness and migrant work programs as the only means for our community to come to Canada.” Members of the CPFC will continue to demand for the fulfillment of our lives as working class peoples by building the path towards our just and genuine settlement and integration.

Stop the deportation of live-in caregivers!
No to the expansion of the temporary foreign workers program!
Scrap the racist and anti-woman Live-in Caregiver Program!
Advance the struggle for a just and genuine settlement and integration!

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Organizations under the 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:
Joy C. Sioson
(416) 519-2553
pwc-on@magkaisacentre.org
www.magkaisacentre.org

Toronto, ON – In just a few days, Ontario’s Filipino Canadian community will readily advance their struggle for a just and genuine settlement and integration to greater heights as “Counterspin: Building a Movement for Social Change” commences. Only several days remain in the countdown to this historic two-day conference that will counter the community’s cycle of marginalization and impermanence by creating a unified movement that strives for full participation in Canadian society and embraces their pivotal role in creating genuine social change. Organized under the auspices of the Congress of Progressive Filipino Canadians (CPFC), “Counterspin” will advance the successes from its previous occurrences in Montreal and Vancouver at the University of Toronto’s Claude T. Bissell Building and Ontario Institute for Studies in Education.

A press conference will be held on November 19th for members of the media. Interviews will be provided by speakers and organizers such as award-winning novelist and internationally-renowned feminist Ninotchka Rosca, long-time community organizer and human rights activist Emmanuel Sayo and the Executive Director of the National Alliance of Philippine Women in Canada, Cecilia Diocson. As well, Joy Sioson, Chairperson of the Philippine Women Centre of Ontario and Counterspin Conference Secretariat will be available for interview. “Counterspin” will provide all participants with an opportunity to join in the transformative discussion that will envision and execute change that will allow the Filipino Canadian community to take root, build a home and further contribute to Canadian society and history.

“Counterspin: Building a Movement for Social Change”
Ontario-wide conference
Organized under the auspices of the Congress of Progressive Filipino Canadians (CPFC)
Day 1: Claude T. Bissell Building, Room 205, University of Toronto
Day 2: Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, Room 5250, University of Toronto
Registration is $20.00 (includes meals and conference materials)

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REGISTER NOW to attend the conference and for media access to the “Counterspin” press conference: http://bit.ly/counterspin3

For more information, contact the Conference Secretariat:
Bryan Taguba
(416) 519-2553
pwc-on@magkaisacentre.org
www.magkaisacentre.org
Twitter: #Counterspin3

Toronto, ON – The progressive Filipino Canadian community are gearing up to take the next steps toward genuine settlement and integration in Canadian society as the Ontario-wide conference titled “Counterspin: Building a Movement for Social Change” boldly asserts the community’s role in helping build Canada’s history. It will take place at the University of Toronto campus, Claude T. Bissell Building on November 19th and will continue the next day at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education.

As “Counterspin” provides the context of globalization, its particular impact is undoubtedly felt most, in the Filipino Canadian community, by the women, workers and youth. However, the issues faced by Filipino women, workers, and youth in Canada under neoliberalism does not mean that as a community, Filipinos are powerless to the various government labour policies and program implementations that relegate Filipinos to low-wage service sector jobs and deskill many members in the community. Against this dominant pattern, community members will affirm their crucial roles as builders and makers of Canadian society who have the tools to counter these relegations and create their own path towards genuine settlement and integration.

Panel speakers include members from the various fields of arts and culture, political science, literature, law, and community based organizations. Some of these include internationally-renowned feminist Ninotchka Rosca, Emmanuel Sayo, community organizer of Philippines-Canada Task Force on Human Rights and David McNally, a leading Marxist scholar, activist and professor in the Political Science department at York University. They will provide the context of how globalization and transnationalism under the neoliberal agenda directly affect the Filipino Canadian community. In the arts and culture area, Marissa Largo, a PhD candidate and art teacher at Mary Ward will bring out the history of how arts and culture play a role in community-building. To speak on the issue of social services within the community, Danielle Bisnar, Ilyan Ferrer, and Cecilia Diocson will bring forth the analysis of social services coming from the Filipino Canadian community itself. Speakers from the Magkaisa Centre will be part of the panel to elucidate the community’s experiences and analysis necessary to take the next steps toward genuine settlement and integration.

The third installment of “Counterspin” will stamp a historical mark in the movement for genuine social change in Canada that recognizes the struggle of the working class, youth, and women at the forefront of Canadian society. It will assert the working class struggle of the community as part of genuine women’s liberation, fearlessly carried out within the next generation of Filipino Canadians. The Magkaisa Centre invites all to be part of this dialogue to continue building this culture of resistance and furthering the strides towards full participation in Canadian society.

