Stephen Harper hopes Manila visit will drum up trade

Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Filipino military General Lauro Catalino Dela Cruz, right, review an honour guard on November 9, 2012 at Manila International Airport. Harper is on a three-day official visit to the Philippines and is to meet with President Benigno Aquino III at the presidential palace to discuss bilateral relations between the two countries. JAY DIRECTO/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

MANILA—Canada is hoping to grab the tail of what could be the next Asian Tiger.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has landed in the Philippines in a visit aimed at getting Canada's foot in the door of a country forecast to be a "star" economic performer.

An aggressive anti-corruption campaign by President Benigno Aquino III is helping restore confidence in this nation and the results are paying off as the Filipino economy chalked up growth second only to China, said Chris Thornley, Canada's ambassador here.

"It's great timing for Canada to be positioned . . . to be in on the ground floor," Thornley told reporters in a conference call Friday.

The economic turnaround comes after years of challenges for this diverse nation, marked by corruption, notably, and a decades-long rebel insurgency.

Thornley said that corruption has been a "tremendous hindrance" but praised reforms imposed by Aquino, who is seen as the "first honest president for a long time."

"People are being held accountable and consequences are being demonstrated for bad behaviour and this is paying off well for them in terms of economic development," Thornley said.

But he conceded, too, that it will likely take a generation to purge corruption from society and advised Canadians companies to come here with "their eyes wide open and understand that there are challenges.

"But they can come in with a sense of optimism," he said.

And last month the government signed a pact with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front aimed at ending a long-running insurgency that has killed tens of thousands of people.

The deal grants minority Muslims autonomy in return for an end to hostilities.

"I wouldn't say it's an end to the problem but it's a new start," Thornley said.

Canada could be asked to support the evolving peace accord by lending governance expertise for the new autonomous state, he said.

Harper landed here Friday night, flying in from Bangalore after spending six days in India on an extended trade mission. The prime minister's first visit to the Philippines is a strategic one.

International bank HSBC said the Philippines is poised to become the 16th largest economy by 2050 and said the nation was on track to be a "star performer." It predicted the country's economy would grow by an average of 7 per cent over the next 40 years.

Trade between the two nations now stands at a relatively modest $1.5 billion a year.

The Philippines is a founding member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and Canada, looking to expand its trade, especially among Asian and Pacific nations.

Canada enjoys "tremendous goodwill" within the Philippines, thanks largely to an extended diaspora.

The Filipino-Canadian community currently numbers about 600,000 across the country and the Philippines has been the largest source country of immigrants to Canada, including many temporary workers, such as nannies. And the latest census results show that the Philippines-based language Tagalog is the fastest-growing language in Canada.

And yet Thornley agreed that the Filipino community remains under the radar within Canada

"I think that's a very positive trait. They integrate well. They don't bring their politics with them. They are hard-working people," he said.

"So they are perhaps not noticed to the same extent as some of the other larger migrant communities we have in Canada," he said.

Canada is seeking a "friendlier regulatory environment" for Canadian mining companies but understands too that the Philippines needs a regulatory framework to "ensure that their interests are protected.

"Perhaps it is taking a little bit longer than we might like. There is a moratorium on new mining permits right now," Thornley said.

The Star.com

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Demonstrations at Canadian embassy for Mining Waste: PM hand $25 Million for youth & Women

Protesters picket the Canadian Embassy to coincide with the official visit of Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Friday. The environmental activists are demanding a stop to alleged long-standing environmental crimes of Canadian mining corporations in their country. (Bullit Marquez/Associated Press)

Before the prime minister's arrival on Friday evening, environmental activists were picketing the Canadian embassy in Manila.

Protestors called for an end to alleged long-standing environmental crimes of Canadian mining corporations in the country, including the 1996 spill of an estimated 3 to 4-million tons of tailings from the Marcopper Mine into the Boac River.

Vancouver-based Placer Dome was a part-owner and manager of that mine.

Harper hands millions to Philippines to help youth, women

Prime Minister Stephen Harper showed up here Saturday with a $25 million cheque to help improve women's rights here and to help young Filipinos find work.

After a 40-minute meeting with Filipino President Benigno Aquino III, the two men also signed an agreement aimed at boosting exports by Canadian defence and security firms.

"Exports are key to growth," Public Works Minister Rona Ambrose said via Twitter, noting that the Canadian defence and security industry employs about 110,000 in Canada.

Harper announced that Canada would provide $10 million over the next five years to promote the rights of women in the Philippines and seven other Southeast Asian countries.

Harper also announced that Canadian taxpayers would provide $15.5 million over four years in an effort to help promote economic growth and employment in the Philippines, mostly by providing advice and assistance to a variety of Filipino government agencies.

