CONSULATE GENERAL OF MEXICO-MONTHLY NEWSLETTER JULY 2019

CONSUL ...TING

Consul..ting” is the monthly

publication of the Consulate General of

Mexico in Toronto.

consulmex.sre.gob.mx/

toronto

11 King Street West, Suite 350 Toronto, ON

M5H 4C7 (416) 368-2875

Minister of Employ-ment of Canada

visits Mexico

Seasonal Agricultural

Workers Program

Mexican Ambassa-dor to Canada,

Juan José Gómez Camacho visits

Toronto

Promotion of mexi-can artisan work

Harbourfront Cen-ter presents the

exhibition “Brave” Latin Festival of

Mississauga

Janus Quartet per-formed in Toronto

Future Events

Mexican Independence Day

Culture Events

Toronto Internatio-nal Film Festival

Useful Links

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CONTENIDO

MINISTER OF EMPLOYMENT OF CANADA VISITS MEXICO

The 2019 agricultural season will see the arrival this summer of most of the Mexican workers participating in the Seasonal Agricultural Wor-kers Program.

In 2018, a total of 25,331 Mexican agricultural workers came to Canada, 11,740 to the province of Ontario and 456 to Manitoba, for the most part working at fruit and vegetable farms and greenhouses.

On August 1, Canada’s Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour, Patty Hajdu, met in Mexico City with the Mexican Se-cretary of Labour and Social Welfare (STPS), Luisa María Alcalde, to support the implementation of Mexico’s new labour law reforms. Minister Hajdu and Secretary Alcalde agreed to create the Cana-da-Mexico Working Group to facilitate dialogue, technical assistance, and the exchange of suc-cessful practices to move towards fulfilment of the labour commitments under the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA).

It is estimated that 10,224 migrant workers have arrived in Ontario and 423 in Manito-ba so far, out of a total of 24,266 Mexican workers assigned to the SAWP in Canada this year.

The Consulate General is pleased to ackno-wledge that it has been 45 years since this program began operating, and congratula-tes its members for their contribution to the economic growth of Canada’s rural re-gions.

Secretary Alcalde explained that the Wor-king Group would allow the two countries to share experiences in collective labour rights and stressed that it would support the creation and implementation of the Federal Conciliation Centre and Labour Registry and the Labour Tribunals. The Se-cretary highlighted that the Working Group would strengthen actions to guaran-tee a democratic union structure by giving workers full rights to a personal, free, direct and secret vote.

SEASONAL AGRICULTURAL WORKERS PROGRAM

Fuente: Secretaría de Trabajo y Previsión Social

Fuente: Secretaría de Trabajo y Previsión Social

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POLITIC AFFAIRS

MEXICAN AMBASSADOR TO CANADA VISITS TORONTO

CONSUL...TING AUGUST 2019

Ambassador Gómez Camacho met with Ontario’s Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade, Victor Fedeli, to explore new possibili-ties for increasing trade and invest-ment between Mexico and Ontario.

Both expressed confidence in the imminent ratification of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA), which they agreed would give greater legal certainty to our eco-nomic relations and strengthen trade flows and financial exchanges.

With Scotiabank President and CEO Brian Porter, he exchanged views on the economic prospects for Mexico and Latin America. Porter expressed full confidence in Mexico, where the bank has a major presence and a long-term vision.

He remarked that the financial institu-tion has been monitoring develop-ments in the Mexican economy closely and has recognized the efforts of the new administration of President López Obrador to combat corruption.

Mark Machin, President and CEO of the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), met with Ambassador Gómez Camacho, with whom he dis-cussed the interest that CPPIB has in expanding its presence in Mexico, which up to now has been focused mainly on highway infrastructure pro-jects.

The Ambassador made reference to the infrastructure projects promoted by the new government, which offer new opportunities for Canadian inves-tors.

On July 30 and 31, the Mexican Am-bassador to Canada, Juan José Gómez Camacho, made his first working visit to Toronto. At Queen’s Park, he held a meeting with Ontario’s Lieutenant Governor, Elizabeth Dowdeswell, with whom he discussed the importance of Mexico-Canada bilateral relations, and particularly the role that Ontario plays in trade between the two countries. The two agreed to continue working together to strengthen political, eco-nomic and social relations between Mexico and Ontario.

Ambassador Gómez Camacho also held a meeting with Dale Burgess, Executive Director for Infrastructure and Natural Resources with the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP).

Mr. Burgess pointed out that the OTPP has participated in the financing of highway infrastructure projects in Mexi-co and is interested in continuing to invest in our country in other strategic sectors.

Ambassador Juan José Gómez was in-terviewed for the BNN Bloomberg tele-vision program The Close by the show’s host, Anita Sharma. Ambassador Gómez Camacho offered a summary of his work schedule and talked about Mexico’s perspective on the trade and investment opportunities posed by the CUSMA. The Ambassador’s visit to Toronto is part of a larger schedule of visits to dif-ferent Canadian provinces to strengthen bilateral relations.

