WHEN Canada’s Prime Minister Stephen Harper made his appointments to the Senate in Canada, no one was more surprised than Filipino Canadian Tobias Enverga Jr.
Enverga, a long-time bank executive, was one of the five people chosen by the Prime Minister to be a senator in Canada’s Federal Parliament earlier this month.
“My first reaction was a big, big surprise,” Enverga told ABS-CBN. “Actually, it was a pleasant surprise at the same time because I do not expect to be nominated as Senator for Canada, which is really the top position in the whole Canada.”
Enverga is the first person of Filipino descent to be appointed as a senator in the country.
A wealth of significant accomplishments
Of the five people Prime Minister Harper said: “Their broad range of experience and dedication to community will further strengthen the institution and benefit the entire country… Their skills and experience will help to further advance our shared goals of jobs, growth and long-term prosperity for all Canadians.”
“Mr. Enverga has been an excellent representative of his local community in Toronto and the Filipino community in Canada, bringing an outstanding record of significant accomplishments,” the Prime Minister’s Secretary Julie Faux told the Philippine Reporter, a Toronto based Filipino community newspaper.
“His talents and experience will bring a positive voice to our Upper Chamber, and help to advance our government’s shared goals and commitments towards growing the economy, and advancing prosperity for all Canadians,” Vaux added.
Lifetime of service
Senators in Canada may serve until the age of 75 so for the 56-year-old Enverga it’s easy to envision more than a decade of serving in the country’s parliament.
Born in the Philippines, Enverga received a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Letran College in the Philippines, a Masters Certificate in Project Management from the Schulich School of Business at York University, and a Computer Studies Certificate from Centennial College.
Since immigrating to Canada in 1981, he’s worked his way up the corporate ladder as an IT project manager at the Bank of Montreal.
More commonly known by his nickname “Jun”, Enverga is a well-known prominent figure in the Filipino and Asian Canadian community in Toronto. A former director of the Canadian Multicultural Council-Asians in Ontario, he currently serves as the co-chair of the Asian Heritage Month Celebration for the Greater Toronto Area.
He is also the founder of the Philippine Canadian Charitable Foundation and a former president of the Philippine Independence Day Council. His charity has raised more than $500,000 for the building of medical missions, school buildings, funding livelihood-training programs to disaster victims.
For his work in the Philippines, former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo awarded Enverga the Linkapil Award or Lingkod sa Kapwa Pilipino Presidential Award, which is given to Filipino Associations or individuals for their exceptional or significant contribution to reconstruction, progress and development in the Philippines.
In 2010, he was elected to the Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB), which was considered a “breakthrough” as one reporter described it.
“For many years the TCDSB has not had anyone to voice out the concerns and issues of Toronto’s growing ethnic communities. That dramatically changed upon the election of Enverga, who is of Filipino descent,” wrote Romeo Marquez in the August edition of the Digital Journal.
Pinoy representation
“It’s a nice job for me because for the first time, we have some ethnic minority in the board,” Enverga told Marquez. “It’s good and it’s a pleasure to be representing the visible minorities at this point.”
For his work in the community, earlier this year, Enverga received the Queen’s 60th Diamond Jubilee Medal of Distinction, an award that “serves to honor significant contributions and achievements by Canadians.”
Enverga told ABS-CBN his appointment in the Senate serves as a greater recognition of the burgeoning Filipino community in Canada.
He said to the Philippine Reporter as senator, he would give a voice to the Filipino and immigrant community. He also plans to use his economic background to help the prime minister create jobs and promote economic growth in the country.
As surprised as he may have been to be appointed, he said he’s looking forward to the challenge to help out the community.
“My appointment [to the senate] is not only my appointment. It’s an appointment for the whole Filipino community,” he said to the Philippine Reporter. “I hope we can all come together as one. My ears are all open. Hopefully we can do right and make sure our voices are heard.
“If it has to be me, so be it. I’ll try everything in my power, whatever I can to ensure that we are listened to and given the opportunity to make some decisions for the country,” he added.
(balikbayanmag.com)
(LA Weekend September 22-25, 2012 Sec A pg. 10)
