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SIMONE J. SMITH/TORONTO CARIBBEAN “Freedom is a fragile thing and is never more than one generation away from extinction. Those who have known freedom, then lost it, have never known it again” Ronald Reagan In the last few weeks, stories have been revealed to me that would scare people to death. Stories that would not make sense to many of us born and raised in the western world. We have experienced freedoms that are

taken for granted, and I only know this after the many emails I have received; emails filled with fear about what is to come here in Canada.

Those who have lived through and under communism can instantly recognize any signs of communist ideology, no matter how subtle it is.

To them, if it looks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it is a duck. One specific feature pointed out to me is this notion of being saved by the

government. “If someone is trying to save me by telling me that I should wear a mask (against my constitutional rights as a human being), socially distance myself from my family, and control where I can go, when I can go there, I am instantly wary,” I was told by someone who grew up and left to come to Canada in hopes of never having to experience that lifestyle again.

Continued On Page 8

PAGE 2

FEATURE

Toronto Caribbean News | www.TOCaribNews.com | Wednesday, April 28, 2021

JAIDYN FENTON SPEAKING HER TRUTH Spoken word poetry is one of the most outspoken forms of artistic expression. It is a baby that is still making its stand within the poetry world.

Spoken word is like entering into a world of its own, where pieces are performed in a way that sparks the audience’s attention and provokes reactions. Spoken word is also very theatrical where performers incorporate body movements to add another layer of expression. Spoken word is one of the most misunderstood art forms, facing criticisms of not following any of the older traditional forms of poetry.

However, spoken word has brought awareness to many social issues. It is also popular among our young people. I have personally heard many youth poets and this young lady’s work captured my attention from the moment I heard her performance. I reached out as soon as possible, and I hope her words inspire and motivate.

“My name is Jaidyn Fenton. I am seventeen years old, and I will be eighteen this September. I spend most of my days as a student in high school. Contrary to who I am today; at a young age I was a quiet kid. I always kept to myself and did not know how to communicate my thoughts and feelings because I thought and felt things so deeply.

I started to search for ways to express my emotions. I come from a family where our thoughts and feelings are rarely discussed, and when they are, it is not understood. So, I had to keep searching. I tried painting, music and I loved it, but I wanted to do something heavier. I wanted to express my heart in a way that could

not just be useful for my utterance, but it could reach someone else’s.

In 2019, I finally found my voice in poetry. I am a spoken word poet and teaching artist. I focus my poetry on what I have overcome and what I have yet to overcome. In 2020, I officially began performing my poetry. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I shifted my performances online. I do Poetry Slams and Open-Mic shows.”

During an Open Mic event “La Raza Slam,” Jaidyn performed a poem called “Normalize this,” which addresses body shaming. I asked her to share the inspiration behind that piece?

“I felt the need to speak on this. I incorporated my experience being ridiculed overtly, as a thin person. People seem to feel the need to say something about it. People often tell me ‘Stop being so sensitive’ when speaking against these critical opinions, but all this does is slowly break down a person’s morale.

The people who say those things are usually going through a lot of challenges and criticism themselves. It is a continuous cycle of toxicity. We do not always have control over how our body looks. Sometimes it is the result of: how we were raised, health conditions, mental health challenges, and genetics. Truthfully, there is a serious reason why I look this way, a bit thinner than others.

At birth, I endured many issues that drastically declined my health. The doctors tried everything they could to help me gain weight, but my body continued to reject the treatment. I spent most of my life in and out of

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the hospital. Eventually, things worsened, and I became malnourished. I am happy to say that with all I have been through, I am now recovering. God gave me the strength I needed. Recovery is a process; the start of it all was very hard.

Even to this day, I struggle with my weight, but it is more stable now. Everyone has a story.”

“What are some challenges you find as an emerging creative,” I questioned.

“I’d have to say the biggest challenge is having a limited amount of support and understanding. Many people, when they think of someone being a poet, believe it is just another person writing poems on their phone, or simply having a way with writing words. If you are not working a typical part-time job, people tend to assume that you are not working at all.

As an artist I also have to confront my insecurities. I think a lot of emerging artists feel vulnerable when initially publishing pieces out into the world. You think, who’s going to like this? Is this good enough? What if someone doesn’t like it at all? I’ve realized that all of those things don’t matter. The thing about poetry is that no matter how bad or good you may feel your poem is, there is always someone out there who will like it.”

“What is your advice for other poets and emerging writers?”

“My advice to them would be, no matter what happens, speak your truth. Write exactly what is on your heart and your mind. Be honest with yourself. It is so easy to be caught up with things other poets may say or do, but you do not have to be like them.

To be inspired by someone is wonderful, though originality is prime in any form of artistic expression. If there are things that you are not comfortable sharing, that is always okay. Poetry is not about forcing your emotions onto a page; it is about projecting your words for others to know who you are.

When I began my poetic journey, I thought that I had to be like other writers to be prosperous, but it’s your uniqueness that helps you to be successful.”

