The Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL) mourns the devastating and horrific attack at the Lapu-Lapu Day Filipino community street festival in Vancouver. We extend our deepest condolences to the families and friends of the 11 people killed, and to the entire Filipino community in Ontario, across Canada, and around the world.
What was meant to be a joyful celebration of culture, resistance, and community became one of the darkest days in Vancouver’s history.
This tragedy is not an isolated event. Similar horrors have struck communities across Canada before. Each one is a painful reminder of what happens when public services and public health care, including mental health supports are gutted.
We join the Filipino community’s call for a full and transparent investigation. The community deserves answers. They deserve accountability. They deserve justice. This tragedy also reinforces the urgent need to invest in publicly funded, publicly delivered mental health services, services that are accessible, culturally safe, and grounded in the realities of the communities they’re meant to support.
We need real, preventative solutions. Mental health services must be accessible before tragedy strikes and strong enough to support grieving families and communities when it does.
We will continue to listen and amplify the Filipino community’s calls and keep fighting for the public services that protect lives before it’s too late.
In grief and in solidarity,
Ontario Federation of Labour
Cope343
