21 March 2013 – Philippine Ambassador to Canada Leslie B. Gatan feted vanguards of the Filipino community in Ottawa at the Parangal sa Pioneers recognition dinner on March 15 held at his official residence.
Some 40 honorees reminisced about the challenges of being the forerunners of the Filipino community in the 1960s when Canada welcomed the first major influx of Filipino nurses, doctors, office administrators and household staff, long before the opening of a resident Philippine Embassy in Ottawa. Numbering less than 1,800 then, extended families swelled their ranks in the late 1970’s under Canada’s family reunification program.
Today, the Filipino-Canadian community is over half a million strong.
Ambassador Gatan took the occasion to urge his guests to renew their ties to the motherland by joining the 8th Ambassadors, Consuls General and Tourism Directors Tour (ACGTDT) to the Philippines from July 09 to 12. The honorees listened intently to the Embassy presentation touting the tour as a “one-of-a-kind Philippine homecoming” for Filipinos in North America.
“The special package at discounted rates combined with VIP treatment throughout the tour makes for an exceptional experience,” Ambassador Gatan noted.
Debuting in Ottawa on the same evening, Virtual Sentro Rizal (VSR), a digital collection of materials on Philippine culture, received high praise from the Filipino pioneers who were earnestly engaged in the pilot demonstration of the 250 gigabyte treasure trove of Philippine cultural heritage.
Through Undersecretary Mary Grace Ampil-Tirona of the Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO), the Philippine Embassy in Ottawa acquired the interactive electronic book comprising 72 hours of video footage on genres ranging from architecture to visual arts. This CFO project helps fill the gap in resources that could be shared by Philippine diplomatic and missions as well as Filipino schools abroad for the promotion of Philippine arts, culture and language through a Sentro Rizal as mandated under Republic Act 166.
The VSR is available upon request to members of the Filipino community in Ottawa and to the general public.
Complementing the electronic library is a collection of art works by members of the Toronto-based Philippine Artists Group (PAG) which adorn the walls of the official residence through the initiative of Ambassador and Mrs. Debbie Mijares Gatan.
At the end of the evening, Ambassador Gatan presented certificates of recognition to the honorees for “helping lay the cornerstone of a dynamic Filipino community in Ottawa and fostering the good standing of Filipino immigrants in Canada’s multicultural mosaic.”
Retired doctors, nurses, a pharmacist, medical technologist, nutritionist, librarian, auditor, high school teacher and IT specialists comprise the distinguished group.
Ambassador Gatan also gifted the pioneers with capiz ornaments imported from the Philippines by a home furnishings chain store and disclosed plans to write a book about the history of Filipinos in Canada. END
More than 140 travel agency operators and agents were on hand during a lunch presentation on March 14 to familiarize them with different Philippine destinations that they can suggest to their clients. 
