Liberal candidate commits to helping with remittances

Liberal candidate commits to helping with remittances

a’ara Saks, Liberal Party candidate for York Centre, speaking at her press conference on Thursday, Sept. 9.
At left is Paul Saguil. (Photo provided by Mark Kachuck)

September 9, 2021

By Veronica Silva Cusi
The Philippine Reporter

A Liberal candidate running for re-election in the upcoming federal election is committing to helping those who are sending remittances to families abroad.

Ya’ara Saks, Liberal Party candidate for York Centre, a federal riding with a huge Filipino community, said Thursday that if re-elected, she will propose a private member’s bill grounded on three pillars: security, affordability, and convenience.

Saks was elected in a by-election in October 2020. She won over Conservative Party candidate and Filipino Canadian Julius Tiangson with 45.5 per cent of the votes. Tiangson got 41.8 per cent.

Speaking with The Philippine Reporter, Saks said the proposal is based on months of talking with constituents in what is known locally as Little Manila in the Bathurst and Wilson area.

She said that aside from immigration policies, which she has been working on with fellow party candidate and Immigration and Refugee Minister Marco Mendicino of the nearby riding of Eglinton-Lawrence, she has been thinking of what more she can do that will have an impact on the day-to-day lives of people in the riding.

“When I speak to members of the Filipino community in the riding, who are so hardworking and so many of them are essential workers, PSWs (personal support workers) and part of our healthcare, … everything that they do here, so much of it, is to be able to support families back home and support them to bring them over here so that families can be reunited,” said Saks.

She said her proposal recognizes that remittance is an important service needed and used regularly by the community. Aside from putting caps on remittance fees, her proposal also seeks to ensure that hard-earned money is protected by standardizing and improving ways of keeping financial transfers safe.

Since Saks mentioned that the remittances are for families of Filipinos back home and to support them for eventual family reunification, TPR ask her about her position on the call for status for all for migrants.
The campaign for status for all among migrant groups calls for migrant workers to have landed status with their families upon arrival in Canada, thus eliminating family separation.

“We are doing everything we can to look at the processes by which families are unified here in Canada,” said Saks. “We did make big commitments to increase and fast-track many pieces of the family reunification puzzle, including looking at family reunification of grandparents which was part of what we put forward … in December 2020. I’m really quite comfortable with platform as it stands right now on immigration, and I’m proud of what we’ve done to bring families together and what we’re going to continue to do.” (See related story on party platforms.)

TPR also asked Saks about alleged human rights abuses in the Philippines which were brought to the attention of the House of Commons (see story ‘We eat death, rape, threats for breakfast every day’ of May 28, 2021 of The Philippine Reporter).

She said: “Canada is very clear on its position on human rights abuses, and we look at them case-by-case and make sure that like-minded countries like ours — and we are friend and ally with the Philippines — to make sure that we’re looking at what is happening on the ground to get clarity from non-governmental organizations and understand what’s happening there first. But we will always stand up for human rights anywhere in the world. It’s one of our key priorities. It’s an absolutely important policy.”

Prior to winning at the 2020 election, Saks was a successful small business owner and a strong advocate for mental health services.