21God could not be everywhere and therefore he made mothers. JEWISH PROVERB

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22 MAY 2012

A mother understands what a child does not say. AUTHOR UNKNOWN

ORNERSTONE COLLEGE is set to grant ten scholarships for deserving caregivers who want to study the Personal Support Worker (PSW) Pro-

gram but cannot afford the costs.JOSEPH FRANCO, Cornerstone executive

vice president and chief administrator, said the college would “make a contribution” of C$10,000 worth of diploma programs for se-lected caregivers.

Cornerstone is a duly registered and ap-proved college under the Private Career Col-leges Act of 2005,

Franco, in a letter to libreto, said the col-lege has heeded the “cause of empowering the caregivers”.

The college is initiating an effort to give back to the community, most especially to the caregivers, he added.

On July 14, Cornerstone is spearheading a caregiver’s night entitled Empowering the Caregivers and their Role in Society at the Our Lady of the Assumption Church Hall.

Franco noted the silent heroes’ marked contribution to businesses and community. PR

Cornerstone College offersscholarships for caregivers

‘Giving back to community’

C

The Filipino Association of Richmond Hill (FARH) is inviting you to join them in a Casino Rama fundraising trip on May 27. Tickets are at $10 per person, 19 years old and above. Pick-up will be at Highway 7 and Yonge Street (Theatre Parking) at 9:30 a.m. Another pick-up site may be arranged for a group of 20 participants or more. The bus arrives at Casino Rama at 11:30 a.m. and leaves at 4:30 p.m. Thanks from FARH president MIKE CADUCIO.

T may be far off the target, but ALS On-tario and friends and supporters of the late Constable DOUG ORD are optimistic.

“It was a good start” at the launch of The Doug Ord Memorial Fund at the Toronto Police Association Hall on April 13, said MAISIE LEONG, ALS Ontario events and fund devel-opment coordinator.

“We raised $1,200 to date” and more do-nations are coming, Leong said.

Organizers hope to raise some $50,000

Ord Foundation raises $1,200I to help support ALS Ontario in its programs to

make people aware of the Amyotrophic Lat-eral Sclerosis or Lou Gehrig’s Disease that took the life of community friend and peacekeep-er Doug Ord.

Leong called on everyone to “keep up the momentum in all upcoming events in the community over the next few months”.

During the launch, Toronto police chief WILLIAM BLAIR said Constable Ord served as the extraordinary “connection” that drew the

police closer to the Asian-Pacific com-munities.

Community lead-er NORMA CARPIO said Ord was always willing to help any-one, especially new-comers.

Carpio said sup-porting the ALS Soci-ety Doug Ord Memo-rial Fund would be the best way to pay for-ward what Doug did for the communities he served, so that ALS could best carry out its mission to attend to those inflicted with and dying of ALS.

BRIAN DUNPHY, ALS Ontario business development man-ager, said ALS could be the second life-taker in Canada in a few decades.

The VOICES. The PERFORMING ARTISTS @ YDS where homegrown talents of Filipino roots take centre stage

6th Filipinos Making Waves FestivalAugust 18, 2012

For artist auditions, email fmwfestival@gmail.com orvisit http://www.filipinosmakingwaves.com

23I remember my mother’s prayers and they have always followed me. They have clung to me all my life. ABRAHAM LINCOLN

MAY 2012

PIDC pageants overall chair RORY ELEFANO, PIDC Little Miss Philippines chair HELEN LAO and PIDC Miss Philippines chair GENE ELAMPARO (4th to 6th from left, respectively) join PIDC Miss Philippines candidates during the April 22 presentation.

PIDC officials led by president NORMA CARPIO (5th from right) join PIDC Miss Philip-pines candidates during the April 22 presentation.

PIDC LITTLE MISS PHILIPPINES 2012 Candidates

Cheryl HaileynaFLORES

Demme GabrielleALEXANDER

Faith NilaDALAGUIT

GreganBENT

ChloeSAN JUAN

KristaSIGNO

Krizzia ChelseaCojuang ASUBE

RaelleROBLES

PIDC MISS PHILIPPINES 2012 Candidates

AshleyTAHSIN

ChristinaDUMO

JoanneASCUETA

Jane CeldiniaLUPERTE

KristelARENAS

Leslie AnnNOLASCO

MaryJaneMANIACUP

PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCEDAY COUNCIL

Beauty PageantsBishop Morocco/Thomas Merton Academy

1515 Bloor St. West, TorontoJune 2, 2012, Saturday

Little Miss Philippines: 2 to 5 p.m.Miss Philippines: 7 to 10 p.m.

