10 December 2014 – The newly-elected Mayor of Toronto John Tory was the special guest at the Consular Corps Association of Toronto year-end gala holiday luncheon at the National Club on December 09, which was attended by Philippine Consul General Junever Mahilum-West, spouse Mr.  John West, and around a hundred members of the consular corps.

Mayor Tory outlined his priorities to achieve  “One Toronto for All,” and invited the Consular Corps to further develop people-to-people and bilateral relations between Toronto and the countries they represent and expressed appreciation for the ethnic and cultural diversity of the Greater Toronto Area from which the City derives its strength. The Mayor vowed to optimize the benefits for all in the proper recognition of skills and qualifications of migrants, and, in an aside with Consul General Mahilum-West, on realizing the naming of an area in Bathurst and Wilson “Little Manila,” after it was so “christened” at the Taste of Manila, the first-ever and highly successful Filipino street festival in Toronto which drew a crowd of 50,000, held from August 22 to 23 this year. END