The Hon. Erin O’Toole, leader of the Conservative Party of Canada (CPC), ‘visited’ Manitoba on January 16 as part of his month-long virtual tour of the country. The leader of Canada’s Official Opposition met with the province’s various sectors, including representatives of the nearly 80,000-strong Filipino community.
Among the Filipino-Manitobans invited to have a dialogue with O’Toole were Ron Cantiveros of this publication, CBC’s Faith Fundal, MAFTI president Genalyn Tan, PKF Attorney Gary Sarcida, Ernesto Nicolas Ofiaza Jr. of the Filipino Music and Arts Association of Canada, Inc., Mabuhay TV’s Lourdes Federis, this writer who represented Barangay Canada, and LGBT advocate Konzuela Beatrix Alnas, to name a few.
With growing speculation of a possible federal election this year, the Conservative contender as the next Prime Minister spoke about economic recovery from the pandemic and foreign policy as his key priorities. Asked about right-wing extremism taking hold among Canada’s conservative base, O’Toole replied emphatically that “there is no place for intolerance in the CPC,” and that their values are vastly different from those of the Trump-era US Republicans.
The Manitoba leg of O’Toole’s tour was assisted locally by the office of Waverley MLA Jon Reyes of the province’s Progressive Conservatives. In a statement posted on social media, Reyes expressed his appreciation to be involved in the event. “Happy to be part of today’s virtual meeting with fellow members of Manitoba’s vibrant Filipino community engaging with my good friend and fellow veteran
Erin O’Toole, Conservative Party of Canada – Parti conservateur du Canada leader. As always, thank you for your service and your time for meeting with us today. Merci! Salamat!”
