Canada’s Immigration Minister Jason Kenney’s Statement On His Recent Visit to Manila
Canada’s Immigration Minister Jason Kenney’s Statement On His Recent Visit to Manila
Sept. 20, 2010
As Canada’s Minister Immigration, my first visit to the Philippines this week has given me the opportunity to experience the beauty of this country and celebrate the special friendship between Canada and the Philippines.
My friend and colleague Stockwell Day, when he was Canada’s Minister of International Trade, also visited the Philippines to mark this relationship. We look forward to working with the administration of President Aquino to enhance these existing strong and friendly ties between our two countries, and we wish it great success.
The strong ties between Canada and the Philippines take many forms. Our two countries share many economic links including over 50 billion pesos of merchandise trade last year alone. These strong ties were also on display when, during Typhoon Ondoy, Canadians raised $213 million pesos for humanitarian assistance and early recovery to respond to the needs of our Filipino friends affected by this terrible disaster. In addition, my immigration department fast-tracked the immigration applications of hundreds of Filipinos affected by the typhoon who had relatives in Canada. It is these people-to-people linkages, I believe, that form the most important bond between our two great countries.
Since Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s election as Canada’s Prime Minister in 2006, the Philippines has become the top country for immigrants to Canada, surpassing China and India. Over 450,000 people of Filipino origin now reside in Canada. With more arriving daily, particularly as highly skilled workers, the future of the Filipino community will also be Canada’s future. This is something that I am very excited about.
As Canada is an aging society, we rely on many live-in caregivers who come from the Philippines and who provide us with skill, generosity and gentleness in caring for our elderly and most vulnerable. Live-in caregivers also help care for our youngest children. Other Filipino immigrants help fill important labour market shortages, doing jobs that Canadians simply aren’t doing.
In exchange for this, Canadians have an obligation to offer live-in caregivers, as well as other Filipino immigrants and temporary foreign workers in Canada, the fairness of Canadian law and society. This is something that our government and Prime Minister Harper take very seriously.
That is why, under Prime Minister Harper, our government has created an even easier pathway for live-in caregivers to obtain permanent residence and, eventually, Canadian citizenship.
I know there are many immigration consultants that advertise their services, particularly in Manila, but I want Filipinos and Filipinas who dream of immigrating to Canada to know that they do not need to use the services of an immigration representative, consultant, or lawyer. The Government of Canada gives equal consideration to all immigration applications, regardless of whether they use the services of consultants, agents, recruiting agencies, or representatives. Nobody, no matter what they tell you, has the inside track on immigration to Canada.
In addition, Filipino immigrants to Canada need to be properly informed about our immigration system and of the rights they have within it. Our immigration office in Manila now offers pre-departure orientation seminars under the Canadian Immigration Integration Project (CIIP) for Filipinos immigrating to Canada as Skilled Workers and Provincial Nominees, as well as orientation sessions for those intending to immigrate to Canada under other programs. I encourage all Filipino immigrants to Canada to take advantage of these sessions.
The government of Prime Minister Harper is also supporting the Filipino community living in Canada, too. Since Prime Minister Harper became Prime Minister, our government has tripled funding for immigrant settlement organisations in Canada, including investing in organizations with strong links to the Filipino community in Canada like Multicultural Helping House. These funds are supporting everything from English and French language training, to helping Filipinos and other immigrants find good, high-paying jobs, to helping them integrate into their local communities.
Finally, our government is also standing up for the “comfort women”, some of whom now live in Canada, who were the victims of rape and humiliating treatment. In 2007, I helped sponsor a motion in Canada’s Parliament calling on Japan to make a “formal and sincere apology” to all victims, many of whom I have met. They have inspired us all with their courage, their bravery, and their dignity.
In the years ahead, I look with optimism at Philippines’s future, the strengthening links between our two countries, and the many skilled Filipinos who will someday call Canada as well as the Philippines their home.
Jason Kenney
Minister of Citizenship, Immigration, and Multiculturalism
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