Jade MaryPINGOL

HE search is on for special Ambassadors of Goodwill who will foster unity and camaraderie in the Filipino-Canadian community by show-casing the best of Philippine arts, culture, heritage and charity.

Philippine Independence Day Council (PIDC) overall pageants co-chair RORY ELEFANO said the search would reach its climax with the crowning of the 2012 PIDC Little Miss Philippines and PIDC Miss Philippines at the Bishop Morocco/Thomas Merton Academy on June 2, from 2 to 5 p.m. and 7 to 10 p.m., respectively.

Little Miss Philippines candidates are DEMME GABRIELLE ALEXANDER, KRIZ-ZIA CHELSEA COJUANG ASUBE, GREGAN BENT, FAITH NILA DALAGUIT, CHERYL HAILEYNA FLORES, RAELLE ROBLES, CHLOE SAN JUAN and KRISTA SIGNO.

TVying for the 2012 PIDC Miss Philippines crown are KRISTEL ARENAS,

JOANNE ASCUETA, CHRISTINA DUMO, JANE CELDINIA LUPERTE, MARY JANE MANIACUP, KHRISTIA MERCADO, LESLIE ANN NOLASCO, JADE MARY PINGOL and ASHLEY TAHSIN.

“All our candidates will serve as our Ambassadors of Goodwill to all PIDC and other multicultural events. They will promote not only the Filipino culture but tourism as well,” Elefano said.

“The pageants seek to inspire excellence in our children and help develop their self-confidence and talents, and give them a wonderful experience,” she said.

Elefano extended her gratitude to the candidates, their parents, friends and supporters, as she noted the full support given by the pag-eants’ major sponsors Dr. VICTORIA SANTIAGO, AGATHA LUNA, FRAN-CIS REMENTILLA of Body Bliss and DANNY TSE of Korean Airlines.

She also lauded the members of the pageants committee. Cred-ited are overall PIDC event chair NORMA CARPIO, Miss Philippines co-chair GENE PARDO-ELAMPARO, Little Miss Philippines co-chair HELEN LAO and JENNIFER SY, artistic director ARIS ELEFANO, choreographers DODIE ARENAS and TEEGO VYBE, and master of ceremonies JEFF RUS-TIA, MACEY ATIENZA and NAOMI MACAPAGAL.

Pageant winners and their courts will represent PIDC in all its activi-ties such as the Philippine Independence Day Gala, Salu-Salo sa Earl Bales Park, Mabuhay Cup and the Mabuhay! Philippines Toronto Sum-mer Festival. Photos: PIDC official photographer FLORO VIRTUCIO

KhristiaMERCADO

24 A man loves his sweetheart the most, his wife the best, but his mother the longest. IRISH PROVERB

MAY 2012

25MAY 2012

Women’s Liberation is just a lot of foolishness. It’s the men who are discriminated against. They can’t bear children. And no one’s likely to do anything about that. GOLDA MEIR

HALLSICAT-PETERS GARVIDA WRONA GUEVARRA

MITCHELLE ORAA HATCH OCAMPOPINGOLNUGUID

Miss Manilacandidates

in Q&A segment hosted by

SAMANTHAEAST andEDWARD DE JUAN

Candidates (left) vie for the big points as they try to impress the panel of judges (right) with a dance number and presentations of their cos-tumes, casual outfit, evening wear and the Philippine terno during the Miss Manila pageant at the Korean Cultural Centre on April 28. The judges include RAFAEL NEBRES, ELIZABETH BOBILA, TALAT MAHMOOD REHAN, ELSIE ALTAMIRANO, RAFFY POLICARPIO, the reigning Miss Canada Globe, TED DAYNO, AURORA CAJUCOM, BEA SANTIAGO, CAROL BELLA, MARISSA PAJARDO and MICHELLE ARZAGA.

Miss Manila AURA JOY MITCHELLE, 1st runner-up SAMANTHA ORAA and 2nd runner-up MEGHAN GARVIDA share their crowning glory with winners of the Miss Canada Globe pageant.