The world will see a lot more of this young woman in the future. She was reluctant to reveal her plans, but she did say that she wanted to write and publish more poems. You can find her @jaidynfenton on Instagram. She is also re-launching her YouTube Channel. Information about that can be found on her Instagram.

I want to thank Jaidyn so much for sharing her story and her words. I want to encourage everyone to take the time to support our young artists by listening, sharing, donating, and supporting them.

Written by Simone J. Smith Toronto Caribbean News

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PAGE 3

Who is policing the police?

Is civilian oversight needed in Aylmer, Ontario?

SIMONE SMITH simone@carib101.com

TC REPORTER

One thing that can be said about this pandemic is that it has brought some interesting societal topics to light. One that has been considered in the past, and is being looked at now is who holds police officers accountable. Who polices the police?

I realize that the question sounds paradoxical, but it is a question that needs to be answered, especially because it is crucial for upholding the rule of law.

Last spring, we saw what high levels of COVID-19 enforcement looks like: people ticketed for sitting alone on a park bench, people harassed for walking through their local park, questioned when they didn’t match an officer’s idea of what a ‘family’ is. Even with the unconstitutional regulations passed last week, police have still been given novel and concerning police power to enforce COVID-19 restrictions.

As much as police are the main institution responsible for law enforcement, they are capable of breaking the laws too.

When this happens, civilian oversight of police is crucial for holding police accountable when they break the law or otherwise engage in wrongdoing.

Civilian oversight of police just means the oversight of police activities by people who are not active members of the police force; this can be: judges, politicians, even media. In Canada, there are two main types of civilian-led oversight mechanism: the first type receives complaints from the

public concerning a police officer’s noncriminal misconduct, and the second type investigates police officers whose actions lead to serious injury or death.

On Sunday, April 17th, 2021, I was privy to a situation where civilian oversight was needed. The team from the Toronto Caribbean News & TCN TV Network made the trip to Aylmer to visit the Church of God officiated by Pastor Henry Hilderbrandt.

The Church of God has been under police radar since the beginning of the pandemic. Pastor Hilderbrandt and his congregation have held firm to their fundamental freedoms that are stated in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms:

“The charter guarantees everyone the freedom of conscience and religion; thought, belief, opinion, and expression, including freedom of the press and other means of communication; peaceful assembly; and association.”

They have done so without infringing on other’s rights, yet for some reason, the members of the church have been targeted in multiple ways. The question here is why?

Well, last year at the beginning of the pandemic, Premier Ford executed Bill 195 2020, An Act to enact the Reopening Ontario (A Flexible Response to COVID-19) Act, 2020 In section (3) the subject matters referred to in clause (2) (a) are the following: • 1. Closing or regulating any place, whether public or private, including any business, office, school, hospital or other establishment or institution.

• 3. Prohibiting or regulating gatherings or organized public events.

In section 7.0.2 (1) The purpose of making orders under this section is to promote the public good by protecting the health,

safety and welfare of the people of Ontario in times of declared emergencies in a manner that is subject to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. 2006, c. 13, s. 1 (4).

Before we go any further, I would like for everyone to take note of the last line. This Bill is subject to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Let us continue.

There are some Criteria for emergency orders: • (2) During a declared emergency, the Lieutenant Governor in Council may make orders that the Lieutenant Governor in Council believes are necessary and essential in the circumstances to prevent, reduce or mitigate serious harm to persons or substantial damage to property, if in the opinion of the Lieutenant Governor in Council it is reasonable to believe that, (a) the harm or damage will be alleviated by an order; and (b) making an order is a reasonable alternative to other measures that might be taken to address the emergency.

2006, c. 13, s. 1 (4).

My question at this point is, are the members at the Church of God causing serious harm or substantial damage to anyone’s property? The argument might be that they are being selfish because they are opening up to the public and spreading COVID-19, but to that I say this. I am not sure if anyone has taken a trip to Costco lately. From what I have heard, Costco is as full as it has ever been. Here, people are wearing masks, and yet, for some reason, the numbers in the GTA have continued to spike.

Joyce Lock (Medical Officer of Health for Southwestern Public Health) previously stated factors contributing to

Aylmer’s designation, as a hotspot are: workplace outbreaks, including the one at the police college (which infected more than 110 people), cases among long-term care residents, school cases, infections related to social gatherings and spread among large families and households.

As of April 20th, 2021, Southwestern Public Health has logged 3,209 COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began.

Seventy-three people have died. Twelve new positive cases were recorded Tuesday, bringing the number of active cases in the area to 182, of which only three are in Aylmer. To date, Aylmer has seen 489 cases.

So to this I ask, why the constant harassment of Pastor Henry Hilderbrant, and the congregation at the Church of God in Aylmer. The police have been ticketing members of the church, including an elderly woman, continuously stalking members of the church, and just last weekend, police officers were on the church property (in the woods), taking pictures illegally.

