Pura Velasco Explained

Pura Velasco
Birth Place:	Philippines
Nationality:	Filipina
Occupation:	activist

Pura Velasco is a Philippine-born activist and advocate for caregivers^{[1] [2]} based in Canada.

Pura M. Velasco was a student activist in the University of the Philippines.

After her arrival in Toronto in 1989 from Vienna, where she was a migrant caregiver, Velasco took on the cause of her Filipina compatriots in Canada. In 1991, she began to work as a facilitator for the organization Intercede for the Right of Domestic Workers, Caregivers, Nannies and Newcomers or INTERCEDE. She was a member of Instrac (Institute for Training and Accreditation of Foreign Professional Graduates) and the Multicultural Committee at Mid-Toronto Community Services.

She helped organize Migrante Women's Collective (MWC). Formerly known as the Coalition for the Defense of Migrant Workers' Rights, this organization evolved from a group of organizations such as the United Filipino Mothers, Caregivers' Cooperative, Katipunan ng Manggagawang Kababaihan, and others.^[3] She also served as on the board of the Community Alliance for Social Justice.^{[4] [5]}

In 2007, Velasco founded Caregivers Action Centre, previously known as the Caregivers Support Services, with which she served as spokesperson,^[6] advocating and lobbying for fair employment, immigration status, and access to settlement services.”

Awards

• 1993 Skills for Change New Pioneer Award^[7]
• 2010 Bromley Armstrong Award^[8]
• 2016 J.S. Woodsworth Lifetime Achievement Award^{[9] [10]}

Selected publications

• ‘We Can Still Fight Back’: Organizing Domestic Workers in Toronto, in "Not One of the Family" Eds. Abigail B. Bakan, Daiva Stasiulis. pp 157-164. University of Toronto Press, 1997. https://doi.org/10.3138/9781442677944-009
• Filipino Migrant Workers Amidst Globalization in "Canadian Woman Studies" 21.4-22.1 (2002): 131-35.
• Respect and Dignity for Caregivers'.' Speech delivered at the Almusalan Forum of the Philippine Press Club Ontario. Toronto, February 23, 2008.https://philippinereporter.com/index.php/2008/03/01/respect-and-dignity-for-caregivers/

External links

• York University Panel on Canada’s Live-in Caregiver Program
• Caregivers Action Centre

Notes and References

1. Web site: Bonnar. John. Community groups fight for better living, working conditions for temporary foreign workers and live-in caregivers. June 11, 2009. July 5, 2021.
2. Government of Ontario. Legislative Assembly of Ontario. Caregiver and Foreign Worker Recruitment and Protection Act, 2009. April 9, 2009. Mike Colle. MPP, Elginton-Lawrence.
3. Santos. Maria Deanna. A Matter of Policy or Strategy? Promoting the Human Rights of Filipina Domestic Workers in Canada. Philippine Sociological Review. 48. 137–159. 2000. 23898408.
4. Mercurio. Edwin. September 19–25, 2004 . Filipinos in Canada Organize To Protect Themselves. Bulatlat. IV. 33. 2021-05-18.
5. PhD. Tungohan. Ethel. From the Politics of Everyday Resistance to the Politics From Below:Migrant Care Worker Activism in Canada. University of Illinois Press, forthcoming.
6. Web site: Black. Debra. New rules for federal live-in caregivers program. November 8, 2014. July 5, 2021.
7. Web site: 1993 NPA Education award recipients. September 30, 2023.
8. Web site: Pura Velasco receives a Bromley L. Armstong Award. May 17, 2010. July 5, 2021.
9. Web site: NDP caucus honours Ontarians for their work to end racism.
10. Web site: Queano. Luisito. Radyo Migrante wins 2016 J.S. Woodsworth Award for Human Rights and Equity. June 22, 2016.