Mississauga Centre MPP Nomination race heats up

Mississauga Centre MPP Nomination race heats up

Rosemer Enverga Hopeful

MISSISSAUGA, Ontario–Filipino-Canadians in the Mississauga Centre riding are anxiously waiting to know who will come out as the winner in the MPP nomination race which was recently opened by the Ontario PC Party.

The nomination race pits Rosemer Enverga against three other candidates: Qadeer Shah, Natalia Kusendova and Tanya Allen. Shah is the Muslim community’s bet, Kusendova has the Polish community following, and Allen has the Croatian community’s support.

The riding nomination was previously won by Angely Pacis, a Filipino-Canadian lawyer who moved from Montreal, with roots in Mississauga
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Enverga, the widow of the late Senator Tobias “Jun” Enverga, holds a business degree and has for a long-time been a Progressive Conservative Party member. She entered the race after two other Filipino-Canadian aspirants, Dr. C. Silva and J.V. Salamena backed off and picked her as the “unity candidate” at a community meeting on March 25, 2018.

In a letter to Filipino-Canadian constituents, Enverga expressed that she was saddened by the recall of Pacis’ candidacy and urged the community not to allow their despair to paralyze them into inaction. “All is not lost. Despite the daunting challenges I face, I am standing in for our community. Join me and together let’s continue the efforts began by Angely to gain representation for our community”, Enverga urged.

There are approximately 350,000 Filipinos who call Ontario their home, but are not represented in provincial parliament. “We must change this anomalous situation,” Enverga stressed.

After about a week of meetings with members of the Filipino community, Enverga says she is pleased with the response to her appeal for support. “I am very hopeful that our community will come through again. We’ve done it before and we can do it again. Our community has grown considerably, and it is time we have a voice in Queen’s Park,” she added.

Riding residents must register or renew their memberships by April 6, 2018 to be able to vote on April 21, 2018. Enverga is asking prospective supporters to call (289) 999-5515 (Campaign Support Mainline) for further information.

(PRESS RELEASE/Fe Paca-Taduran)