This was discovered after members of the church found one of the officer’s phones, which was returned after the Aylmer police openly admitted that they had been lurking on private property during the service. I happened to be present for the phone story, and I could tell that the police were embarrassed. They had to eventually call and ask for their phone back.

This has been followed up by Aylmer police officers actually charging two Toronto police officers for visiting the Church of God, and on Sunday, April 25th, 2021, another incident occurred, which included Aylmer officers subduing, and pinning down an autistic child.

All of this for three cases of COVID-19, with no cases tied to the Church of God. Something is not right here.

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PAGE 5

International math test scores released by Fraser Institute reveal decline in math performance across Canada PAUL JUNOR

paul@carib101.com

TC REPORTER

The Fraser Institute is described according to its website as “an independent non-partisan research and educational organization in Canada (fraserinstitute.org).

It is known for its annual ranking of Canadian schools for over twenty years.

As a Canadian public policy think registered charity, its political conservative and libertarian stance is often reflected in its publications and studies.

On Thursday, April 8th, it released a study titled, “Math Performance in Canada.” The study was based on the analysis of data obtained over a fifteen-year period, from 2003 to 2018 from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA).

This test is given every three years to students in thirty-seven countries The report notes that the PISA is “the most extensive and widely accepted measure of academic proficiency among lower secondary students around the world” An analysis of the results over the fifteen-year period indicates that there has been a gradual decline in the overall performance of Canadian’s math students.

Canada placed fifth out of thirtyseven countries that participated in 2003 and twelfth out of seventy-eight participating jurisdictions as revealed in the 2018 assessment. It was also noted that there was a decrease in the performance of students in all provinces across Canada. It was highest in Manitoba, then Alberta, British Columbia, Prince Edward and Ontario. The study examined each province’s mathematics test results based on their unique curriculum standards.

These results also indicate that

there was a gradual decline in the performance of students. Vincent Geloso, a senior fellow at the Fraser Institute and co-author of the study wrote in the news release, “By almost every measure math scores are declining. Policymakers and educators need to understand the severity of these declining math results and should seriously consider ways to reverse this trend.”

In terms of the analysis of the results for Ontario, which was based on the results of Ontario’s Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) grade 3,6, and 9 math tests. The study notes that Ontario’s internal Grade 9 results does not coincide with the PISA results. This is related to the fact students in Grade 9 are either in Applied or Academic Math and students are enrolled in either English or French language Programs.

The study revealed that there was a 2.5% drop in average math test scores for fifteen-year-olds from 2009 to 2019.

With respect to data obtained from Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), it indicates that the first three Grade 4 data points on the TIMSS results did not increase from 2003 to 2015 compared to the EQAO data from 2008 to 2019.

The results for Grade 9 students are more pronounced. The study notes the TIMSS data may also provide independent support for a statistically significant decline in Ontario’s elementary math scores since 2011. The decline in students’ math performance in international tests is troubling. As there is an increased emphasis on a future in STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) careers, it is vital that students have a solid foundation in Mathematics.

Derek Allison, professor Emeritus of Western Ontario and co-author of the study observes, “Mathematics holds a position of strategic importance in the school curriculum, especially in our increasingly digital world, which makes these signs of declining math performance by Canadian students all the more worrisome.”

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Wednesday, April 28, 2021 | www.TOCaribNews.com | Toronto Caribbean News

Food for thought for the young black community; Brainwashed, an online event promoting both physical and mental nourishment JANIECE CAMPBELL janiece@carib101.com

TC REPORTER

Loneliness. Contentment. Worry. Enlightenment. Curiosity. Gratification. These are just a few of the varying emotions anticipated by fellow participants as the virtual event “Brainwashed” began. The Zoom affair, presented by the Toronto-based youth safe space Yantics, is a three-session discussion that explores the mental health of African, Caribbean and black young people and how colonization still has an impact on members of the diaspora 500 years later.

Founded by Siya Gwaan in 2015, “Yantics is an emerging online social networking platform created to connect, showcase and find solutions for youth by allowing them to share with one another and use each other as resources to discuss their various life experiences,” she says.

The production of the latest event by Yantics, Brainwashed, was curated for a multitude of reasons related to her own personal life experiences, requests from the black community and an overwhelming need to break generational curses to begin the healing process.

“I chose the name Brainwashed for two reasons. During a conversation with my father, I told him we were all brainwashed by the powers and structures that be, to a certain degree.” His inner Rasta came out and he said, “Washed would imply my mind is clean and our society has not cleansed my mind.” Slightly corny, but I completely understood his statement.

We’re all led to believe and think certain things because of the environments we were raised in, but we’re making steps to rid (or wash) our minds of these detrimental teachings and mindsets.”

Running each Sunday afternoon from April 11th to April 25th, the insightful two-and-a-half-hour conversation dives into tough topics such as trauma and systemic racism, while also taking time to advocate for change by learning techniques on how to identify and manage these challenges with the assistance of mental health professionals.

I’ve had the opportunity to attend two out of three sessions thus far, and I wanted to share with young readers some mindful takeaways from the discussions.

