A newly installed bust of Jose Rizal decorates the park named after his honor in Brampton, Ontario, Canada. The monument was inaugurated in celebration of Filipino Heritage Month by key people in the city of Brampton such as Mayor Patrick Brown, Councilor Rowena Santos, Member of Parliament Rechie Valdez, and more.
Coun. Rowena Santos shared the humble work Filipinos have been doing for years in Canada. “We are very shy. But we have been working hard in this country and we are now starting to grow rapidly because of many generations like MP Rechie Valdez, myself, and our children who are now in Brampton calling it their home,” she said in a speech during the event.
MP Rechie Valdez, the first Filipino Canadian woman to be elected as a Member of Parliament, is a key figure in Canada driving change for Filipinos and Canadians. In a tweet, she thanked the city of Brampton for this momentous occasion. “Thank you to the city of Brampton for celebrating diversity and embracing the spirit of resilience.”
Brampton City Mayor Patrick Brown celebrates the monument as a testament to his recognition of the Filipino people of Canada and globally. “The extraordinary success of the Philippines and Filipinos across the world is part of his legacy,” Mayor Brown shared in his speech.
In 2021, the park where the bust is now located was renamed Dr. Jose Rizal Park to commemorate the growing community of Filipinos in the region of Peel.
Rizal, a physician and author, participated in the Philippine independence movement in the late 1800s. His publications, including Noli Me Tángere (1887) and El Filibusterismo (1891), rekindled Philippine nationalism against the atrocities of Spanish colonization.
Editor’s note: A Jose Rizal monument with a bust of the Philippines’ national hero sculpted by artist Toym Imao was erected in Airdrie’s Nose Creek Regional Park, Canada in 2021. A life-sized bronze monument to the Philippines’ Jose Rizal also stands in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and in Canada’s own version of Manila’s Luneta Park Gardens.
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Qjiel Mariano is the newest Good News Pilipinas columnist. The York University Global Health student was selected to join the Clinton Global Initiative Class, awarded the George H.W. Bush Inspiration Honors, and named Education Hero by Youth Service America.
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