In line with its 2011 Consular Outreach Program, the Philippine Embassy in Ottawa dispatched a four-man team to Montreal on 18-19 March 2011 to render passport and authentication services to the 30,000-strong Filipino community there.

The Consular Mission was undertaken in partnership with the Filipino Association of Montreal and Suburbs (FAMAS) through its President, Ms. Aurora Osdon.

From its modest beginnings in 1963 as a social club of Filipino professionals, FAMAS has evolved into a registered non-profit organization catering to Filipino immigrants and contract workers integrating into their new environment and society.   The FAMAS  Community Center serves as a home away from home and as a socio-civic, educational and cultural hub for some 30,000 Filipino-Canadians residing in the greater Montreal area.

Over 200 passports and 70 legal documents were processed during the consular mission.  An appointment system instituted by the Embassy for mobile ePassport processing made for an orderly flow of applicants.

The consular outreach in March comes on the heels of the Embassy's passport mission to Montreal on 27 November 2010 in cooperation with the Jesus Is Lord Movement.