During his day in Manila, Harper and his wife Laureen were scheduled to lay a wreath at the Rizal Monument, a memorial to the 19th century Filipino nationalist and martyr Jose Rizal.

The two will also attend an official lunch at the Malacañang Palace, the official residence of the Filipino president.

The Harpers will spend the afternoon touring Fort Santiago, one of the most important historical sites in Manila. Construction was started on the fort in 1590, and the building was the main defense establishment for the spice trade between the Americas and Europe for more than 300 years.

Harper will conclude his day with a meeting of business leaders here.

The Harpers end their week-long swing through Asia on Sunday in Hong Kong at a Remembrance Day ceremony at Sai Wan Cemetery; the final resting place for Canadians killed defending Hong Kong in the Second World War.

CBC News

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PM Harper arrives in Manila for trade and Defense Security talks with Aquino; Abused Filipinos in Canada

Prime Minister Stephen Harper reviews the troops as he arrives for an official visit to the Philippines on Friday. (Bullit Marquez/Associated Press)

Harper arrives in Manila for trade and security talks

Filipino-Canadian groups will watch Prime Minister Stephen Harper's visit not necessarily for what he says about the Philippines, but for what he says about their growing community and its labor issues back in Canada.

Harper arrived in Manila on Friday night following a six-day tour to India. It's the first visit by a Canadian prime minister in 15 years.

He is scheduled to meet President Benigno Aquino at the presidential palace on Saturday and increasing bilateral trade is high on the agenda. Two-way annual trade is a modest $1.5 billion.

There's a very specific characteristic to the Filipino economy, though, and that's the money it gets annually from its overseas diaspora, a sum which last year topped $20 billion.

Filipino-Canadians are part of that. The Philippines is now the largest source of immigrants to Canada and Tagalog the fastest-growing language in the country.

Concerns about migrant workers – Many Filipinos Abused in Canada than thought

Many Filipinos enter Canada for low-skilled jobs, sometimes through the temporary foreign worker program or the live-in caregiver program. There have been complaints about abusive employers, labor standards ignored, and the lack of a monitoring system to assist workers.

"What's missing from the narrative and what's missing from discussions taking place with respect to the relationship between the Philippines and Canada has are clear guidelines and clear parameters for how exactly the labor rights or the human rights of these migrant workers are being protected," said Ethel Tungohan, co-editor of the recent book "Filipinos in Canada: Disturbing Invisibility."

"That's something a lot of community members would like to hear."

Tungohan says workers sometimes have no clue about what their rights are, and even when they do, they remain at the mercy of their employers for their livelihoods.

"Their employers are aware that they really want to stay in Canada and stay working in Canada and they use that as their trump card to ensure that their employees are kept compliant," she said.

Immigration Minister Jason Kenney has introduced changes to the live-in caregiver program, which allows Canadian families to bring in foreign workers to care for children or the elderly.

But advocates say the changes have not gone far enough or met their goals.

A federal online list of abusive employers established in April 2011 doesn't yet list a single person or company.

A new measure that required families to pay up front for health and transportation costs for incoming caregivers may have resulted in a decline in the number of applications for the program — only 8,553 last year compared with a high of 20,821 in 2008.

Manuela Gruber Hersh of the Association of Caregiver and Nanny Agencies Canada says that's because parents don't want to take on all the liability, when some caregivers don't have any incentive to stay with the family that paid their way.

"There's still issues on both sides," Gruber Hersh said. "There's still caregivers that are not protected and in bad situations. Then you have the families who complain because now they might be out all this money and have no nanny in place. It's a mess."

Filipinos 'invisible' in policy-making

Tungohan notes there are also social costs to consider for a community that includes so many people separated from spouses and children for sometimes years at a time.

The First Ontario Alliance of Caregivers Canada wants the Harper government to reduce the processing time for permanent residency status to allow for quicker family reunification.

Chris Thornley, Canada's ambassador to the Philippines, says these issues are not necessarily a concern for the Filipino government, because Canada is viewed very positively as a work destination.

He described Filipino migration to Canada in glowing terms.

"They're a hard-working people, they don't bring their politics with them, there's no language adjustment issue for them culturally, so I hear this a lot from Filipinos when they go to Canada, how quickly they integrate and what strong citizens they become," Thornley told reporters.

"So perhaps they're not noticed to the same extent as some of the larger migrant communities that we have in Canada."

But Tungohan says the fact that Filipinos are below the radar is precisely the problem for those who need government help, whether it's on labor standards or having their university degrees recognized in Canada.

"Filipinos in Canada are invisible when it comes to policy-making," she said. "When it comes to considering the specific needs of the community, Filipinos in Canada are usually lumped in with different types of Asian communities."

CBC News

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