Have you ever been forced to sit between your mother’s legs and bare the intense burns of a hot comb or the tingling sensations of that chemically aromatic white cream on your scalp all for the sake of silky, straight hair? Have you ever felt slightly unloved because your parents lacked the ability to be openly affectionate? How about something deeper, like a parent struggling to accept that you’ve been sexually abused, quite possibly by a member of the family? These are all ex-

amples of generational trauma, defined as the transmission of traumatic effects from a historical event to younger generations.

In this case, that historical event is slavery.

Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome, or P.T.S.S. is a theory that further explains these adaptive behaviours forced onto African communities and their descendants as a means of survival from centuries of slavery and is also the direct consequence of multi-generational trauma.

It’s not that your mother hated your kinky coils, but rather she was taught to view straight hair as socially acceptable and that it would perpetuate economic advancement. It’s not that our parents don’t love us, it’s that the coping mechanism from generations before them was to cut off any endearing emotions for family, for fear that they may be sent off to another plantation by slaveowners. And it’s not that a parent may be in denial about your abuse, but rather they might also have an abusive past and had never been given an outlet to heal themselves, which then fuels the difficulty to provide support to someone else. In all of these scenarios, the trauma from generations prior eventually trickled down the familial line, ultimately causing emotional distance and the defensive behaviours we see in older generations today. And if we aren’t careful to notice and address it, we may internalize it and pass it on to the generations following us.

Another look at the effects of P.T.S.S. in today’s society can be found in our food consumption. Black people are disproportionately affected by serious lifethreatening ailments such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes and heart disease. This is due to the fact that much of the food we eat is laden with excess salt, sugar and fatty oils. This stems from slavery, where the daily meals of African slaves consisted of animal scraps, cornmeal, flour and peas, though this high caloric diet was easily worked off by our ancestors through plentiful hours of working in the fields. Centuries later, that high starch and fat cuisine eventually became “soul food,” a tasty delicacy that unfortunately doesn’t have much nutritional value and lacks in vitamins.

The problem with this diet, besides it being evidently unhealthy, is that we were not introduced to it by choice.

The original West-African diet is actually extremely nutritious, containing bountiful fruits and leafy greens, nuts, beans, whole grains and tubers such as yams and sweet potatoes. There were no dairy products whatsoever and very little to no meat at all.

However, being forced out from our original dwellings by colonized societies, the limitations placed on our food back then are now causing health issues in our communities currently.

We’ve already broken the physical chains of slavery. Now it’s time to break the beliefs that still persist in our minds due to colonization.

For those who missed this great event, have no fear. You can follow @YanticsDotCom on Instagram for more information on future workshops and events.

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Toronto Caribbean News | www.TOCaribNews.com | Wednesday, April 28, 2021

How to create a socialist state SIMONE SMITH simone@carib101.com

TC REPORTER

Continued From Page 1 Imagine what it must feel like for Canadians who have escaped communism, are now living in Canada, and see the same tactics, ideologies, and messages coming through the media. Things that they say and heard for years under communism, only now it was in English!

What a crazy year! There is so much to be afraid of. Deaths, new variants, concern for our families, our livelihoods; there is just enough to distract us from the political disruption that is occurring.

There was an academic paper produced by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (May, 2020) concluding that deaths caused by the 1918 influenza pandemic “Profoundly shaped German society,” in subsequent years and contributed to the strengthening of the Nazi Party.

The Nazis benefited from the social dislocations of the 1918-20 pandemic, because there was no such electoral boost for any other extremist parties.

They had systematically been spoonfeeding the nation small doses of socialism until when people finally began to wake up, they were now living in a communist society.

With the political and economic disruption that COVID-19 has generated, stories are being revealed from individuals who are seeing how our nation is being spoon-fed. This highlights the enduring social risks that are to come with this Covid-19 pandemic.

“There is a level of admiration I actually have for China, Ahh, because their basic dictatorship is allowing them to

actually turn their economy around on a dime.”

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau The first red flag; when the leader of your country is in awe of the leaders of a communist country. The aspect that most concerns someone like myself, and many other freethinking journalists is the communist-style media control that is being erected her in Canada. Within a communist nation, government control is paramount. There needs to be a: control of education, control of media, control of religion, control of sexuality–control of every aspect of society. How is this control inserted and maintained; good old fashion propaganda.

When the Nazis came to power in 1933, the German constitution guaranteed freedom of speech and freedom of the press, just like the freedoms we currently have in Canada. Through decrees and laws, the Nazis abolished these civil rights and destroyed German democracy. Throughout this pandemic, Canadian democracy has been disrupted, and the Canadian Constitution of Rights and Freedoms almost seems as if it does not exist.

Starting in 1934, it was illegal to criticize the Nazi government. Fast forward to 2021, if you write, or say anything that is against what the standing government states, you are considered a threat to society, or a conspiracy theorist. You are condemned for not caring about others if you do not do exactly what the government tells you to do. What has also become standard is this idea of cancel culture, and censorship.

