04 November 214 – Philippine Consul-General in Toronto Junever Mahilum-West attended on November 02 the inauguration of a new community grouping called the Filipino-Canadian Heritage and Resource of Durham (FCHRD), which organizes under one umbrella the Filipino-Canadian residents in the region of Durham to the east of Toronto.
FCHRD was established “to provide the primary support network” for the Filipino-Canadian community in the area. It was highly instrumental in organizing the first flag-raising ceremony to commemorate Philippine Independence at the Pickering City Hall last June and is planning to hold a big fiesta celebration of Independence Day next June. Evie Poliarco is FCHRD’s founding President.
Among the guest dignitaries were Citizenship and Immigration Minister Chris Alexander, Senator Tobias “Jun” Enverga and Ms. Rosemer Enverga, Judge Steve Coroza of the Superior Court of Justice, Ajax Mayor Steve Parish, Durham Regional Chair Roger Anderson, MPP for Ajax-Pickering Jose Dickson, MPP for Pickering-Scarborough East Tracy MacCharles and MP for Pickering-Scarborough East Corneliu Chisu.
Minister Alexander provided in his remarks the details on the caregiver program reforms he announced on October 31 after “intensive consultations and constructive dialogue,” which he described as the most significant changes in Canada’s caregiver program. The new measures aim to eliminate backlogs via processing of applications in six months; give caregivers the option of living-in with employers or living out, as compared to the compulsory living-in arrangements before; shorten the period of family separation with the target of family reunification within three years; provide multiple pathways for caregivers in obtaining permanent resident status; and offer enhanced career prospects for caregivers who may opt to widen their horizons beyond caregiving.
The Durham Region is composed of the cities of Oshawa and Pickering, the towns of Ajax and Whitby, the municipality of Clarington, and the townships of Brock, Scugog and Uxbridge. The Region is located in the highly-developed and populated economic center of the province of Ontario called the Golden Horseshoe which stretches from Oshawa to Niagara Falls. Durham is noted for manufacturing, infrastructure, a young and skilled work force and a rapidly growing residential development which is spreading from the Toronto area. Durham has the largest agricultural land in the Greater Toronto Area. Total land area is 2,590 sq. kms., while population was pegged at 633,130 in May 2011. Population targets are 810,000 by 2021 and 970,000 by year 2031. END