Marcos, Canada PM discuss trade, Vancouver festival attack in phone call

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney spoke by phone on Thursday to discuss several matters, including the car-ramming attack in Vancouver that killed several Filipinos in late April.

‘’Had a very good conversation with Prime Minister Mark Carney of Canada,’’ Marcos said in a social media post.

‘’We discussed how our two nations can further strengthen and deepen cooperation in trade, defense, and maintaining peace in our region. I also conveyed our gratitude for Canada’s swift assistance to the Filipino community in Vancouver following the tragic incident at the Lapu-Lapu Day Festival,’’ he added.

In a separate statement, Carney’s office said the two leaders ‘’reflected on the Lapu-Lapu Day tragedy in Vancouver earlier this year and expressed their deep condolences to all those affected.’’

The April 26 festival, held to honor Lapu-Lapu, who led the defeat of Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan in a battle in 1521, turned into a scene of tragedy after an SUV driver plowed into a crowd in Vancouver’s Sunset neighborhood.

A Reuters article said that the deceased were between the ages of 5 and 65.

Canadian prosecutors later charged the suspect, Kai-Ji Adam Lo, with at least eight counts of second-degree murder. 

Marcos and Carney also discussed cultural ties, advancing free trade, and ‘’agreed on the importance of a free and open Indo-Pacific and of the efforts of both Canada and the Philippines to uphold the rules-based international order and security in the region,’’ the prime minister’s office said.

Carney also extended an invitation to Marcos to visit Canada.

‘’The leaders will remain in close contact,’’ Carney’s office said. —VBL, GMA Integrated News