Filipino Star - November 2010 Issue

20
Nominations now open for top 25
Canadian Immigrants of 2011
National award celebrates achievements of Canadian newcomers
TORONTO, November 9, 2010 –
Canadian Immigrant magazine and RBC
today announced the open call
nominations for the “Top 25 Canadian
Immigrants of 2011.” The third annual
awards program seeks to celebrate the
stories and achievements of outstanding
Canadian immigrants from coast to coast.
"It's exciting to embark on our
third annual Top 25 Canadian Immigrants
awards program,” said Margaret Jetelina,
editor of Canadian Immigrant. “The
winners from last year's awards were
nothing short of inspirational, and we know
there are so many more immigrants in
Canada who deserve recognition for giving
back to their adopted country.”
This national people’s choice
award is unique in that it allows Canadians
to vote directly for individuals from all walks
of life who have made a difference since
their arrival in Canada. More than 20,000
votes from across Canada were cast in the
2010 awards program.
“Voting for the top Canadian
immigrants presents an opportunity to
recognize role models who have
encouraged and motivated others and
applaud those who have made significant
contributions to this country,” said Camon
Mak, director of RBC Multicultural Markets.
“We hope the winners’ stories inspire other
immigrants to make their dreams a reality.”
A nominee can be someone who
has moved to Canada and, since
immigrating, has contributed to the
diversity and success of this country.
Achievements can be either professional or
personal. Nominees must hold landed
immigrant (Permanent Resident) or citizen
status in Canada. This program is also
proudly supported by the Toronto Star.
Nominations can be made by visiting
canadianimmigrant.ca/top25 until January
28, 2011. A distin-guished panel of judges
will review all nominees and present a list
of finalists that will be profiled online in
February, when all Canadians can vote for
their favourite nominees.
The winners will be announced in
May 2011 and will be recognized in
Canadian Immigrant magazine. They will
also receive a commemorative plaque and
a $500 donation from RBC toward a
registered Canadian charity of their choice.
About Canadian Immigrant and
canadianimmigrant.ca
Attracting more than 275,000
readers each month, Canadian Immigrant
is distributed in Toronto and Vancouver
and helps new Canadians build a
successful life and home during their first
years in Canada. Its mandate to inform,
educate and motivate provides easy-toaccess
content for newcomers looking for
information, from careers, education and
settling in to culture, money and business.
Our website, www.canadianimmigrant.ca,
offers tools and resources to help
newcomers across Canada. Canadian
Immigrant is a division of Star Media
Group, which is broadly based with
interests in print, digital and broadcast
media, led by its flagship property, the
Toronto Star, Canada’s largest newspaper,
which is read in print and online by 2.8
million readers every week.
About RBC
Royal Bank of Canada (RY on
TSX and NYSE) and its subsidiaries
operate under the master brand name
RBC. We are Canada’s largest bank as
measured by assets and market
capitalization, and among the largest
banks in the world, based on market
capitalization. We are one of North
America’s leading diversified financial
services companies, and provide personal
and commercial banking, wealth
management services, insurance,
corporate and investment banking and
transaction processing services on a
global basis. We employ approximately
78,000 full- and part-time employees who
serve close to 18 million personal,
business, public sector and institutional
clients through offices in Canada, the U.S.
and 51 other countries. For more
information, please visit rbc.com.
For more information, contact:
Canadian Immigrant
Sanjay Agnihotri, 416-933-3411,
sagnihotri@starmediagroup.ca
Montreal rolls out new car tax
The city of Montreal is introducing a
new tax on all vehicles which mayor Gérald
Tremblay says will go towards improving public
transit.
"It's a lot of money. Where do we get
the funds to do that? Property taxes? As a
result... we need to diversify sources of
revenue," said Tremblay
Starting next year, every time
Montrealers go to renew their vehicle
registration they'll pay more, but Tremblay still
hasn't decided how much more. That amount
will be disclosed when the city releases its 2011
budget in December.
New tax on vehicles will help to
reduce congestion, says Montreal mayor
Gérald Tremblay. (CBC) Although it may
appear contradictory to have drivers pay for
better bus, metro and train service, Tremblay
insists car owners will also benefit from
improved public transit.
"It's going to be a win-win situation,
not only for the people that use public transit,
but also for the motorists; less idling, less waste
of time," he said.
"It's not fair. It's abuse," said car
owner Julien Perron who is skeptical the new
tax will improve driving conditions in the city.
"That never happens....Money goes
like that and we don't know what happens, but
we have bad roads, always traffic, always jam,"
he said.
Demerged cities want in
Bill 22, adopted last year in the
national assembly, gives the city the power to
impose the vehicle tax and Montreal's 15
demerged cities want in on the action. They've
written to the province asking for the right to
impose the same increase as Montreal.
"We feel it's logical for the entire
agglomeration to have this power, we also feel
it's only fair," said Peter Trent, speaking on
behalf of the demerged cities on the island.
"We all have to contribute and
especially car owners and drivers....because
they have the most to gain from improving
public transit," said Trent. Demerged cities
should have the same taxation powers as
Montreal, says Westmount mayor Peter Trent.
(CBC) "If we wish to get rid of gridlock, if we
wish to not keep on adding concrete highways
everywhere. The only way to do it is by public
transit."
But CAA Quebec wants to remind
officials surcharge on their license, which goes
toward funding public transit as well as an
additional tax of three cents per litre of gas.
www.filipinostar.org
The North American Filipino Star
The Filipino Nurses Association
of Quebec (FNAQ) held their 33rd
General Assembly and Educational Day
on Oct.ober 24, 2010. at the CRC
Bulding on 6767 Cote des Neiges in
Montreal. The theme of the event was:
“Building Bridges: Empowering Nurses
in Achieving Personal and Professional
Success. Both guest speakers, Amy
Manon-og and Mme. Lucie Tremblay,
nOVEMBER 2010
FNAQ’s Educational Day a huge success
By Sophie Toledo
were very inspiring.
A big applause to Dindo Miras
and Fruan Tabamo as well as the
Educational Committee and the
Executive Board for their hard work.
FNAQ wishes to thank the
sponsors and the people who attended
the event. Gilmore College International
students were among the active
participants.
from left: Myrna Francisco, Vice-Pres.ident, Mme. Lucie Tremblay, Director of Nursing,
Maimonides CHSLD, lecturer; Eugenia Magalit, President, Amelia Manon-og, Lecturer, Gilmore
College instructor and Magdalena Calcetas, FNAQ Founder.