Individuals like Del BigTree, Alex Jones, David Icke have all been demonized, and had their social media accounts removed. Why? Well, because the message that they are delivering to the public is not in line with the approved upon narrative (propaganda).

In the next few months, what the Canadian government is proposing to do is: controlling what news appears in newspapers, on the radio, and in newsreels. There is already a glorification of

China happening at the very top of our political food chain, and negative images and ideas about anyone opposing the COVID-19 restrictions are being flooded through mainstream media.

It is reasonable for you, our readers to understand that political shifts such as the one we are experiencing happens in stages: Stage 1: Polarize the Nation (Divide and Conquer) First, you introduce injustice. One group of people – poor workers – are made to feel victimized by a second group, to the point that they demand civil discourse.

During this first stage, there is a focus on altruistic people – people with big hearts, full of good intentions, who believe in doing good, for goodness’ sake.

It is one of the reasons why we have to be understanding of some of our politicians. They truly mean well, but are naïve, and their good nature makes them easy to manipulate. These people are essential to the success of the New World Order that we have all been hearing about.

Stage 2: Destabilize Society During the second stage the basic values of society are targeted for change. Guess where they start the change? In the education system. What was shared with me was that a communist government will always use teachers and the education system to impose its ideology, and promote its values.

Students are constantly reminded of how we live in the “Best political system in the world,” the “Country with the best social justice and equality.” Teachers participate in this process, knowingly, or unknowingly. Remember, they use people who have good intentions, who believe in doing good. What they don’t realize is that they are exploiting a child’s emotional immaturity, lack of experience, and lack of reasoning ability.

My primary responsibility in the community is working with family and students. When I have students sharing

with me why they hate Donald Trump, or why anti-maskers are bad because their teachers told them that, it sheds light on this entire situation. It is happening very subtly, but it is happening.

Stage 3: Revolution of the people After some time, the current government begins to gain the support of a majority of the people. This has happened. In Canada they have given up their freedom, and have blindly obeyed all COVID-19 protocols without doing their own research or questioning what they are being told to do.

Small business owners are being squeezed dry, leaving room for larger conglomerates to take over. For example, with this new essential only, where in certain businesses, they have to section off these items, and people are not allowed to buy them. I most recently wrote an article about who determined what was essential for people. I have received tremendous feedback, and open dismay at the fact that if you go into Metro, Longo’s or Shoppers Drug Mart, all the items deemed non-essential are open for people to purchase.

What about the leaders who are responsible for imposing all of these new laws, and ushering in what to some is seen as communist power. Well, let’s take a look at what is happening with Premier Doug Ford now. Just like that, Ontarians are beginning to show their distaste for what he has done to the people of Ontario. It seems that Premier Ford in now enslaved into the ideology he was pushing, and is on television crying. Now you are crying?

The primary tool being used is F.E.A.R. FALSE EVIDENCE APPEARING REAL.

There is a fear of being ostracized, cancelled, laughed at, de-monitized, or demonized. Fear is the primary tool for keeping people silent and obedient. As Canadians, we need to take a moment, step back and really look at what is happening.

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Toronto Caribbean News | www.TOCaribNews.com | Wednesday, April 28, 2021

Facebook’s new Audio Product Launch TVISHA MISTRY

tvisha@carib101.com

TC REPORTER

Have you ever used an app from which you could join “rooms” that directly connect you to celebrities and public figures?

Facebook’s new audio product makes this seem possible. Facebook cofounder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, announced the plan to launch a series of products under the umbrella of “social audio”.

Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg has been experimenting more with audio platforms, and a few weeks ago, he unveiled new plans to compete with Club-

house; a buzzy new audio startup that has been widely successful.

Clubhouse, now a year old, is a social networking app based on audiochatting. Users can listen to conversations, interviews, and a variety of discussions between interesting people on various topics.

Recently, the app was evaluated and appraised at $4 billion. The start-up, Clubhouse’s speedy rise was duly noted by several well-established platforms, which have now launched or announced their own live audio features in recent months.

A few of these platforms include: Facebook- Live Audio Rooms, Twitter- Audio Spaces, Reddit- Reddit Talk, and even LinkedIn is currently working on an app that is similar in nature.

“Every once in a while a new medium comes along that can be adopted into a lot of different areas,” Zuckerberg said. “I think that’s going to be true with these live audio rooms.”

Leading into the past week Mark

Zuckerberg announced his plans to launch audio products on Monday, April 19th.

These plans include video conferencing products as well as the audio versions of rooms. The product is speculated to be similar to the app “Clubhouse”. The app will be of such nature that groups of people will be able to listen and interact with speakers on its virtual “stage”.

“You already have these communities organized around interests,” Zuckerberg said when announcing the product launch. “Allowing people to come together and have rooms where they can talk will be very useful.”

The idea for Facebook’s product is replicated by the existing app and can hardly be considered original as of now.

