Canadian turnaround: New aid for South

Thanks. And here’s more aid.

The Canadian government is thankful for the Philippine government’s understanding and cooperation regarding the temporary closure of the Canadian embassy in Makati City.

And in a big turnaround, the Canadians are offering more aid for the development of Mindanao.

This was the message of Canadian Foreign Minister Bill Graham in his letter of gratitude to Foreign Affairs Secretary Blas Ople, personally conveyed by Canadian Ambassador Robert Colette last Friday.

In his letter, Graham underscored the importance Canada attaches to its relationship with the Philippines both as a friend and key partner in the region.

Despite the embassy’s temporary closure, essential services continue to function from other locations, Collete said. Visitor’s visa applications are now referred to visa offices in Hong Kong, Singapore or Tokyo to address the concerns of numerous Filipinos who travel to Canada. Special phone lines have also been put in place to respond to inquiries.

Colette assured Ople that the embassy will reopen once a comfortable level of security is attained. The embassy is now in close coordination with Philippine security authorities.

Ople, for his part, said that the Philippines also highly values its relations with Canada and it is in this spirit that he received the Canadian ambassador even on a holiday.

The two also lengthily discussed Canadian development assistance program to the Philippines, especially the programs for Mindanao which comprise 60 percent of Canadian assistance to the Philippines.

Colette announced the launching next January of a training program in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) for the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, which Ople cited as an important strategic contribution to the government’s capacity-building programs for the people of the island.

However, while Ople called for restraint and calm in dealing with the issue, Sen. Manuel Villar called for the closure of Philippine embassies in Canada and Australia until the two countries reopen their offices in Manila.

Villar, chairman of the Senate committee on foreign relations, slammed the government’s "foreign policy of fear" saying it must be more audacious in responding to the insults thrown by other countries.

He vowed yesterday to cut the budget allocated next year for the Philippine embassies in Canada and Australia in order to force their closures.

Villar said that through this, the government will be sending a strong message that it is not taking the acts of both embassies lightly. — Aurea Calica, Efren Danao