Breaking through the colour barrier

Breaking through the colour barrier

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Member of legislative assembly, Manitoba, Flor Marcelino

By Mark A. Cadiz

As the first woman of colour elected as a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) in Manitoba, Filipino-Canadian Flor Marcelino, a long time NDP supporter, has transcended a major hurdle in Canadian politics.

Today out of the 57 members that make up the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba, five are from visible ethnic groups and only 15 of those including Marcelino are women. The rest are Canadian white men.

Flor Marcelino the first woman of colour elected as an MLA

Considering the diversity found throughout the province with over a 100 languages and nationalies in Winnipeg alone, there is a disproportion of visibile ethnic elected officials in office—which is the case for the rest of Canada.

“I was the first woman of colour elected in Manitoba and the first female of Filipino descent elected as MLA in Canada,” Marcelino said.

“It is certainly a privilege and an honour. I’m humbled and appreciative that this particular position has given our community some crediblity and recognition.”

For an immigrant to reach one of the highest positions in public office is a major feat, to be a woman of colour only makes it much more symbolic. Already with the odds stacked against her, Marcelino understood the significance of her electoral win which she hopes forges a path for younger generations of colour to get involved in public service.

Born and raised in Manila, Philippines, Marcelino was in the middle of a communications graduate program at the University of Philippines before she arrived in Winnipeg in 1982 with her family. She was first elected in 2007 to the Manitoba Legislative Assembly, and in 2009 appointed the Minister of Culture, Heritage and Tourism. She was re-elected in 2011 as the MLA for the Logan district in Winnipeg, then appointed the Minister of Multiculturalism and Literacy in 2013.

A mother of five, Marcelino retired early after leaving her post at Red River College where she worked for 17 years as part of the clerical administrative staff. Not too long after, she found herself in the political arena purely by chance.

During the 2007 election as one of the supported NDP nominees was forced to drop out of the race, Marcelino was approached by the party and given only a few hours to make her decision.

Already in her late 50s she encountered one of the the biggest decisions in her life, eventually deciding with the support of her family to enter the race.

“When I was asked by the NDP to run I was extremely active with my church, the community and I ran a small Filipino community paper,” she said. Politics came unexpectedly, I never had any plans or ambitions to be an elected official.”

“My decision was made mainly as a service to my community and a way of expressing our political beliefs, opinions and values,” she added.

And based on her success to date she made the right choice, easily winning by a thousand votes in 2007 and outdoing her nearest opponent in 2011 by over two thousand votes.

According to the latest Canadian census there are nearly 60,000 Filipinos living in Manitoba, the third largest in the country only behind Ontario and B.C. yet some would argue Winnipeg’s community is one of the strongest in terms of their influence on the province.

Tagalog, the national language of the Philippines, is now the second most common mother tongue in the province surpassing French, which is significant in a province that has the largest French speaking community outside Quebec.

The large presence of the Filipino community indicated that it was only a matter of time until a person of Filipino descent reached the legislative assembly.

2 Photos taken on Dec. 10 during a Salvation Army Christmas dinner for members of the community in Winnipeg.

Upon arriving in Canada, Marcelino and her husband aligned themselves with the NDP in the 80s the party she said closely supported their values.

“Over the years I volunteered during the NDP campaigns, I would come to the campaign offices and reach out to the Filipinos that were in that particular constituency,” she said. “When we took our oath of citizenship and became Canadian citizens we voted NDP every time.”

With her duties as MLA, Marcelino has continued to make significant impacts at the local level. Since being in office Marcelino managed to secure funding for affordable housing projects, at-risk youth programs and involved in improving three daycare facilities.

“When you are able to obtain funding for projects in the community, it feels good because those organizations truly help the vulnerable members of society,”she said.

Under her role as Minister of Multiculturalism and Literacy, her office is continuously involved in improving adult learning centres throughout the province giving adults a second chance to obtain their high school education tuition free, a role she takes pride in witnessing the direct impact it has had with her fellow Manitobans.

Another issue high on her agenda is the development of culturally sensitive senior care homes. With the aging population, there are certain needs for different ethnic groups, she said. Marcelino believes these facilities should be available when seniors from these groups can no longer be cared for at their homes.

“Today we have Jewish personal care homes, or homes populated mainly by Ukranians and First Nations people, but none for our multicultural communities,” she said.

“The changing demographics are not only happening with European backgrounds, but many Manitobans are non-Europeans who need a place that honours and celebrates their cultural differences.”

From culturally sensitive homes to helping set the stage for universal daycare in Mantioba, Marcelino has a clear mission of what she wants to get done while in office. Sharply focused on working with residents that make up her constituency, she understands that finding solutions to local problems start at the community level.

“Everyday you wake up and think about what things you can do to positively affect the community. “If you put your heart and head into it, there is so much work that can be done,” she said.

The next general election of Manitoba is slated for April 2016.