11 killed when driver smashes car through crowds of Filipino Canadians

A makeshift memorial at Vancouver's Lapu-Lapu festival began forming Sunday.

A Canadian celebration honoring a Filipino hero turned into a tragedy when a driver plowed his car into a crowd killing 11 and injuring dozens more.

The April 26 deadly attack occurred towards the end of the Lapu-Lapu festival in Vancouver, Canada and the majority of the crowd celebrating Filipino culture and foods went home.

Police arrested Kai-Ji Adam Lo, a 30-year old suspect who was chased and held by festival goers. Police say that there is no evidence of terrorism but the suspect is an mentally unstable individual with a history known by the authorities.

Vancouver interim police chief Steve Rai said at a press conference Sunday that it was the "darkest day" in the city's history.

"The number of dead could rise in the coming days or weeks," he told reporters, adding that men, women and young people were among the victims.

Prior to the car careening into a crowd, the Lapu-Lapu festival attracted tens of thousands.

The Lapu Lapu Day Block Party, which had attracted tens of thousand of people through the day, was winding down when the driver mowed down celebrants.

Kris Pangilinan, a Filipino journalist based in Toronto, told the CBC that as the vendors were packing up their supplies and cleanup crews had moved a barricade that had been blocking traffic to allow cars to enter. Suddenly one car speeded up and plowed through the street at high speed, said Pangilinan.

“Then we realized what was happening and everybody started yelling,” he told the CBC. “(The driver) just slammed the pedal down and rammed into hundreds of people. It was like seeing a bowling ball hit — all the bowling pins and all the pins flying up in the air.”

“It was like a war zone…. There were bodies all over the ground,” said Pangilinan, adding he saw “countless” people injured.

The Vancouver metro area is home for 173,000 people of Filipino descent. In the city limits, Filipinos make up about almost 6% of the total population.

The annual festival was a means celebrate their culltural heritage. The guest DJ was Filipino-American rapper Apl.de.ap of the Black Eyed Peas earlier in the day. Tthe festival was named after Lapu Lapu, a Filipino chieftain who had in the 1500s defeated the forces led by Ferdinand Magellan and his Spanish soldiers.

The Candadian province of British Columbia officially recognized April 27 as Lapu-Lapu Day in 2023, to acknowledge the cultural contributions of the Filipino Canadian community, one of the largest immigrant groups in the province.

Sunday, people began laying down flowers at the festival site.

RJ Aquino, the head of the Filipino BC organisation, said at a press conference Sunday that "last night was extremely difficult and the community will feel this for a long time."

"We know that there's a lot of questions floating about and we don't have all the answers, but we want to tell everybody that we're grieving," he added.

Police chief Rai said this is a dark day in Vancouver's history. "The actions of a single person shattered our collective sense of safety," he said. "It is impossible to overstate how many lives have been impacted forever by this lone individual."

FYI: A Google Doc has been created by a group of local members of the Filipino community, listing emergency response resources. The members are not associated with any organizations. That Google Doc can be accessed here. A Filipino Emergency Response website has been set up. This includes forms for support requests and a list of community spaces and gatherings. It also lists more resources. That can be accessed here.

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Filipino Canadian brothers fighting racism in the streets and in the hockey rink

Matt Dumba spoke online from his home in Calgary.

Two Filipino Canadian brothers playing professional hockey are part of the newly formed Hockey Diversity Alliance, which has a mission "to eradicate racism and intolerance in hockey."

Minnesota Wild defenseman Matt Dumba, was named to the group's executive committee along with Detroit Red Wings defenseman Trevor Daley, Buffalo Sabres forward Wayne Simmonds, Philadelphia Flyers forward Chris Stewart and former NHL forward Joel Ward. The group appointed San Jose Sharks forward Evander Kane and former NHL player Akim Aliu as co-heads of the organization.

"In creating our alliance, we are confident we can inspire a new generation of hockey players and fans," it said in a statement. "We are hopeful that anyone who puts on skates or sits in the stands will do so without worrying about race, gender or socioeconomic background (and) will be able to express their culture, identity, values and personality without fear of retribution."

