![](https://philcongencalgary.org/public/blogs/2024/01/ph-consul-general-joins-filipino-forum-briefs-filipino-tfws-in-jasper-alberta20240128185304.png)
Calgary, 8 September 2023 – Consul
General Zaldy Patron joined the recently held Filipino Forum in Jasper,
Alberta, organized by the Jasper
Filipino-Canadian Community on 3 September 2023.
Based on the 2021 Canada Census, the mountain
town of Jasper has a total population of 4,029 with 275 of them identifying
themselves as Filipinos.
Since that time though, many Filipino temporary
foreign workers (TFWs) have arrived in Jasper to work in hotel and restaurant
establishments that support the town’s tourism and hospitality industries.
Consul General Patron briefed the Filipino TFWs
about the services they could get from the Philippine Consulate General in
Calgary, the Migrant Workers Office in Vancouver, and the Office of the Social
Security System in Calgary.
He also met with Ms. Astra Fe Penas, TFW
Support Worker at the not-for-profit organization Jasper Employment and
Education Centre. They agreed to
collaborate to support and assist the Filipino TFWs in Jasper.
In October 2022, the Philippine Consulate
General in Calgary was able to assist 11 Filipino TFWs in Jasper who
temporarily lost income due to the wildfires that shut down the businesses in
the town for about two weeks. The 11 TFWs received welfare assistance from the
Department of Foreign Affairs’ Assistance-to-National Fund upon the endorsement
of the Philippine Consulate General.
After the Filipino Forum, Consul General Patron
visited and showed support for Mad Grizzly Bistro Bar, a newly opened
Filipino-owned restaurant in Downtown Jasper. He invited the owners to join
next year’s Filipino Restaurant Month in Canada.