Philippine Foreign Service Posts in Canada, comprising the professional corps and the honorary consular offices in the country, converged in Halifax, Nova Scotia to conduct its first Consular Consultations with the view of enhancing the delivery of services to Filipino Nationals in Canada on 4 October 2013.
Ambassador Leslie B. Gatan provided his inspirational insights during the workshop, as incoming Consul General to Vancouver Neil Ferrer led the gathering among teams from the Philippine Consulates General in Vancouver and Toronto, the Consular Section in Ottawa, and the Philippine Honorary Consular Corps in Canada situated in Edmonton, Winnipeg, Charlottetown, and Halifax. The Philippine Labor Office in Vancouver and Toronto also facilitated discussions on issues concerning human resource development and migration phenomenon of Filipinos into Canada.
The workshop enabled benchmarking discussions, the comparison of best practices, and possible enhancements to the corporate identity of providing consular services in Canada. Discussions were held on streamlining e-passport and notarial services, briefings on visa policies, and coordination of contingency plans among others.
Canada is benefiting from the talent and hard work of newcomers from the Philippines, with the Philippines now among Canada's largest source countries for immigration. Canada issued 44,000 visitor visas from the Philippines in 2012. Tagalog is the fastest growing language in Canada (6th largest). Canada now ranks 3rd in countries with largest concentrations of Filipinos abroad. The number of overseas Filipinos in Canada was estimated at 842,651 or 8 % of total global estimates. The latest 2011 Household Population Census in Canada placed the total number of Filipinos in Canada at 619,320.
The Philippine Foreign Service in Canada is committed to delivering the most efficient and effective delivery of consular services in Canada utilizing technology and as enabled by updated policies and regulations, and the harmonization of best practices, on providing services to the public. END