The alliance's announcement comes in the wake of the killing of George Floyd–a 46-year-old black man who died in police custody after a Minneapolis police officer held his knee against Floyd's throat for nearly nine minutes. His death sparked a series of global protests against racism and for Black Lives Matter and touched Matt Dumba personally.

"I will be silent no more," said Matt Dumba.

Minnesota Wild player Matt Dumba is raising funds to help Minneapolis small businesses.

Matt Dumba tells NBC Asian America that he knows the challenges of growing up brown in a predominantly white sport.

Dumba said that he was usually the only person of color on his teams growing up in Calgary, Alberta, and that he often endured racism from other players.

"Up in Canada, people didn't really know what I was. You have to have a conversation and break through my family history and ethnicity. Little kids threw the bag at you when it came to racial slurs and stuff to get at you," Dumba continued. 

"But I took offense to almost everything that was said to me just because of my family background, how many different races are involved in that. Just wanted to stand up for my family. That was a little bit tough. But you work through it. I'm grateful that my love of the game was so strong and I just kept battling through a lot of that."

The alliance, which formed last Spring, will operate independently of the National Hockey League, but Kim Davis, the League's senior vice president of social impact, growth initiatives and legislative affairs, said she hopes the NHL and alliance can work together.

"We are supportive of all efforts that are intended to advance the role of our sport in society," Davis said. "We are hopeful that this alliance will collaborate with our NHL structured council and committees -- particularly the Player Inclusion Committee -- to bring ideas for change."

Matt Dumba, 25, has played for the Minnesota Wild for seven seasons. The team plays its  home games in St. Paul, the twin city of Minneapolis.
Dumba and his brother Kyle, who plays for the Surrey Eagles, are two of the handful of  Asian Canadians playing the country's national sport professionally. The brothers stayed in their hometown of Calgary during the lockdown to combat the spread of the coronavirus.

“Change isn't supposed to be comfortable," Dumba said in a video posted on his Twitter account Thursday afternoon. "I wish I could be back with you guys helping support the cause and cleaning up the aftermath. But I can't. And like some of you, I feel helpless. Being a professional athlete has given me a platform. And I have chosen to use it to amplify your voices and help the community. ... I love you Minnesota, let's come back from this stronger than ever."

KYLE DUMBA

Moving from words to action, the brothers helped launched another initiative to help Minnesota rebuild and repair Lake Street where many of the protests damaged local businesses.

Last month, Matt Dumba partnered with the Lake Street Council to make sure small businesses and non-profits in the Minneapolis get the help they need. He also pledged to match donations up to $100,000.

Last week, the effort received a $100,000 donation from the NHL and Wild, with each contributing $50,000 to the cause.

"As brilliant as he is on the ice, Matt's devotion to the game and his community off the ice are truly outstanding," NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement. "The NHL is honored to join the Minnesota Wild in supporting Matt's initiative to Rebuild Lake Street and we admire his dedication to the great fans of the Wild and to everyone who lives and works in the Twin Cities."

Toronto hosts largest Filipino food festival in North America

SCREEN CAPTURE /TFC

The Taste of Manila stretched out for 12 blocks in Toronto.

The numbers are in for the Taste of Manila food festival in Toronto and they're impressive. Held last weekend, the two-day celebration of Filipino cuisine brought 400,000 to the North York neighborhood known as Little Manila, making it the largest Filipino food festival in North America.

“I’ve been here so many years. Every year keeps getting bigger and better and as a Member of Parliament for York Southwestern who has a large Filipino-Canadian community, it gives me a special honour to join the community here to celebrate the Taste of Manila!,” said Minister of Immigration, Ahmed Hussen.

In the short 6-year history of the festival, even Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has visited the event.

Visitors feasted on traditional cuisine freshly roasted lechon, different styles of pancit and adobo, lumpia, sisig fries and stews, favorite street food including grilled anything on a stick and balut, the boiled duck egg containing a 18-da fetus.

Impromptu dancing broke out amonth the crowd as they listened to the music of local performers. The festival-goers were entertained by performances of TFC's Kapamilya stars Randy Santiago, Sheryn Regis, Jugs and Teddy, Inigo Pascual and Billy Crawford.

With a population of over 300,000 Filipinos, Toronto is home to largest community of Filipinos in Canada.

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