President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has expressed his gratitude to the Canadian government for hiring Filipinos and embracing them with open arms.
Canada declared earlier this year that it will employ even more Filipino immigrants and employees.
“Canada is considered home by over 900,000 fellow Filipinos, and may I say that I have experience of the stories that these people tell me, and it is that they have been assimilated into society and into the workforce so smoothly. This is completely due to the warmth and the kindness of Canadian people. For that, we thank you very much,” Marcos said during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-Canada Commemorative Summit in Phnom Penh on Saturday, November 12.
In the same address, Marcos pledged to work with ASEAN and Canada to fulfill its promise to safeguard and promote the rights of migrant workers via various programs.
He expressed gratitude for Canada’s support for the TRIANGLE initiative in the ASEAN program, which is part of the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) worldwide efforts to promote fair migration.
“The project has promoted labor mobility across the region along with the improvement of working conditions and labor protection policies, particularly for low-paid migrant workers,” Marcos said.
Marcos also praised Canada’s continuous support for ASEAN women’s welfare efforts such as the ASEAN Regional Plan of Action on Women, Peace, and Security (WPS).
He stated that the initiatives aim to support women’s upskilling and entrepreneurship, particularly in ASEAN’s micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), and that women stand to benefit from Canada’s support for ASEAN’s inclusive digital transformation efforts that enable women to participate in the region’s development.
In his contribution, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated that his nation will conduct a series of WPS discussions with ASEAN in Jakarta in 2023, in accordance with ASEAN’s Regional Plan of Action on WPS.
