Madam Speaker, just last week I spoke in the House about Citizenship Week in Canada and how important that is, particularly to the Barrie—Innisfil community. We are truly blessed in Barrie—Innisfil with the richness and mix of cultures we have, whether it is the South Asian culture or the Filipino community. Therefore, it gives me great pleasure to stand today to speak to this motion by the hon. member for Scarborough Centre on the establishment of Filipino heritage month in June.
My first exposure to the Filipino community in Barrie and Innisfil was during the time I spent nine years on Barrie council. It was through the former MP whom I replaced, Mr. Patrick Brown, who really had a deep and strong connection with the Filipino community, that I got to meet many of the great people who represent Filipino Canadians in Barrie. I will be speaking about them and just what their organizations do for my community a little later on.
It is important to understand that 337,000 Filipinos live in Ontario. There are about 850,000 Filipino Canadians. They are hard-working, God-fearing people who have come to this country not only to contribute, but to contribute in a great way. For over 60 years, Filipino Canadians have lived and worked in many communities across Canada, including my community of Barrie—Innisfil, adding to our country's rich culture and heritage. As I said, this motion would recognize that with a Filipino heritage month in June.
Across the country, amazingly, there are about 1,000 Filipino associations taking up the causes of charity, awareness, and providing programs for children. Besides adding to our culture, Filipinos invest heavily in our country by running small businesses, as well as large companies, that employ thousands of Canadians across this country. Many Filipinos I know in my community work several jobs to contribute not only to our communities but also to better their own lives and those of their families and the people around them.
Filipino Canadians run over 30 newspapers and magazines across the country. One of my constituents, Beethoven Crasco, runs a social media online magazine called the Federal POST. It was my honour, shortly after I was elected to Parliament, to do an interview with Beethoven, to speak about my role as a member of Parliament. That was widely distributed through social media to the Filipino community.
Filipinos also host about 25 festivals year-round that bring awareness to their unique culture, and they are visited by well over 350,000 people across the country. Just one festival alone, the Taste of Manila in Toronto, attracts hundreds of thousands of people.
In 2014, Canada was well represented at the Winter Olympics by Filipino Canadian Gilmore Junio, a long-track Olympic speed skater. We all watched many Canadian athletes in the Olympics with pride. We cheered them on. It did not matter which country they had come to Canada from, but the country they now represented, Canada. We could see the pride in many of those athletes' faces.
I get to go to several of the Filipino community events in my riding. The Christmas party at the Allandale Recreation Centre is attended by hundreds of members of the Filipino community. They come together at that party to celebrate their culture and Christmas with fantastic traditional wardrobes from the Philippines, and there are performances, but it is the food that I appreciate. I often tell people that one does not get a body like mine by not eating the food that Filipinos make. It is quite something.
They also contribute through Easter egg hunts. It is a way to get not just the Filipino community but many members of our community together at Sunnidale Park in North Barrie, where they have a massive Easter egg hunt.
There are several Filipino organizations within Simcoe, such as the Bayanihan Club of Simcoe County, the Filipino-Canadian Association of Barrie and the Pilipinong Migrante sa Barrie, which is another organization that brings the Filipino community together.
They are extremely proud of the contributions that have been made politically in this country as well. We can think back to the first member of Parliament and the first senator. Rey Pagtakhan was the first Filipino elected as a member of Parliament. Of course, there is Tobias Enverga who, unfortunately, quite suddenly passed away while on parliamentary business in Colombia. Shortly after Senator Enverga passed away, at the Christmas party I was speaking about earlier held in Barrie, there was so much love and respect, and so many people were going to miss Senator Enverga. He was everywhere, and not just within the Filipino community but those diverse communities in and around the greater Toronto area. The tears flowed heartily for Senator Enverga after his passing. A video tribute was paid to the senator, which was quite moving and touching.
My colleague, a member of the provincial Parliament, Andrea Khanjin, has a deep connection within the Filipino community, and a deep connection to Mely Titus from the Bayanihan Club. I mentioned Beethoven Cordero Crasco and his little boy J.C., who is the spitting image of his dad. They always have a smile on their faces when posting on social media, bringing great joy not just to the Filipino community but others as well.
I would be remiss if I did not mention Elmore Cudanin, the patriarch of the Filipino community. He is one of the first people I met within the Barrie Filipino community. Elmore, to this day, remains a good friend and a strong contributor. Of course, in the Filipino-Canadian Association of Barrie, there is Rose Malott. Again, there are so many who contribute so much in our community.
I mentioned earlier that the Canadian Filipino community has a deep and strong connection to the Philippines. Any time there is a natural disaster or significant event in the Philippines, we can always count on the Barrie, Simcoe County, Innisfil area Filipino community to step up and do what they need to do to help their countrymen back in the Philippines.
I go to many events within my community, as most members of Parliament do. I am attending a Latin association Latin heritage festival on Saturday afternoon. On Saturday evening there is the Film Showing and Mini Concert for a Cause. It is a fundraising event for typhoon Mangkhut in the Philippines and the Ompong victims. There are three groups coming together, the Bayanihan Club, the Filipino-Canadian Association of Barrie and the Pilipinong Migrante sa Barrie, on Saturday, October 27 for a fundraiser. It is just a $5 donation or more. They are going to have a lot of things, such as a concert. It starts at 6 p.m. at the Burton Avenue United Church, 37 Burton Avenue in Barrie. I am going to be there along with the Mayor of Barrie, Jeff Lehman, and our member of provincial Parliament, Andrea Khanjin, as well as the member for Barrie—Springwater—Oro-Medonte. I would encourage anybody who is able to come out and help the Filipino community help their fellow countrymen get through this situation with the typhoon.
I am very proud of our Filipino community. They contribute so much to our community and I consider them deep and dear friends.