Caption (L-R/top/clockwise): (1) Lt. Governor Michel Doyon welcomes Ambassador Garcia in his Office in Quebec; (2) Assistant Deputy Minister Michel Lafleur hosts a luncheon in honor of Ambassador Garcia. Mr. Carl Viel, President and CEO of Quebec International, Mr. Jessie Malone and Ms. Catherine Thomassin of Ministry of International Relations and La Francophonie, Guillermo Moyano of Export Quebec, and Second Secretary Jeffrey Salik also joined the luncheon; (3) Ambassador Garcia signs the guestbook at the Office of Vice President of the National Assembly of Quebec, Mrs. Maryse Gaudreault; (4) Ambassador Garcia and Quebec Chief of Protocol Johanne Whittom pose for a photograph while the Ambassador signs the guestbook at the Quebec’s Ministry of International Relations and La Francophonie.
20 October 2017, Ottawa – Ambassador Petronila Garcia was recognized at the session of the National Assembly of Quebec as an official guest of the Province on 18 October 2017. The Philippine flag was hoisted at one of the flag poles on the roof of the National Assembly building as a reference to the visit.
During the official visit, the Ambassador met with officials of the Province of Quebec, including Honorable Lt. Governor Michel Doyon, Vice Speaker of National Assembly Maryse Gaudreault, and Deputy Minister for Bilateral Affairs Jean-Stephane Bernard. Ambassador Garcia was accompanied in the visit by Second Secretary Jeffrey Salik.
The Ambassador congratulated Quebec officials on the 150th anniversary of Canada’s confederation and informed them that the Philippines, as Chair of ASEAN, will be hosting the 31st ASEAN Summit and Related Summits in November in Manila. She also briefed Quebec officials on the economic developments in the Philippines as well as Embassy’s economic diplomacy programs, including the re-opening of the Trade Office in Toronto and the Filipino diaspora in the country.
The Philippines and Quebec will study the prospects of an agreement on educational cooperation that will facilitate exchange of students. French, the official language of Quebec and a working knowledge of which is required for all workers, is one of the barriers for migrant Filipinos to work in the province. An agreement that will generate greater interest from Filipino students in learning French will facilitate employment of Filipino workers in the province.
Quebec is one of Canada’s 10 provinces situated in the eastern part of the country with a population of 8.1 million. It has a strong mining, forestry, tourism, and ICT industry. There are an estimated 70,000 Filipinos and Filipino-Canadians in the province, majority whom are living and working in Montreal. END.