Miss Manila AURA JOY MITCHELLE thanks family, friends and supporters.

AURA JOY MITCHELLE is proclaimed 2012 Miss Manila, in an over two-hour pageant at the Korean Cultur-al Centre on April 28. Mitchelle best-ed 10 other candidates to wear the crown of one of the community’s longest-running beauty contests in Canada. She received her tiara from 2011 Miss Manila 1st runner-up CHRISTINA DUMO. Composing Mitchelle’s court are 1st runner-up SAMANTHA ORAA and 2nd runner-up MEGHAN GARVIDA. Candidates voted DANIELLE OCAMPO as Miss Congeniality. Ocampo also won Best in Terno. PATRICIA GUEVARRA was named Best in Evening Gown. The other candidates in the 2012 Miss Manila are SKYLAR SICAT-PE-TERS, DIANA WRONA, DAWN HALL, KYANA HATCH, ALDREY NUGUID and JADE MARIE PINGOL.

As entertaining as the show of Miss Manila candidates were the song numbers of ARLENE PACULAN and ROY TUGBANG. The Fiesta Filipina Dance Troupe, under the direction of choreog-rapher LYNDA SUE AGUINALDO, performed a dance number that highlighted the 2012 Miss Manila theme Viva España. The Miss Manila pageant, a major fundraiser of the Fiesta Filipina Dance Troupe for its building, programs and projects, is chaired by TERESITA CUSIPAG, who thanked the candidates’ parents, families and supporters, and the troupe’s members and vol-unteers for the pageant’s success. With Cusipag in the Miss Manila committee are co-chair LURVIE DEBLOIS, executive pro-ducer ESTRELLITA AGUINALDO, technical director ODETTE AGUI-NALDO, choreographer Lynda Sue, stage director ANGELITO DIZON, treasurer and ticket coordinator JOSIE CONSUNJI, and candidate personality coach KESIAH PAPASIN. Photos: libreto

26 MAY 2012

A man’s work is from sun to sun, but a mother’s work is never done. AUTHOR UNKNOWN

people/events

MAKE WAVES,

NOT WARwww.filipinosmakingwaves.com

Online full colourcopy at

Want to read libreto directly from your computer? Send an e-mail to libretoronto@gmail.com with the message HELLO, and you’ll be among our regular monthly e-copy subscribers.

RAVING for free sizzling barbeques, homemade sweets, and deli treats?

The Toronto Chris-tian Worship Centre International Ministries (TCWCIM) will have its free all-you-can-eat BBQ party at the Earl Bale’s Park on May 19.

Rev. OGIE FERNANDEZ, TCWCIM’s head pastor, said the ‘Eat, compete, celebrate!’ event hoped to spread God’s gospel.

Besides the feast, picnic-party lovers would enjoy a lot of fun games, as emerging praise and worship band members showcase their music.

FREDDIE MAGNO, event organizer and chair, predicted the party’s success because it would be all about sharing God’s blessings, building friendships, and having fun.

Last year, some 150 church members and friends attended the first ‘Eat, compete, celebrate!’ (See photo below) PR

San Lorenzo Ruiz Church in Markham

Catholic parishioners have started to flock to the San Lorenzo Ruiz satellite church at the St. Patrick’s Church in Markham. Observers say the attendance at the satellite church dedicated to the Filipino saint is thriving. Above left, San Lorenzo stands by Mother Mary; above right, the Stations of the Cross are depicted in hand-drawn images; and be-low, parishioners venerate the Cross during Holy Friday rites and the Easter Eucharistic celebration. Photos: MOGI MOGADO

CTCWCIM skedsBBQ party at

Earl Bale’s Park

HE Philippine Teachers Association of Canada (PTAC) has partnered anew with four more major

immigrant service-focused groups in Ontario to boost its goals to bring viable opportunities and challenges to members in terms of settlement, adjustment, and integration.

PTAC president TONY SAN JUAN said the group has become a working partner of the Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council -Professional Immigrants Network, Asian Canadian Educators Network, Don Valley Local Initiative Partnership, and Durham Centre for Excellence.

