14 November 2016 - Demonstrating the potency of grassroots empowerment, Deputy Cabinet Peter Tiu Laviña of the Office of Participatory Governance in the Office of the President held town hall meetings with members of the Filipino communities in both Ottawa and Montreal to convey the message that the Philippine government is actively promoting, practicing, and engaging in participatory governance and is institutionalizing citizen participation.

The community members in Ottawa and Montreal expressed appreciation to the Embassy and to Undersecretary Laviña for taking the time to reach out to them to convey the government's view on pressing issues reported in media.

The Philippines and Canada enjoy robust people-to-people ties. Filipinos comprise the third largest ethnic community group in Canada. Numbering at 662,600 as of the 2011 nationwide census, the ranks of the Filipino community in Canada is bolstered as Canada welcome almost 200,000 permanent residents from the country, making the Philippines the biggest source of new migrants into Canada. Over 11,000 Filipinos reside in the National Capital area of Ottawa-Gatineau, while about 40,000 live in the City of Montreal. END