International Trade committee  No, it's fine, thanks.

International Trade committee  Give us a chance to meet with the minister, and we can express what we need, what we want, and our views, so things can be improved. The relations between the bilateral and the government can be improved so help can be given to us, and we can also give some help to the government

International Trade committee  It's very interesting to note that you are speaking about multiculturalism. We have lots of Filipinos and Vietnamese. Those are the two biggest ones that I know of. What those communities did was form bilateral organizations like the Philippines-Canada Trade Council for the Filip

International Trade committee  Yes. We are not receiving any support from the provincial or the federal government. We are funding those organizations ourselves. That's why I am here to present our views, and maybe to seek assistance if the government can give something.

International Trade committee  Ground presence is really very important in order for Canadian companies to flourish in ASEAN countries. They should be able to partner with the ASEAN businesses there, so Canadian businesses can get a foothold.

International Trade committee  What I was trying to say before is that the members of the bilateral organizations here can be of use to the trade commissioners in getting more accurate information, because the members of the ASEAN bilaterals here have been there, and they know their countries better than those

International Trade committee  Thanks for the question. I concur with what Mr. Pau Woo said. Sometimes it takes time for the embassies to grant visas, even for special permits for business travellers, and for students. There could be some reasons, which I really cannot say right now, because I don't know the

International Trade committee  I can only speak about the Philippines. I was made to understand that right now the Philippines is number three when it comes to immigration to Canada, so it's taking more time for the Canadian embassy in the Philippines to process those visas.

International Trade committee  I'd like to thank the committee for the opportunity to present the views of the council on the ways the Canadian government can assist in the development of better and progressive economic and cultural relations within Canada and ASEAN. I have lived in Canada for the last 17 ye