23 September 2019, Calgary – Consul
General Zaldy Patron visited Lethbridge, Alberta on 13 September 2019 to check
on the conditions of the city’s Filipino residents, explore possible
cooperation in the areas of education and trade, and promote Philippine
tourism.
Lethbridge, with a population of 100,000,
is the third largest city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. The Filipinos, numbering
about 1,900, is the largest group of immigrants who came to Lethbridge between 2011
and 2016.
During a call on Lethbridge Mayor
Chris Spearman, Consul General Patron inquired about the situation of the
Filipinos in the city. Mayor Spearman had high praises for the
“hard-working, friendly, always smiling” Filipinos. He said that most Filipinos
in Lethbridge were professionals, such as teachers, engineers, real estate
agents, even priests, and they integrated well into Canadian society. The
Consul General thanked the Mayor for the various social services the town
provides for the Filipinos.
Consul General Patron and Mayor
Spearman also talked about promoting trade between the Philippines and Lethbridge.
Consul General
Patron visited the University of Lethbridge (U of L) and met with Dr. Michael
Mahon, President and Vice Chancellor, and other university officials. They discussed
possible education cooperation between U of L and Philippine education
institutions. Consul General Patron was among the university’s guests on 13
September at the inauguration of the U of L’s Science Commons Atrium building, a CAD 280-million
building that houses state-of-the-art research equipment and facilities.
Consul General
Patron met with some of the university’s 67 Filipino students and with Dr.
Glenda Bonifacio, a Filipino-Canadian Associate Professor at the U of L’s Women
and Gender Studies. Dr. Bonifacio authored the book titled “Pinay on the
Prairies: Filipino Women and Transnational Identities.”