CASJ: 2011 Year-End Review

CASJ: 2011 Year-End Review

The year 2011 saw a good number of activities that kept CASJ alive among friends, member organizations and the broader Filipino-Canadian community.

• The alliance held its first Leaders’ Gala on April 2 where Flor Marcelino, Manitoba Minister of Culture, Heritage, Tourism and Sports and Minister of Multiculturalism was guest speaker. Some 270 guests graced the occasion held at the Rembrandt Banquet Hall in Scarborough.

• In collaboration with the Philippine Press Club-Ontario, and Kamalayan, CASJ sponsored a public forum on Aug. 19 to discuss the Spratlys issue in relation to the Philippine extractive industries and sovereignty. Titled, “China vs. the Philippines: The Spratlys Issue and Philippine Natural Wealth,” the forum was held at the OISE on Bloor St. West, attended by almost 60 people that included students, representatives of various organizations, the Consul General of Toronto Pedro Chan, and former Consul General Clemencio Montesa.

• On Sept. 16, at the gathering “Pinoy MPP Candidates Speak” on Sept. 16 at the Filipino Centre-Toronto, CASJ and other community leaders called for Filipino-Canadians to start a wave of support for Filipino candidates in the Oct. 6 provincial elections. Nerissa Cariño, NDP candidate for Scarborough East, and Cheryll San Juan, Green Party candidate for Etobicoke Centre, shared their platforms with dozens of Filipino community leaders.

• Dozens gathered to share and hear testimonials from the Philippine martial law era in “An Evening of Music and Poetry, Solidarity and Memories of Struggle” on Bloor St. West on Friday, Sept. 23, the 39th anniversary of the declaration of Martial Law in the Philippines. Organized by CASJ, Migrante Ontario, Anakbayan, Filipino Migrant Workers Movement and Philippine Advocacy through Arts and Culture at Trinity-St. Paul United Church, the event featured stories of detention, torture, struggle and survival, songs and poetry of that period in Philippine history.

* On Nov. 23, 2011, two years after on the same day in 2009, after what has come to be known as the deadliest day for journalists in modern history shocked the Philippines and the world, CASJ joined the Philippine Press Club of Ontario at St. Luke’s Church in Toronto to observe the first International Day to End Impunity. This was attended by some 80 people of diverse backgrounds and representatives of various organizations that included the National Ethnic Press and Media Council of Canada, BAYAN and Migrante Canada formations in Toronto, Anakbayan, and the United Youth for Peace and Development.

In the field of research:

• CASJ participated in two panels in the 2011 Biennial Conference of the Canadian Council for Southeast Asian Studies in October – the panel on Experiences of the Filipino-Canadian Second Generation and the panel on Transnational Connections and Local Development

• CASJ is involved in an ongoing collaborative venture with Dr. Philip Kelly of York University – with research teams in Toronto, Hamilton, Winnipeg and Vancouver – in Filipino Youth Transitions In Canada (FYTiC), the first nationwide study of Filipino youth experiences in Canada. On Sept. 19, the project launched an online survey of Filipino-Canadians. A questionnaire has been distributed nationwide. To ensure a diverse representation of respondents, CASJ established partnership with grassroots organizations through Migrante Canada and GABRIELA Ontario.

• More recently, it facilitated links between GABRIELA Ontario and Migrante on the one hand, and Ryerson University on the other, for a study on women in the live-in caregiver program.

CASJ undertook these activities in coordination and alliance with progressive organizations and social justice-oriented individuals in the community. This year, the alliance plans to hold an event to commemorate the anniversary of the EDSA people’s uprising against the Marcos dictatorship. It is also gearing for its Second Leaders’ Gala to be held in the Spring. For more information, visit http://casj.wordpress.com/

(PRESS RELEASE)