OPINION
PHILIPPINE ASIAN NEWS TODAY September 16 - 30, 2017
Tinig Migrante
By E. Maestro
Who are Prakash Basy-
al, Arthur Cajes, Edlyn Tes-
orero and Bishnu Khadka?
They are the four for-
eign workers who have start-
ed a class action suit against
Mac’s Convenience Stores
and three immigration con-
sultants: Overseas Immi-
gration Services, Overseas
Career and Consulting Ser-
vices and Trident Immigration
Services. The class action
suit was certified by the BC
Supreme Court last Sept 18,
2017, well over a year after
the Notice of Application for
Certification was filed by the
workers in July 15, 2016.
A class action is a law-
suit in which a large group of
people with common legal
claims join together to bring
one large claim. The large
group, about 450 workers, is
represented by “representa-
tive plaintiffs” and in this class
action, these are the four for-
eign workers: Prakash Basyal
and Bishnu Khadka, both
from Nepal, and
Arthur Cajes and
Edlyn
Tesorero,
both from the Philippines but
working in Dubai.
In this class action suit,
the four workers allege that
the immigration consultants
collected from them large re-
cruitment fees, roughly $8000
each to get legal employment
from Mac’s Convenience
Stores in Western Canada
(BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan,
and Northwest Territories). Ac-
cording to the Koskie Glavin
Gordon law firm, “Mac’s then
entered into employment
contracts with the foreign
workers. When the workers
arrived in Canada, Mac’s re-
fused or neglected to provide
the work that was guaranteed
in the employment contract.“
Simply put, the promised jobs
did not exist.
Many of those in the
class action are Filipinos and
were recruited in job fairs in
Dubai, UAE to come to Cana-
da. Some are living and work-
ing in Calgary, Alberta and in
Class Action Against Mac’s
Convenience Stores
Dubai,UAE.
The class action is to
help these workers harmed
by Mac’s and the immigration
consultants get the compen-
sation for what happened to
them.
If you are a foreign work-
er who, on or after December
11, 2009, made payments to
Overseas Immigration Servic-
es, Overseas Career and Con-
sulting Services and Trident
Immigration Services to work
at Mac’s Convenience Stores
in Western Canada under the
TFW Program, please call
604.734.8001. Or send an
email to ksmith@koskieglavin.
com. Provide your name ad-
dress and email address and
your name will be added to
the list of potential claimants
and you will be notified of de-
velopments in the case. The
lawyers representing the class
action are Charles Gordon
and Kirby Smith of Koskie
Glavin Gordon and Carmela
Allevato and Susanna Quail
of Allevato, Quail and Worth.
If this is your story,
or you know someone who
does, don’t waste time. Reach
out to these lawyers.
Multiple opportunities for public to provide input on City budget
The City of Vancouver’s
2018-2022
Budget
Outlook
is ready to view online. There
are multiple opportunities for
the public to get involved in
the engagement process for
the City’s 2018 Budget and
five-year financial plan.
The 2018-2022 Budget
Outlook helps provide context
for the budget decisions the
City needs to make, with the
goal of making the best use
of our resources to maintain
services while responding to
the expanding needs of our
growing population.
Focused on setting
priorities and taking actions
for a better city, the Outlook
identifies
the
following
priorities:
* Invest in renewing
existing, and adding
new, public facilities and
infrastructure;
* Manage the
challenges of rapid growth
and affordability; and
* Focus on equity and
creating a resilient, healthy
and green community.
The draft 2018 Budget and
five-year financial plan will be
available online in November.
The budget will then be
reviewed by City Council
and the public before being
approved on December 12.
The
public’s
input
on the 2018 Budget will
influence decisions about
how tax dollars are spent.
The following opportunities
are available to provide your
input (check the City web
site for more
details and any updates).
* Online survey
available from September 27
to October 13.
* In-person Budget
Roadshows will be held at the
following dates and times at
the locations listed below:
Monday, October 9
- Outside on northwest
corner of 4th and Vine (near
Safeway/Whole Foods), 9-11
am
- Save-On-Foods (3535
West 41st Avenue), Noon-2
pm
- Britannia Breezeway
(1661 Napier Street), 3-5 pm
Wednesday, October 18
- Trout Lake Community
Centre (3360 Victoria
Drive), 8-10 am
- Collingwood
Neighbourhood House (5288
Joyce Street), 11 am-1 pm
-
Killarney
Community Centre (6250
WWW.PHILIPPINEASIANNEWSTODAY.COM
Killarney Street), 2-4 pm
Thursday, October 19
- Mount Pleasant
Neighbourhood House (800
East Broadway), 9-11 am
- Creeksi