Live Audio Rooms is soon to debut as a real-time (audio) chatting app. While there have been no official statements, there are several speculations that the product will be available to the public by summer.

Additionally, Facebook plans to

launch a voice recording product, by the name “Soundbites”. Zuckerberg described the app as “snackable” audio content. He shared that the app would be a place for jokes, poems, pithy insights, or anecdotes, that go into an algorithmic feed.

The product will allow users to share individual voice messages or consume a string of audio clips joined together as a part of their newsfeeds. He further commented that this product would be like an audio version of Tik-Tok (reels).

Apart from this, Facebook has plans to launch a podcast discovery product. For this app in particular Mark Zuckerberg alluded to Facebook potentially partnering with an external podcast app and guiding users to that app to listen to podcasts in the background of their Facebook experience.

Although there have been no official statements, according to a report the podcast discovery product will be created in partnership with Spotify.

Non-profit organization “Empower Her 101” makes a big difference in the lives of women PAUL JUNOR

paul@carib101.com

TC REPORTER

There is no doubt that the non-profit organization Empower Her 101 has played an essential role in the lives of women since its inception in 2016.

It was founded by Tamesha Mitchell, who was motivated to help young women gain financial independence through mentoring, networking, coaching and self-development.

According to its website www.empowerHer101.com, “We are a group committed to personal development through

mindfulness. We recognize that there are areas that are particularly important for our success in our business and our careers. Our coaching program is specially designed and is geared to get females taking the reins of their lives.”

Tamesha has distinguished herself as an award-winning entrepreneur, fulltime educator, career coach and mentor. In many ways the mission of the organization is multi-faceted and diverse. Their website states, “We are committed to help prepare females for their future careers whether as business owners, players in the corporate world or as skilled workers. We do this by creating a supportive network with valuable experience. Our volunteers and members have the opportunity to work from home completing different types of tasks and connecting the team through the use of technology or by becoming involved in the planning of one of our events.”

The different events that have

been hosted by the organization has been beneficial to many young females.

Their volunteer and mentoring program is geared to high school girls. Many of these students have been able to earn their forty hours community service which is a graduation requirement for Ontario students.

The program uses financial literacy as a basis to teach business skills self-development and leadership competencies.

The benefits to women and girls are numerous. Although the COVID-19 pandemic has posed many challenges, it has not stop the organization from fulfilling its purpose. The website states, “We host our own live and online events. We are passionate about helping females to pursue their mindfulness so that they can experience ongoing personal growth. ‘Females’ new to our circle get first-hand experience about what it takes to run a business and advance their career while being involved in planning an event surrounded

by qualified professionals.”

Tamesha has been recognized for her leadership role with respect to female empowerment. Cleoni Crawford states on LinkedIn, “Working with Tamesha was such a joy. She brings out the best in you by making sure you understand your strengths and use them while completing tasks.”

In addition, Tracey-Acada Thomas, founder and editor-in-chief of Soulful Image Magazine states, “Tamesha Mitchell is an incredible soul who truly cares about her community. She was nominated for our Inspirational Queens Award by her peers for her exceptional leadership within our community. Tamesha is an outstanding asset to any team, and I highly recommend her services.”

Tamesha provides a wide range of services such as business consulting, digital marketing, event planning and lifecoaching.

NEWS

Wednesday, April 28, 2021 | www.TOCaribNews.com | Toronto Caribbean News

PAGE 11

Extreme Lockdowns do not reduce COVID-19 deaths!

Over 25+ empirical research articles show the truth SIMONE SMITH simone@carib101.com

TC REPORTER

I am going to start by saying that this was the easiest article that I have ever written.

Why? Well, I am going to give our readers, and the government of Canada a chance to take a look at what the global implications of lockdowns have been. The lockdowns have led to a significant halt on the economic and social life of so many countries. However, there is very little empirical evidence about which COVID-19 measures have the most impact.

The lockdowns were initially billed as short-term measures to “flatten the curve.” It has morphed into something catastrophic. The current policies implemented by governments around the world have altered every aspect of our lives. These policies are imposed by the: local premier, governor, or top health official with little oversight.

It seems now that lockdowns have become conventional wisdom, and are the accepted ideology, even though they continue to prove as anything but a short-term fix to a much larger issue. In Ontario, these restrictions imposed by the pandemic (eg, stay-at-home orders) have caused psychological distress (eg, drug overdoses, and suicides), and could claim lives indirectly through delayed care for acute emergencies, and exacerbations of chronic diseases.

Canadians are intelligent people, and I would like to think that instead of going with the popular opinion, we would take the time to do our own research. Research does not mean turning on CP24, or CNN. What I mean is taking the time to figure out why our lives have been turned upside down.

Forget conspiracy theories. I want our readers to have empirical evidence so that they can put their feet down, and demand for the reopening of our country.

What I have provided for you is over twenty-five different scientific articles that show the issues that have come with lockdowns.

What makes this so powerful is the fact that this data is coming from all over the world.

Are you ready? Let’s dig in.