In the community, PTAC has continuing cooperation linkages with the Kababayan Community Centre Multicultural Services, Filipino Centre Toronto, Camarines Norte Association Canada-Ontario, The Featineans Association of Toronto, Bicol Canada Community Association, Inc., Pilipino Canadian Friendship Society of Canada, Philippine Independence Day Council, North York Pinoy Athletic Association and others.

As a community partner, PTAC has been sharing with leading groups its expertise and experience in providing professional support in teacher

PTAC teamsup with

service groups

accreditation assistance for internationally-trained educators, career-related professional deve-lopment, and education-allied engagements and resources, through its programs meant for its members and non-members.

PTAC initiatives included Professional Resource and Outreach Program, a community academic education support; Project Teach, a volunteer

teaching referral; Teacher Accreditation Buddy, a mentoring system; Focus Registered Teachers Exchange, a career search and infomation sharing group; Book and Resources in Education Donation, education materials donation; Professional Assistance and Ceritification Evaluation, a teacher certifiability assessment assistance; Teachers Optimum Performance and

Service, a members’ recognition awards; Career Optimization and Professional Education, for members’ professional develop-ment and career building.

Formed in 2006, PTAC is a 105-member volunteer-run, nonprofit, socio-professional group of Ontario-certified practicing and retired teachers and/or former educators in the Philippines and other countries. PR

T

BALITAANG PAMAYANAN

27MAY 2012

On Mother’s Day I have written a poem for you. In the interest of poetic economy and truth, I have succeeded in concentrating my deepest feelings and beliefs into two perfectly crafted lines: You’re my mother, I would have no other! FOREST HOUTENSCHILL

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Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. R

28 MAY 2012

Motherhood is pricedOf God, at price no man may dare

To lessen or misunderstand. HELEN HUNT JACKSON

ILIPINO Centre Toronto (FCT) officials have named the three recipients of this year’s FCT Young Entrepreneur

and Young Professional Awards during the FCT Presidents’ Gala at the Fairmont Royal York on April 28.

Young professional awardees are RUSS PATRICK PEREZ ALCEDO and ROLAND SINTOS COLOMA. The Young Entrepreneur awardee is JOSEPH MAGKAWAS ALILIO.

The honorees received their plaques of recognition from award selection committee chair NENETTE DE VILLA and co-chair GENY DE LEON, assisted by committee member TESS LUMANLAN. (Photos on right)

Writer, director, producerAlcedo’s impressive quali-

fications include a B.A. English

Language from the University of the Philippines and Ph.D. in Dance History and Theory from the University of California.

He is the first and only Filipino hired as a tenure-track professor at York University where he got the Dean’s Teaching

FCT names ‘12 YE, YP awardeesAIDA D’ORAZIOF

ALCEDO COLOMA

ALILIOAward.

He was a Rockefeller Huma-nities Fellow at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.

Alcedo is the writer, director and producer of documentary films. He holds Canada’s Social Science Humanities Research Council creation grant for his work on performance, immigrant identities and emotional labor among Filipino caregivers in Toronto.

Researcher on Fil elderlyColoma has a B.A. in Liberal

Studies, University of California; M.A. and Ph.D. in Cultural Studies in Education, Ohio University; M.A. in Educational Administration, University of California.

At the University of Toronto, he

has served as assistant professor and graduate coordinator, Department of Sociology and Equity Studies in Education; and co-director, Centre for Integrative Anti-Racism Studies.

He is one of seven university professors of Filipino descent in the fields of Humanities and Social Sciences in Canada.

He is involved with a research project on Filipino elderlies in Canada.

Bringing back biz integrityAlilio, part owner and chief

operations officer of FOREX and UMAC Toronto, acquired his BS Management from the Sacred Heart College in Lucena City, the Philippines.

He is involved either as officer and member of the Quezon Province Association of Canada, Dolores Association of Canada, Philippine Chamber of Commerce Toronto, and the Knights of Columbus.

From a family of entrepre-neurs, his business acumen enabled him to steer a once failing company back to its feet.

There was a time when the community had lost faith in the balikbayan box businesses and stopped sending boxes to the Philippines.

Alilio helped bring back integrity to the business. UMAC, a sister company was established. After recovering from the disaster, the two companies have been growing beyond expectations.

HE Philippines is the largest source of migrants to Canada, and Filipinos are the fourth largest racialized

minority group in this country.Yet little is known about the

needs and experiences of elderly members of this community.

