People Power rises in Vancouver

Behind the scenes of the startling upset of two seasoned civic politicians by NDP MLA Gregor Robertson during the recent Vision Vancouver mayoral candidacy contest, a new chapter in British Columbia’s political history was being written.

For the first time, B.C.’s Filipino community stepped forward as one cohesive body, raised its collective voice and sent a clarion call that ‘business as usual’ in the halls of political power is a thing of the past.

Robertson, a relative newcomer to the political stage, bested his Vision rivals – veteran city councillor Raymond Louie and long-term park commissioner Allan De Genova – in an upset that surprised even the most astute political observers.

It is no secret that the "Filipino vote" helped cinch the nomination for Robertson, whose left-leaning, power-to-the-people politics appeal to many of Vancouver’s working-class Filipinos.

Robertson garnered 3,495 votes at the June 15 nominating convention. Louie won 2,244 votes, while De Genova placed third with 981 votes.

Robertson, 43, will now run against Vancouver city councilor Peter Ladner of the Non-Partisan Association in the municipal election on November 15. Flanking him in his race for the mayor’s chair will be Robertson’s new-found Filipino friends and supporters.

With a population conservatively estimated at 70,000, B.C.’s Filipino community is the third largest ethnic group in the region after the Chinese and South Asian communities.

But while B.C.’s Chinese and South Asian communities have long been active in civic, provincial and federal politics, the Filipino community has to date remained politically dormant.

So why now? And why Gregor Robertson?

Boni Barcia is a Provincial Executive with the B.C. Hospital Employees’ Union, which represents nearly 7,000 health care workers in the province, many of them Filipinos.

An active community leader, Barcia suggests that Filipinos who arrive in Canada for a better life do so with an innate distaste for politics. Weaned on a steady stream of government scandal and rampant corruption in their native Philippines, he says historically the Filipino community has preferred to focus on work and family rather than politics. And rare, he suggests, is the Filipino willing to stand up and lead.

"No Filipino-Canadian yet – of any stripe – has been elected at the municipal, provincial, or federal level here in B.C.," says the HEU vice president.

"But the number of Filipinos in Vancouver is growing and we are realizing that we can now make a difference. Now we are talking to people who do want to lead, who do want to be involved, who do realize that we need to be politically active."

And along comes a man like Gregor Robertson, a brash young politician promoting environmental sustainability, housing affordability, fiscal balance, and - above all - citizen consultation.

Barcia, who describes Robertson as a "good guy" and a "very charismatic person," says the Vision party is ideally suited to the Filipino community, which boasts 30,000 registered voters.

"For one thing, most Filipino-Canadians work in the health care industry and it’s important for us to support a government that does not support contracting out," says Barcia, a former nurse from Manila who has worked with the HEU for 22 years.

"And both the provincial government and the NPA are right wing governments – they’re cousins – and right wing governments work for right wing interests that working Filipinos do not share."

Barcia makes no bones about the fact that the Filipino community is backing Gregor Robertson now in the hope that one day he follows his predecessors to higher seats of power.

"City hall is like the farm team," he says. "They go to provincial. This is forward thinking, absolutely."

Of course, there is still a civic election to win. And Gregor Robertson is banking on the continued support of his Filipino fans.

"I made a deliberate effort to reach out to the Filipino community early in my nomination campaign feeling like they’ve been under represented in politics as a large and important community in Vancouver that should be engaged," Robertsons tells The Filipino Post on the eve of his resignation from provincial politics Tuesday.

"It was always mysterious to me why the Filipino community wasn’t more directly involved as many other communities are in Vancouver," adds the Happy Planet juice company co-founder and fifth generation British Columbian.

"It’s great to see this new interest and energy and sense that the Filipino community is coming together to exercise its political voice cohesively."

Robertson believes that Vision’s commitment to reach out and listen to every stakeholder (large and small) in Vancouver’s future has caught the attention of the city’s Filipino population.

"The old-school politics don’t serve our city well any more," he says. "We’re a diverse and cosmopolitan city and we need that diversity reflected.

"That’s resonated with the Filipino community, which is gratifying and good to see."

Robertson says one of his key planks – affordable homes in Vancouver for working families – has also struck a chord with Filipinos.

"People in so many neighbourhoods are feeling the pressure," he says. "It’s definitely hit the Filipino community in terms of health care workers and service sector workers when income rates and rises aren’t keeping pace with housing costs."

Asked if he’s now on the hook for some payback to the Filipino community, Robertson chuckles.

"There’s been a keen desire to have a Filipino cultural centre in Vancouver," he says. "It’s complicated and challenging but I’ve certainly responded with an interest in helping them work toward that.

"Again, it surprised me – pretty much every ethnic community in Vancouver has it’s own community centre, but not the Filipino community."

With the help of his three-member ‘Filipino Team,’ Gregor Robertson says more and more Filipinos are joining forces with him every day.

"We’re really building steam," he says.

Which isn’t too difficult to do with folks like Angie Igonia waving your flag.

Igonia, who emigrated in 1974 and lived in Winnipeg before moving to Burnaby in 1989, says working with Robertson’s Filipino Team is easy "because everybody likes him."

The retired sales agent and former professional singer says the man’s plan is an easy sell within the community.

"All these things he wants to do to make Vancouver nice and clean and clear up the homelessness, I thought he was so sensible doing that," says the party volunteer.

"Not only that, he’s very approachable. He’s a believable person. I know he’s going to do what he promises.

"All the Filipino community is behind him now. He’s the kind of man that can run for premier."

For his part, community leader Boni Barcia says: "We will do everything we can to make sure that Gregor wins the mayoral vote – anything we can do."

Indeed, B.C.’s Filipino community is finally on the rise. Politicians who ignore them do so at their peril.