• “There is no evidence that more

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restrictive nonpharmaceutical interventions (“lockdowns”) contributed substantially to bending the curve of new cases in England, France, Germany, Iran, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, or the United States in early 2020” https://tinyurl.com/4fxa767n “Government actions such as border closures, full lockdowns, and a high rate of COVID-19 testing were not associated with statistically significant reductions in the number of critical cases or overall mortality” https:// tinyurl.com/t6vc5yz4 “Official data from Germany’s RKI agency suggest strongly that the spread of the coronavirus in Germany receded autonomously, before any interventions become effective” https://tinyurl.com/35b4eay6 “The decline in infections in England... began before full lockdown…[S]uch a scenario would be consistent with...

Sweden, which began its decline in fatal infections shortly after the UK, but did so on the basis of measures well short of full lockdown” https://tinyurl.com/27zewc5r “Stay at home orders, closure of all non-essential businesses and requiring the wearing of facemasks or coverings in public was not associated with any independent additional impact” https://tinyurl.com/hjhejtps “These strategies might not have saved any life in western Europe. We also show that neighboring countries applying less restrictive social distancing measures … experience a very similar time evolution of the epidemic.” https://tinyurl.com/m5ajeuvu “The case of Sweden, where the authors find the reduction in transmission to have been only moderately weaker than in other countries despite no lockdown having occurred, is prima facie evidence” https://tinyurl. com/yyjbpxk3 “Current policy can be misdirected and can therefore have long and even short-term negative effects on human welfare and thus result in not actually minimizing death rates (incorporating externalities), especially in the long run.” https://tinyurl.com/yun6m9mm “For example, the data…shows a decrease in infection rates after countries eased...lockdowns with >99% statistical significance. Indeed... infection rates have declined after reopening even after allowing for an

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appropriate measurement lag. https://tinyurl.com/5yun93r7 “Restrictions imposed by the pandemic (eg, stay-at-home orders) could claim lives indirectly through delayed care for acute emergencies, exacerbations of chronic diseases, and psychological distress (eg, drug overdoses).” https://tinyurl.com/dd75tsc2 “Comparing weekly mortality in 24 European countries, the findings in this paper suggest that more severe lockdown policies have not been associated with lower mortality. In other words, the lockdowns have not worked as intended” https://tinyurl. com/2avkv3f6 “Consistent with observations that .. lockdown has not been observed to effect the rate...of the country reproduction rates significantly, our analysis suggests there is no basis for expecting lockdown stringency to be an explanatory variable” https://tinyurl.com/4w9e8hzh “Whether a county had a lockdown has no effect on Covid-19 deaths; a non-effect that persists over time.

Cross-country studies also find lockdowns are superfluous and ineffective (Homberg 2020). This ineffectiveness may have several causes.” https://tinyurl.com/55p32v78 “There are no historical observations...that support.. confinement by quarantine of groups of possibly infected people for extended periods...The negative consequences...are so extreme…this mitigation.should be eliminated from serious consideration” https://tinyurl.com/cu62wmp9 “Sweden is worthy of particular attention, given...no lockdown took place.”

“Notably, the estimated effectiveness of…[merely a]…public events ban in Sweden is comparable to that of lockdown in the 10 countries in which one was implemented” https://tinyurl.com/xe9zrrk8 “For the first time in human history, lockdowns were used as a strategy to counter the virus. While conventional wisdom, to date, has been that lockdowns were successful…we find not one piece of evidence supporting this claim.” https://tinyurl.com/55k3m6hj “Measures can substitute for a full lockdown in terms of effectiveness, while reducing adverse impacts on society, the economy, [humanity]” “Less disruptive and costly NPIs can be as effective as more intrusive, drastic, ones (eg, a national lockdown).”

•

•

•

•

https://tinyurl.com/hkuj7uca “Japan took the atypical step of not instituting a mandatory lockdown.

During this time, businesses, restaurants, & transportation were kept open, & public life continued relatively unabated. Nevertheless, the second wave peaked and subsided on its own” https://tinyurl.com/fk9c8sky “The stay-at-home orders...seem to have made no observable tangible impact on the daily cases & deaths.

Further the most severe restrictions, such as prolonged lockdown...in California in Nov, did not prevent the subsequent spike in cases or fatalities” https://tinyurl.com/6da9dp4b “Life loss due to lockdowns themselves has never been taken into consideration” “pro-lockdown evidence is shockingly thin & based largely on comparing real-world outcomes against dire computer-generated forecasts derived from empirically untested models” https://tinyurl.com/ nscf48j5 “All regions have peak incidence prior to the first lockdown with total incidence for England in decline well before lockdown” “Furthermore all regions have R < 1 by either lockdown, with average R < 1 some days before either lockdown” https://tinyurl.com/5b8j7evb “Social isolation at a given date showed a strong positive correlation to COVID-19 deaths 39 days later” “strong empirical evidence that adoption of restrictive measures increasing social isolation have worsened the pandemic instead of mitigating it” https://tinyurl.com/scpwfpyv

Whew!