The Filipino Elderly Wellbeing Project is a new university-community research collaboration that aims to address this gap.

ROLAND SINTOS COLOMA, a University of Toronto professor and the project’s principal investigator, says there is no comprehensive research study on Filipino elderlies in Canada.

He says “It is difficult to address policy, funding, medical and social services, and family issues without data. Our research will be thorough and inclusive, so findings can have a positive impact on the lives of our elderlies.”

LINDA JAVIER, president of Filipino Centre Toronto and the project’s community partner, has been a Toronto resident for over 40 years and has seen demographic changes over time.

She says: “We have Filipinos who immigrated to Canada as professionals in the 1970s and 1980s and who are now retired. We also have elderlies who came within the past decade through the family sponsorship program. Although these two groups are of the same age bracket, their situations are quite different.”

Knowing the varying situations of Filipino elderlies is important so that appropriate services can be provided to them.

The Filipino Elderly Wellbeing Project is looking for 200 parti-cipants in the Greater Toronto Area to complete a questionnaire.

To qualify, participants have to be at least 65 years old, of

Filipino ancestry, a citizen or permanent resident of Canada, and a GTA resident.

The survey will ask questions about immigration, housing, em-ployment, finances, food, health, medical and social services, mobility, and social networks.

After the surveys are completed, a small number of participants will be interviewed to obtain more specific details.

Meanwhile, a letter has been sent out to leaders and members of Filipino associations in the Greater Toronto Area with the information and a request for participation.

What are the benefits for the participants?

• Participants who complete the questionnaire will receive a gift card. They will also receive an additional gift card for participating in an optional interview.

• Since the questionnaire and interview will be anonymous, the participants’ responses will be grouped in the overall findings. Hence, the participants will be able to share their experiences and perspectives in a confidential and non-judgmental manner.

• The research findings may be used in policy, funding, and service-delivery discussions.

• The research findings may be used in grant applications to develop new programs and services as well as enhance existing ones for Filipino elderlies.

FRANK VILLANUEVA, a board member of FCT, initiated this collaboration after seeing the facilities and services for other ethnic elderlies in Toronto.

Villanueva says: “The time has come for Filipinos to face the reality that we have an increasing graying population. So that we can properly support them, we need to ask what their needs are. And that is where we will begin.”

Needs of Filipino elderly in Canada

T

NOT WAR

Mansell is also a QSM award-ee for Services to the Filipino Com-munity in New Zealand’s 2011 Queen’s Birthday Honors List.

Oscar and Miriam Batucan are the first Filipino-New Zealand-er couple to be awarded the Ben-emerenti Medal given by Pope Benedict XVI on July 20, 2009.

Padilla was Best Actress in a Leading Role in the Musical North Area Performance Theater Awards for 2011.

Garcia-Jowett was a final-ist of the Open Section, 2007 and 2010 World of Wearable Arts Awards Show.

She was commended in the

Red Section of the 2003 World of Wearable Arts Awards Show and AKLnzPINOYS, Print Journalism awardee in the 1st Media and Mi-gration Advocacy Awards of the Commission on Filipinos Overseas for 2011.

Benavidez said “they are the Philippine Embassy’s valuable partners in promoting the welfare and interests of Filipinos in New Zealand, supporting programs to highlight the rich and varied cul-tural, artistic and spiritual heritage of the Philippines and contribut-ing, in their respective ways, to growth and progress in the Philip-pines.” PNA

Achievers in New Zealand laudedFrom page 9

communicate basic information during virtual or in-person meet-ings, read or write professional emails in English or deal with complexity and rapid change in a global business environment, the study said.

But most global workers (60.5 percent) scored between a 4.0 and 7.0, below an intermedi-ate level, indicating an inability to take an active role in business discussions or perform relatively complex tasks such as presenta-tion development and customer or partner negotiations, it added.

Bad for global business“Poor Business English skills are

bad for global businesses and this

Study ranks PHL top nation in biz ...From page 18

year’s Business English Index sug-gests that many companies will be hard-pressed to achieve their desired performance goals dur-ing 2012,” said TOM KAHL, Globa-lEnglish president.

“Addressing English skills gaps and ensuring that employees can immediately perform at the nec-essary proficiency level should be viewed as a strategic imperative for multinational businesses.”