“Counterspin: Building a Movement for Social Change”
Ontario-wide conference
Organized under the auspices of the Congress of Progressive Filipino Canadians (CPFC)
Claude T. Bissell Building, Room 205, University of Toronto
Registration is $20.00 (includes meals and conference materials)

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REGISTER NOW: http://bit.ly/counterspin3

For more information, contact the Conference Secretariat:
Bryan Taguba
(416) 519-2553
pwc-on@magkaisacentre.org
www.magkaisacentre.org
Twitter: #Counterspin3

Toronto, ON – As the deepening crisis of neoliberal globalization is becoming increasingly apparent, the Filipino Canadian community across Ontario is readily countering their marginalization through “Counterspin 3: Building a Movement for Social Change.” Organized under the auspices of the Congress of Progressive Filipino Canadians (CPFC), this historic gathering will advance the community’s struggle for genuine settlement and integration at the crux of the movement of the working class.

Building on the success of the previous “Counterspin” conferences in Montreal and Vancouver, the conference will awaken all to their realities and their potential in building a vibrant and enduring movement for social change that puts the struggle of the transnational working class at its fore. At the first panel, Ninotchka Rosca, an internationally-renowned writer and revolutionary feminist will counter imperialism’s narrative of temporary migration for Filipinos around the world by understanding the right of the transnational working class to take root and create a home wherever we are. Emmanuel Sayo of the Philippines-Canada Task Force on Human Rights will elucidate the concept of genuine settlement and integration and its significance to the Filipino Canadian community. David McNally, a York University professor and leading political theorist, will discuss the current global economic crisis and its impacts on im/migrant communities.

The next two panels will then zoom out from the global picture and into the history of Filipino Canadians in Ontario as it has shaped the province’s history and Canadian society in order to put the community’s call for genuine settlement and integration into perspective. Next, members of the Phillipine Women Centre of Ontario, Filipino Canadian Youth Alliance¬—Ontario and SIKLAB Ontario will advance the role of women, workers and youth as makers of history by drawing on their distinct yet intertwined experiences and struggles, particularly as the Philippines is now the top source of immigrants in Ontario.

Towards concretely addressing the community’s needs of settlement and integration, the following panel on social services will discuss its importance beyond the terms of accessibility and into developing a critical understanding of social services from the community’s perspective. Speakers from national women’s organizations, the academe and the legal field will come to grips with the dismantling of social services as it goes hand in hand with neoliberal immigration and labour policies. For the final panel, Filipino Canadian artists and community organizers from across Canada will reclaim art and culture for the people and its importance in building a movement for social change.

With over 250,000 Filipino Canadians in Ontario, “Counterspin” will be pivotal in not only exposing the systemic issues that marginalize the Filipino Canadian community in Ontario, but in also creating tools that will facilitate their just and genuine settlement and integration. “We should not accept the growing marginalization, deskilling and constant exclusion our community faces. We should be well-equipped with the knowledge and tools to advance the struggles of our community,” says Grace Tan, member of PWC-ON and SIKLAB-ON. Armed with a comprehensive vision for an empowered community and a transformative society, all participants are invited to embrace the limitless possibilities in building a movement for social change that will combat the further exploitation of women, youth and workers.

“Counterspin: Building a Movement for Social Change”
Ontario-wide conference
Organized under the auspices of the Congress of Progressive Filipino Canadians (CPFC)
Claude T. Bissell Building, Room 205, University of Toronto
Registration is $20.00 (includes meals and conference materials)

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REGISTER NOW: http://bit.ly/counterspin3

For more information, contact the Conference Secretariat:
Bryan Taguba
(416) 519-2553
pwc-on@magkaisacentre.org
www.magkaisacentre.org
Twitter: #Counterspin3

Ontario’s growing Filipino Canadian community buzzes with excitement as the Magkaisa Centre prepares to host Toronto’s first ever Counterspin conference. Determined to carry on the successes of previous Counterspin conferences in Montreal and Vancouver, the progressive Filipino Canadian movement towards genuine integration and settlement in Canada will accelerate into high gear on November 19th to 20th less than a month from today. Organized under the auspices of the Congress of Progressive Filipino Canadians (CPFC), this two-day conference titled “Counterspin: Building a Movement for Social Change” will have five panel lectures featuring a number of local and international academics, community activists and artists.

Day one will begin with guest speakers Ninotchka Rosca, the acclaimed international author and feminist; long-time community activist and organizer Emmanuel Sayo, a member of Philippines Canada Task Force on Human Rights; and Professor David McNally of York University. Their panel will focus on creating and nurturing the new path towards social change by introducing the context of transnationalism, globalization and the struggle for genuine settlement and integration.

