Fil-Canadian lawmaker inspired by Filipino contributions to a Manitoba city

Steinbach Mayor Earl Funk presents MP Rechie Valdez with gifts to help her remember her visit to the city — a pin representing the Automobile City, a book on the history of Steinbach, and a Steinbach themed blanket. CONTRIBUTED

Hearing about the contributions of Filipinos to the growth and diversity of eastern Manitoba, the first Filipino Canadian Member of Parliament recently visited the small city of Steinbach.

Ontario MP Rechie Valdez was hosted by local city officials who shared examples of contributions made by the local Filipino community.

The area reportedly has grown partly due to new business and residential properties that have come with the diversification of the population, including the arrival of significant numbers of Filipinos since the 1950s.

There are some 2,000 Filipinos and working in southeastern Manitoba. Steinbach’s population is only about 17,000.

MP Richie Valdez (extreme right) with compatriots before entering Steinbach Arts Centre to meet up with local Filipinos and hear about issues that matter to them. CONTRIBUTED

“Instantly I realized, as I was listening to the stories they shared, were just the amount of contribution that Filipinos were having to this community,” Valdez told Steinbach Online.

She learned of the impact Filipinos filling many positions in health care, “bringing kindness and compassion to the industry.”

“They shared how it was Filipinos’ contribution that helped, almost saved, the pork industry here in this local area,” Valdez said.

Mayor Earl Funk said an employee at his meat shop inspired his own line of meat products, like the Filipino longganisa sausage.

“I’m inspired by the stories that I’m hearing,” Valdez told members of the Steinbach Filipino community. “I’m proud that you’re all contributing to a place and making it your home.”