“Enterprise Fluency, the abil-ity to seamlessly communicate and collaborate within global organizations, can deliver signifi-cant financial upside,” Kahl said.SHEILO MENDOZA, Yahoo! South-east Asia Newsroom

MAKE WAVES,

29MAY 2012

You don’t really understand human nature unless you know why a child on a merry-go-round will wave at his parents every time around - and why his parents will always wave back. WILLIAM TAMMEUS

Lim said the frogs “help keep balance in the forest’s ecosys-tem.”

Mt. Nacolod is among ten pi-lot sites of the New Conservation Areas in the Philippines Project (NCAPP). Other pilot sites are the Zambales Mountains in Zambales, Tarlac and Pangasinan; Mt. Iglit Baco National Park in Mindoro Oriental and Mindoro Occiden-tal; Mts. Nug-as and Lantoy in Cebu; Tawi-tawi Island in the Au-tonomous Region in Muslim Min-danao; Mt. Kalatungan in Bukid-non; Banao Watershed in Kalinga and Mountain Province; Mts. Irid-

Anglo and Binuang in Rizal, Bula-can and Quezon; Polillo Group of Islands in Quezon; and Mt. Hilong-hilong in Agusan del Norte, Agu-san del Sur, Surigao del Norte and Surigao del Sur.

NCAPP covers the 2010-2015 period and is backed by a US$10 million grant from the United Na-tions Development Programme to expand and strengthen the country’s terrestrial protected area system.

Lim said the richness of the Philippines’ biodiversity could be further gleaned from the discov-ery of 36 new herpetofauna spe-

New finds boosts the Philippines’ ...From page 6GENE LARA

returns tocommunity

service

cies in the country in the past 10 years. “That’s a lot compared to rate of specie discovery in other countries.”

A recent report said the cloud rat was sighted in Dinagat Island.

“Such specie was first seen in the 1970s; then this year, we’re rediscovering species thought ex-tinct,” Lim said.

PAWB reported the Philip-pines harbours more diverse life forms than any other country on earth on a per hectare basis.

The country has over 52,177 described species, over half found nowhere else on earth. PNA

Ontarian AMOR GABORNO (2nd row, 2nd from right) joins batchmates during the Class of ‘62 Golden Anni-versary reunion at the grounds of alma mater Muñoz Provincial High School, Science City of Muñoz, Nueva Ecija, the Philippines on April 28.

Muñoz Prov’l HSClass ‘62 reunion

libreto community columnist AMOR GABORNO gets a wel-come hug from Muñoz City may-or EFREN ALVAREZ.

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30 MAY 2012

A mom’s hug lasts long after she lets go. AUTHOR UNKNOWN

Kababayan Community Centre’s Seniors’ Group Reunion

Senior members of the Kababayan Community Centre took time out of their schedules to get together for a luncheon reunion at the Mandarin Restaurant in Scarborough on April 15. The affair was organized and led by PERLA ANDAYA, past president of the group. Photo: LINDA HERMO

have impressed local and foreign scientists.In 1998, the newest bird specie, the Ca-

layan rail (Garillalus calayanensis), was found in the island town of Calayan.

Early this decade, conservationists from the Cagayan Valley People’s Progress and Development discovered three species of raf-flesia, the world’s biggest flower, in the jungles of Sierra Madre.

Archaeologists from the National Muse-um discovered in the early 1970s large extinct

mammal-like rhinoceros, elephants and giant tortoises that once roamed in the great Ice age half a million years ago.

“Numerous animal fossils exist in Solana, Enrile, Tuao and Rizal towns and man-made tools show indirect evidence of the presence of human kind hundreds of years ago,” mu-seum curator LORIE DECENA-MALBOG said.

At the banks of the Rio Grande De Ca-gayan in Peñablanca town, acknowledged as the Caving Capital of the Philippines, hun-dreds of caves, rockshelters and open sites were said to have been used by humans of

Cagayan: Vault of ...From page 8

pre-historic times.Archaeologist CAROL POBRE claimed that

excavations in Barangay Andarayan, Solana revealed the use of rice husk to strengthen pottery.

“Because the Cagayan River is the life-blood of the valley, it allows prehistoric settle-ments to proliferate,” Pobre said.