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CONSUL...TING AUGUST 2019

CULTURAL AFFAIRS

PROMOTION OF MEXICAN ARTISAN WORK

LATIN FESTIVAL OF MISSISSAUGA

On August 7, the Otomi giant artisan doll recog-nized as part of the cultural heritage of the state of Querétaro and which toured several cities in North America was exhibited in Toronto's Yonge / Dundas Square, .

The handmade doll of the municipality of Ameal-co, better known as rag doll "Lele," represents the tradition, customs and roots of our native peo-ples. The name "Lele" means baby in the Otomi language and the purpose of the tour is to pro-mote Mexican crafts, tourism and culture.

From August 2 to 4, the 11th edition of the Latin Festival of Mississauga took place. Its’ aim is to promote Latin American traditions and their contributions to the cultural enrichment of Ca-nadian society.

The event gathered various artists to present exhibitions, gastronomic shows and a parade of typical costumes. Mexico was present through the Puro México Folkloric Ballet of the Tonatiuh Mexican Folk Dance Group and the Veracruz State Folk Ballet.

HARBOURFRONT CENTER PRESENTS THE EXHIBITION “BRAVE”

“JANUS QUARTET” PERFORMED AT SPANISH CENTRE IN TORONTO

Toronto's Cultural Harbourfront Center presents until September 8 an exhibition of the "Museum of Broken Relationships". The museum located in Croatia, is based on the concept of failed rela-tionships and their consequences on people's lives.

It proposes a deep reflection to overcome the traces left by these break-ups and, at the same time, generate an artistic heritage. The exhibi-tion shows 5 Mexican objects that represent personal stories of ruptures and emotional disa-greements.

On July 26, the Guadalajara chamber music quartet “Janus Quartet” performed a splendid concert at the Spanish Center for Language and Culture in Toronto.

The young musicians presented a varied pro-gram that included well-known pieces of classi-cal music and a repertoire of arrangements of popular Latin American songs, including com-positions by Agustín Lara. The “Janus” string quartet was formed in June 2016 by students from the University of Guadalajara.

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CONSUL...TING AUGUST 2019

FUTURE EVENTS

MEXICAN INDEPENDENCE CULTURAL EVENTS

The 2019 edition of the Toronto Inter-national Film Festival will run from September 5th to 15th.

This year, Mexican cinema will be re-presented by 4 excellent productions:

Chicuarotes by actor and director Gael García Bernal is about two teenage friends whose desperation to escape their hometown leads them to a life of exuberant madness.

Devil Between the Legs, by directors Arturo Ripstein and Alicia Garcíadie-go, explores the topic of geriatric sex and the hazards that plague aging lovers.

My Skin, Luminous, by Gabino Rodrí-guez and Nicolás Pereda, proposes to transform the mundane experiences in a rural Mexican school into a fan-tasy story.

Workforce by director David Zonana is about the tragic death of a cons-truction worker in Mexico City, whose brother and widow try to take justice into their own hands.

TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

The film by Mexican direc-tor Issa López, "The Tigers are not afraid" will be scree-ned at the TIFF Bell Light-box from August 23 to 29.

https://www.tiff.net/events/tigers-are-not-afraid

"Monarch Butterfly Project a flight route without borders" From August 22 to Septem-ber 4 at the Gardiner Mu-seum. https: www.gardinermuseum.on.ca/event/sin-fronteras-monarch-butterfly-project/

In my personal life, I’ve had the opportunity to grow as a person and expand my vision of the world, thanks to the challenges I’ve faced and the experiences I’ve had in To-ronto. An opportunity to grow, because when you’re an immigrant you’re constantly learning and you never stop changing. And an expansion of my vision because, in ad-dition to experiencing new things, it has reminded me of how fortunate we are to be able to live outside of Mexico, chasing goals and achieving them, and of the responsibi-lity we have to help those who aren’t so fortunate.

What is Enlace?

Enlace is an association dedicated to providing support to seasonal agricultural workers who come here from Mexi-co. The support we offer is mainly social, and in the form of guidance on taxation, health and legal issues. Enlace was founded in 2001 by a group of Mexican women who, on learning about the difficulties faced by workers, deci-ded to create the organization to offer them support whi-le they were working in Canada.

I started working with Enlace in 2010, when Aide Coufadis and Lourdes Borofsky invited me to help out on some of the association’s events, and I’ve been part of the organi-zation since then.

Enlace has three events that we hold each year, with the objective of bringing workers together and organizing activities where they can relax and enjoy themselves. These events are the Bicycle Rodeo, the Soccer Tourna-ment, and the “Elotada”. We also organize a Christmas party, but that’s to raise funds to be used for activities or for special situations that workers face. In addition to these events, we offer assistance on taxation issues, be-cause a lot of workers aren’t familiar with their rights and obligations under tax law, and we try to help them when they have health questions or issues, to help them find the best way to solve them.

What are Enlace’s plans for the future?