Panelists and community organizers from the Philippines Women Centre of Ontario (PWC-ON), Filipino Canadian Youth Alliance¬—Ontario (UKPC/FCYA-ON) and SIKLAB-ON (Filipino Canadian workers organization) will also highlight the history and resistance of Filipino Canadian women, youth, and workers while revealing the challenges ahead. Next, they will emphasize the importance of accessing social services from the community’s perspective. The final panel will discuss art and culture as an integral component in countering the community’s marginalization.

Day two aims to prove that actions speak louder than words. Action planning sessions will be held for the community to collectively discuss how to counter the community’s cycle of poverty towards taking root and building a home in Canadian society.

All are invited to connect on a meaningful level, share experiences and learn from each other in order to build a movement for social change.

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Click here to register: http://www.magkaisacentre.org/2011/10/17/counterspin/

For more information, contact the Conference Secretariat:
Bryan Taguba
(416) 519-2553
pwc-on@magkaisacentre.org
www.magkaisacentre.org
Twitter: #Counterspin3

Marching under slogans such as “We are the 99%” and chanting to expose the “rising gap between the rich and the poor,” progressive Filipino Canadians recognize this increasing stratification not only as chants but as harsh realities felt in the lives of the growing Filipino Canadian transnational community. With the Philippines now the largest source of immigrants in Toronto and the whole of Canada, Filipino Canadians are denied their genuine settlement and integration in Canadian society as they are relegated as sources of cheap and temporary labour through neoliberal labour programs such as the Live-in Caregiver Program and the Temporary Foreign Workers Program.

Moreover, the Conservative government’s massive cutbacks on settlement programs last year and more recently on social services, the privatization of essential public services, and their incessant drive towards the contractualization of labour are clear indications of the Conservative government’s concerted efforts to prevent immigrant, racialised and working class communities from genuinely settling, successfully integrating and fully participating in Canadian society. Such cutbacks are being implemented alongside financial policy initiatives geared towards bolstering corporate investment.

Canada, being an advanced capitalist country, is not immune to the worsening global crisis. In fact, it addresses it by fervently pushing for the rabid implementation of its neoliberal agenda. As Canada’s continuous economic growth immensely relies on immigration, its insistence on temporary migration and the cyclical importation of cheap and temporary labour from the Global South and exploitation of these workers in Canada is a clear response to this crisis and therefore cannot be ignored. As such, progressive Filipino Canadians urge all to realize and to critically understand these growing movements as symptomatic of the growing crisis of capitalism brought upon by the neoliberal agenda of globalization.

As capitalism’s crisis intensifies, progressive Filipino Canadians will continue to march in solidarity with the 99% with a strong resolve to break the cycle of temporary migration and will continue to endeavour in building the movement for the just and genuine settlement and integration of not only Filipino Canadians, but of all racialised and working class peoples who call Canada home.

Advance the struggles of the 99%!
Expose and oppose the neoliberal project!
Break the cyclical pattern of temporary migration!
Advance the movement towards genuine settlement and integration!

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For more information:
Ken Santos
(416) 519-2553
ukpc-on@magkaisacentre.org
www.magkaisacentre.org
Facebook and Twitter: ugnayanontario

The National Alliance of Philippine Women in Canada (NAPWC) sends our warmest and most militant greetings of congratulations to the Philippine Women Centre of B.C., and its newly-elected Board of Directors at its recently-held Annual General Meeting. For over 20 years of Filipino Canadian women’s organizing, the PWC of B.C. has served as an example and inspiration to thousands of Filipino Canadian women to take great pride in continuing the long history of our struggle and resistance as working-class women of colour in Canada.

The NAPWC salutes the great courage and determination of the new Board of Directors, all your members, and volunteers in your commitment to march forward and continue the pioneering work of the PWC of B.C. for equality, genuine development and women’s liberation. Your fervor in advancing the struggle of our growing community for genuine settlement and integration in Canada is integral and central in our efforts to build a progressive movement for social change – a movement that puts the struggles of marginalized workers, women and youth at the forefront of the working-class struggle in Canada.

As we enter another milestone in the history of Filipino Canadian women’s organizing, our strong resistance against our continuing exploitation and oppression will be marked, yet again, in the history of our community, as we reclaim the revolutionary road towards women’s emancipation.

Sulong kababaihan! Makibaka, huwag matakot!

In Solidarity,
Cecilia Diocson, Executive Director
National Alliance of Philippine Women in Canada
(member of the Congress of Progressive Filipino Canadians)