Shell midden sites are found on the river banks in the towns of Aparri, Lal-lo, Camala-niugan and Gattaran. The Lal-lo shell midden sites are probably the largest in Southeast Asia, if not in the world, Pobre said. PNA

Their applications were never refused but only languished in the backlog because of bureaucratic incompetence.

Racial discrimination?Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Pro-

tection Act (IRPA), the basic law that governs the country’s immigration system, says that decisions made under this law should be con-sistent with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, including principles of equal-ity and freedom from discrimination.

Applicants directly affected by Cana-da Immigration’s draconian decision to shut the door to those who have applied prior to 2008 but have patiently followed the rules are mainly from China, India and the Philippines.

These are applicants not necessarily the type of people from Western Europe that Canada prefers. Wouldn’t this be a clear act of discrimination against a specific race?

Defiance of IRPARight after the federal elections in 2011,

Kenney asked Canadians to help the govern-ment round up and deport suspected war criminals and illegal immigrants, ominously signalling the change from his previous pro-immigrant stance during the election cam-paign to that of an “Immigration Hunter” as the media had dubbed him.

On October 20, 2011, Kenney rose be-fore the Parliament’s Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration and announced that immigration applications need to be re-duced to fix the current backlog.

He didn’t say then that those who ap-plied before 2008 and whose applications are decomposing in the backlog would be dropped.

Kenney instead decided to cap the num-ber of applications for family reunification, thus denied the hopes of many new immigrants to bring their families with them to Canada,

a clear defiance of the IRPA objective to re-unite families.

To allay fears of immigrants that they would not be able to sponsor their families, Kenney sweetened the cap by allowing par-ents and grandparents to come to Canada as temporary visitors under an expedited ap-plication process -- eight weeks versus eight years if they apply for permanent residence.

Employers’ greater sayThe Minister of Immigration wants a just-in-

time system that recruits people with the right skills to meet Canada’s labour market needs, expedites their immigration and gets them working in a period of months, not years.

In other words, Kenney wants employers to have a greater say in selection of immi-grants.

“The reforms are not about completely handing over to employers the power of se-lection, but rather about increasing their role,” he told The Huffington Post Canada. “There will continue to be a certain criteria that peo-ple have to meet.”

Many have criticized Kenney’s decision to put employers in the driver’s seat of Cana-da’s immigration system.

PETER SHOWLER, former chairperson of the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, said allowing businesses to pick and choose the country’s newcomers hands “significant control over the selection of ideal immigrants to employers, who are acting in their own self-interest, not in Canada’s interest.”

300,000 temp workersGiving employers more say in selecting

immigrants will result in a narrower focus be-cause they will simply choose those who can fill a particular job. Right now, there are more than 300,000 temporary foreign workers in Canada -- people who have been hired by employers to fill in their labour shortage.

Unlike immigrants, these temporary work-ers have no guarantee of staying in Canada after their papers expire.

These are the types of workers preferred by most employers; these are workers who can be hired when needed and disposed of when their services are no longer necessary.

Lower wagesLately, Canada’s Human Resources Min-

ister DIANE FINLEY has announced that the Conservative government would now be will-ing to let employers pay temporary foreign workers less than what Canadians are paid.

Finley said that employers will be allowed to pay such foreign workers 15 percent less than the prevailing wage.

So, the hiring of temporary foreign work-ers which was begun as a stop-gap measure in 2000 looks like the policy of choice by the Conservative government.

There will be more temporary foreign workers coming to Canada who are dispos-able after their contracts expire.

No more backlogs, then. Exactly what the economy needs to prosper and for employers to make more profits: by lowering wages.

More sinisterThere is something more sinister in the

government’s scheme to eliminate the back-log and reform what is considered a dysfunc-tional immigration system.

The reason is more economic than any-thing else: to drive down wages or else the government will take in more temporary for-eign workers, trained and cheap labour from abroad.

The Conservatives want to put a stop to Canadians whining about jobs going to immi-grants and foreign workers.

They are not mincing words: Canadian workers better stop complaining and accept lower wages. Kenney warned that unem-ployed workers who refuse to take low-wage jobs will have their employment insurance benefits cut off.

If Canadians agree to work for less, says Kenney, Ottawa won’t have to bring in as many low-wage outsiders. jorivz@gmail.com

Canada’s sinister ... From page 5