21 July 2014 – The Philippine Consulate General in Vancouver conducted a two-day consular outreach activity from July 9 to 10 in the City of Kelowna BC to provide passport, notarial and civil registry services for Filipinos living in the city located 5 hours by land travel from Vancouver.
A total of 247 applications for passport renewals and first-time applicants were processed through the appointment system adopted by the Consulate General. Aside from availing of consular services, the residents of Kelowna and a number of Filipinos who came all the way from Alberta province took advantage of the outreach event to register as overseas voters for the 2016 presidential elections.
The visit to Kelowna also included a courtesy call by Philippine Consul General Neil Frank Ferrer on Councilor Maxine DeHart who was concurrently serving as Deputy Mayor. She extended the greetings of Mayor Walter Gray and gave a brief overview of the current developments in the city particularly in the area of tourism promotion, infrastructure development and business support. The City Government is actively promoting partnerships and co-oping with the private sector. She cited as a positive example the lease agreement for the development of the marina which involved the establishment of restaurants and hotels along the famous Okanagan Lake at no cost to the government.
On the business side, Philippine Consul General Ferrer held a meeting with Ms. Corie Griffiths of the Central Okanagan Economic Development Commission. The commission serves as coordinator in providing support to the local business community and prospective entrepreneurs. Ms. Griffiths explained that the City Government has taken a unique approach in enticing business locators by focusing on the city’s competitive advantage in terms of quality environment, lifestyle, healthcare and presence of an educated workforce. She acknowledged the huge contribution of Filipinos along with other foreign workers on Canada’s labor system and that the business community has been vocal about the impact of the recent changes in the Temporary Foreign Workers Program (TFWP) of the Federal Government.
With the assistance of the Councilor DeHart, a meeting was arranged between Philippine Consul General Ferrer and Mr. Dave McAnerney, President and CEO of SunRype beverage and snack company. Established in 1946, the Kelowna-based company has expanded its line of products from fruit juices and concentrates to fruit snacks and energy bars. The company is a major supplier of fruit products throughout Canada and has established a strong presence in the US market. Mr. McAnerney added that only recently, they started mixing coco water with SunRype’s fruit juices. He said he was open to the idea of studying the possibility of expanding their business operations and finding a suitable distributor of their products in the Philippines. END