The intention of Enlace is to keep supporting Mexican workers, and to be able to increase the number of people who benefit from our activities, and if possible, to expand the ways we help them. The challenge we have is how to increase the number of activities and workers we help. Most Enlace volunteers are based in Toronto, which limits the activities and help that we can offer, but also gives us advantages we can exploit. I’m referring here to the fact that being in Toronto gives us access to a network of Me-xicans who are interested in helping in various ways, which creates a pool of resources we can draw on, and contacts with other people or organizations that are clo-sely involved with the workers, that can deliver the assis-tance directly. To keep moving forward, we are working with other associations of Mexicans in Toronto, like Ex-A-Tec, to find ways we can expand our support for Mexican workers.

INTERVIEW WITH MEXICANS

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ALBERTO CUEVAS

Who is Alberto Cuevas?

I’m a Mexican originally from Mexico City, and I’ve been living in Toronto since 2004. On the professional side, I completed a degree in public accounting at the Mexican university Tec de Monterrey in 2000. And I also hold an MBA from the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management. I started my career in the areas of financial planning and analysis in different industries; in 2010, I had the opportunity to make the transition to the area of con-tinuous improvement, which opened up doors for me to take on roles in corporate strategy and project manage-ment. On the personal side, I’m married and have two small kids, Sofia and Emiliano, who keep me active and busy, but who also bring a lot of joy into my life. And like a lot of other Mexicans, I enjoy playing and watching soccer. And I also have the honour to be President of the Enlace Community Link association, whose objective is to sup-port Mexican agricultural workers who come to Canada as temporary workers.

Why did you decide to come to Toronto?

At first it was just to do my MBA. After finishing my stu-dies in Mexico and working there for a few years, I felt a desire to study abroad. When I was weighing up options in various countries, the business programs at several uni-versities in Canada were already among the best in the world, and also there was the possibility of staying to work for a few years after finishing the MBA. Once I was living in Toronto I began to realize how important the city was to the country’s economy, which creates countless job op-portunities in different industries, and I’d been able to ex-perience the excellent quality of life and see how interes-ting Toronto is, with its multiculturalism and openness to immigrants, where all the different cultures of the world are appreciated. And on top of that, I met my wife here, so I decided to stay in Toronto.

What has your experience been like as an immigrant?

Very positive in every way. Professionally, thanks to the MBA I got from the University of Toronto, I’ve been able to pursue a successful career in various companies in diffe-rent industries, developing and leading important pro-jects in managerial transformation.

CONSUL...TING AUGUST 2019

CONSUL...TING AUGUST 2019

USEFUL LINKS

The Consulate General of Mexico in Toronto is open to the public by ap-

pointment.

For Mexican passports, birth certifi-cates and powers of attorney, ap-pointments must be requested

through MEXITEL at: https://citas.sre.gob.mx/mexitel_web/

(1-877-639 4835)

For any other service, please request an appointment

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ELECTRONIC TRAVEL AUTHORIZATION (ETA)FOR MEXICAN TRAVELERS

Call for Submissions for the Mexican Government’s Excellence Grants for Foreigners 2019 The Secretariat of Foreign Affairs (SRE), through the Mexican

Agency for International Development Cooperation (AMEXCID), announces a call for submissions from foreigners interested in studying in Mexico at the levels of specialization, master’s, PhD and post-doctoral research, as well as mobility programs for undergraduate and graduate students, to apply for the

Mexican Government’s Excellence Grants for Foreigners 2019. More info:

http://www.gob.mx/amexcid/acciones-y-programas/becas-para-extranjeros-

29785

Follow us:

Media Directory of the Consulate General Luis A. Castañeda Deputy Consul Scarlett Navarro Press office prensator@sre.gob.mx, (416) 368-2875 ext. 238

USEFUL LINKS

● Presidency of Mexico:

presidencia.gob.mx

● Ministry of Foreign Affairs: sre.gob.mx

● Mexican Embassy in Canada

embamex.sre.gob.mx/canada/

● Ministry of Culture:

cultura.gob.mx

Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Mexico: canchammx.com

● Mexico-Canada

http://mex can.sre.gob.mx/

● Visas and consular services:

consulmex.com

● Mexican restaurants in Toronto & GTA

● https://www.blogto.com/eat_drink/2015/11/the_top_25_mexican_restaurants_in_toronto_by_neighbourhood/

● MEXITEL

1-877-639-4835

https://mexitel.sre.gob.mx/citas

The Consul General is empowered to act as a Mexican notary public, and is therefore able to issue powers of attorney with legal validity in Mexico. Any

person or company located in Ontario or Manitoba may submit a power of attorney for the appointment of a person to act on their behalf in a lawsuit, in the administration of a business or in the purchase or sale of goods in Mexico.

The Registration System for Mexicans Abroad (SIRME, for its initials in Span-ish) has the purpose of facilitating communication between the Mexican gov-

ernment and its citizens living abroad. Through this system, registered Mexi-cans can receive timely information to avoid facing adverse conditions while travelling, staying or residing outside Mexico.

https://sirme.sre.gob.mx/

Canadian nationals and permanent residents of Canada do not require a

visa to enter Mexico, with the exception of Canadian citizens carrying diplo-matic or official passports. For more information please visit:

https://consulmex.sre.gob.mx/toronto/index.php/en/servicesforeigners/visas