Table Of ContentFILIPINOS IN CANADA
Disturbing Invisibility
Edited by Roland Sintos Coloma, Bonnie McElhinny, Ethel Tungohan,
John Paul C. Catungal, and Lisa M. Davidson
By 2010, the Philippines had become Canada’s largest source of short- and
long-term migrants, surpassing China and India, both of whose popu-
lations vastly exceed that of the Philippines. The fourth-largest visible
minority group in the country, the Filipino community is frequently asso-
ciated with such fi gures as the victimized nanny, the selfl ess nurse, and
the gangster youth. On one hand, these narratives concentrate a(cid:308) ention,
although in narrow and stereotypical ways, on critical issues. On the other,
they render invisible other serious ma(cid:308) ers facing Filipino communities.
This groundbreaking work, the fi rst wide-ranging edited collection
on Filipinos in Canada, explores gender, migration and labour, youth,
and the politics of identity. Looking at these from the vantage points
of anthropology, cultural studies, education, geography, history, infor-
mation science, literature, political science, sociology, and women and
gender studies, Filipinos in Canada provides a strong foundation for fur-
ther research.
roland sintos coloma is an assistant professor in the Department of
Sociology and Equity Studies in Education at the Ontario Institute for
Studies in Education, University of Toronto.
bonnie mcelhinny is an associate professor in the Department of
Anthropology and director of the Women and Gender Studies Institute
at the University of Toronto.
ethel tungohan is a PhD candidate in the Department of Political
Science and the Women and Gender Studies Institute at the University
of Toronto.
john paul c. catungal is a PhD candidate in the Department of
Geography and Program in Planning at the University of Toronto.
lisa m. davidson is a PhD candidate in the Department of Anthropology
at the University of Toronto.
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Filipinos in Canada
Disturbing Invisibility
Edited by Roland Sintos Coloma,
Bonnie McElhinny, Ethel Tungohan,
John Paul C. Catungal, and
Lisa M. Davidson
UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO PRESS
Toronto Buff alo London
© University of Toronto Press 2012
Toronto Buff alo London
www.utppublishing.com
Printed in Canada
ISBN: 978-1-4426-4540-0 (cloth)
ISBN: 978-1-4426-1349-2 (paper)
Printed on acid-free and 100% post-consumer recycled paper with
vegetable-based inks.
Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
Filipinos in Canada : disturbing invisibility / edited by Roland
Sintos Coloma . . . [et al.].
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-4426-4540-0 (bound) ISBN 978-1-4426-1349-2 (pbk.)
1. Filipino Canadians – History. 2. Filipino Canadians – Social
conditions. 3. Filipino Canadians – Economic conditions. I. Coloma,
Roland Sintos
FC106.F4F54 2012 305.89′921071 C2012-902656-5
University of Toronto Press acknowledges the fi nancial assistance to its
publishing program of the Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario
Arts Council.
University of Toronto Press acknowledges the fi nancial support for its
publishing activities of the Government of Canada through the Canada
Book Fund.
To Filipinos in Canada and the diaspora
This page intentionally left blank
Contents
List of Illustrations xi
List of Tables xiii
Acknowledgments xv
Part One: Diff erence and Recognition
1 Spectres of (In)visibility: Filipina/o Labour, Culture,
and Youth in Canada 5
bonnie mcelhinny, lisa m. davidson,
john paul c. catungal, ethel tungohan,
and roland sintos coloma
2 Filipino Canadians in the Twenty-First Century: The Politics
of Recognition in a Transnational Aff ect Economy 46
eleanor ty
3 Filipino Immigrants in the Toronto Labour Market: Towards
an Understanding of Deprofessionalization 68
philip f. kelly, mila astorga-garcia, enrico f. esguerra,
and the community alliance for social justice, toronto
My Folks 89
carlo sayo and jean marc daga
viii Contents
Part Two: Gender, Migration, and Labour
SCRAP 94
reuben sarumugam and bryan taguba
4 The Recruitment of Filipino Healthcare Professionals
to Canada in the 1960s 97
valerie g. damasco
5 The Rites of Passage of Filipinas in Canada:
Two Migration Cohorts 123
josephine eric
6 (Res)sentiment and Practices of Hope: The Labours of Filipina
Live-In Caregivers in Filipino Canadian Families 142
lisa m. davidson
7 Debunking Notions of Migrant ‘Victimhood’: A Critical
Assessment of Temporary Labour Migration Programs
and Filipina Migrant Activism in Canada 161
ethel tungohan
8 Toronto Filipino Businesses, Ethnic Identity,
and Place Making in the Diaspora 181
cesar polvorosa, jr
9 Between Society and Individual, Structure and Agency,
Optimism and Pessimism: New Directions for Philippine
Diasporic and Transnational Studies 201
leonora c. angeles
Part Three: Representation and Its Discontents
Balikbayan Express 220
celia correa
10 Meet Me in Toronto: The Re-exhibition of Artifacts from the 1904
Louisiana Purchase Exposition at the Royal Ontario Museum 223
bonnie mcelhinny
Contents ix
11 From the Pearl of the Orient to Uptown:
A Collaborative Arts-Based Inquiry with Filipino
Youth Activists in Montreal 243
marissa largo
12 Borrowing Privileges: Tagalog, Filipinos,
and the Toronto Public Library 265
vernon r. totanes
13 Abject Beings: Filipina/os in Canadian Historical
Narrations 284
roland sintos coloma
14 Between the Sheets 305
geraldine pratt
Part Four: Youth Spaces and Subjectivities
Colour Correction 318
eric b. tigley
15 Scales of Violence from the Body to the Globe:
Slain Filipino Youth in Canadian Cities 321
john paul c. catungal
16 Kapisanan: Resignifying Diasporic
Post/colonial Art and Artists 341
christine balmes
17 Educated Minorities: The Experiences of Filipino
Canadian University Students 360
maureen grace mendoza
18 Mas Maputi Ako sa ’yo (I’m lighter than you):
The Spatial Politics of Intraracial
Colourism among Filipina/o Youth in the
Greater Toronto Area 382
conely de leon
19 The Social Construction of ‘Filipina/o Studies’:
Youth Spaces and Subjectivities 402
jeffrey p. aguinaldo