That is a lot of evidence, and I know that you won’t be able to go through all of it, but I hope that you do have a chance to at least take a look at some of it.

To the Canadian government, I respectfully ask you to take into consideration that less disruptive and costly NPIs can be as effective as more intrusive, drastic, ones (for example, a national lockdown).

We need to pose an important question: Did the lockdowns actually work? Did it actually alter the course of the virus through the population? Our government needs to rationally assess the cost and benefits of imposing similar social and economic policies if we were to ever face another serious pandemic.

PAGE 12

NEWS

Toronto Caribbean News | www.TOCaribNews.com | Wednesday, April 14, 2021

Ontario police and small businesses take a stand against Ford’s new COVID rules NIKITA YOUNG

nikita@carib101.com

TC REPORTER

In a press conference on Saturday, April 27th, 2021, Premier Doug Ford announced that there would be new province-wide restrictions and enforcement actions due to a rise in cases of COVID-19.

During the conference Ford outlined a four-week action plan that would involve creating provincial checkpoints at the Quebec and Manitoba border where only those deemed “essential” would be able to travel through. Ford’s plan also gave police new powers to stop anyone

they want to and ask where they were going and decide if they had a valid reason to be out. After the announcement, Ford was met with backlash from civil liberties groups, various city police, and the general public.

Toronto, Halton, Peel, and over fifteen other police chiefs province-wide have made statements assuring the public that they have no intention of using these powers to randomly stop cars and people to question where they are going. Adrian Woolley; the president of the Peel Regional Police Association said in a tweet that these measures conflict with The Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

After receiving backlash Ford’s office reversed the decision to grant the police powers to randomly stop and question anyone the day after his announcement.

Businesses most affected by the lockdown measures are spas, salons, and gyms that

will not be able to open their doors at all.

Dine-in, even outdoors will not be an option for restaurants over the four-week period.

These businesses have been ordered to close since the beginning of the pandemic and many say that they will not make it through this lockdown if they don’t reopen. The Canadian Federation of Independent Business estimates that this lockdown will cause over 74,000 small businesses in Ontario to close permanently. Groups like We Are All Essential are working with these small businesses to help keep them open and in business despite the lockdown orders.

Hundreds of businesses across the GTA are banning together and staying open to serve the community even with the risk of being fined by the government.

Supporting these small businesses could be a great way to get out during the lockdown.

Many of the businesses listed on the We Are All Essential website are places related to personal care. Places like gyms are accessible for keeping up your physical health. Spas and salons are also listed which make for a great relaxing regenerative experience. Those who are healthy and can use their discretion in regards to their safety.

Dr.Kyeremanteng, a Critical Care and Palliative physician in Ottawa says that mental health is a factor that should be considered. Psychology professor Hilary Bergsieker at the University of Waterloo says that it is unrealistic to expect everyone to stay indoors for over a year.

Outdoor transmission is relatively low risk and that is a more “realistic” way to allow people to socialize. The governments’ response to COVID-19 has presented many challenges for everyone, staying social could be a good way to keep your morale up through difficult times.

Am I the only person who is tired of Zoom calls?

SIMONE SMITH simone@carib101.com

TC REPORTER

Have you noticed that you have been overeating, feeling sweaty, or fidgety? Are you noticing that you are experiencing more headaches, and that your eyes are feeling strained? At the end of your work at home day, do you feel more exhausted than usual? What you might be experiencing is Zoom fatigue, and according to a recent study, you are not the only one.

The pandemic ushered in a whole new way of communicating with each other. Zoom, is now the standard way of conducting meetings, interviews, and even holiday gatherings with family members.

Virtira Consulting, a company focused on increasing remote productivity for companies, has released the results of its latest workplace study – “The Webcam Survey: Exhausted or Engaged?” This 22page report reveals the negative impact on employees as they navigate excessive time in front of webcams.

If you get a chance, I would defi-

nitely recommend you taking a look at the study, but in this article, I am going to provide for you the summarized version of the findings. Among the revelations is that nearly half of professionals working remotely (49%) - which translates to 32 million individuals - reported a high degree of exhaustion as a direct result of numerous daily video calls. It is now being referred to as “Zoom fatigue,” and it is described as the exhaustion that stems from a combination of increased meetings and the pressure to have webcams on for all of them.

The study also found that 63% of remote workers are participating in more meetings online than they would have in the office, with 30% spending 2-3 hours daily meeting on camera. Well-meaning employers attempting to raise morale by hosting online happy hours, pizza parties, not realizing that this has compounded the increased time in front of webcams.

There has also been insight provided on the high degree of anxiety and self-consciousness experienced by the younger Zoom-focused work culture.

Respondents reported mental and emotional concerns as they spend an unprecedented amount of time in front of webcams during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Other key findings include: • 61% of respondents indicated that all meetings they attend are conducted on video

•

• •

65% indicated that being on video is best for team engagement, but only 11% of their video meetings are being used for that purpose More than 25% feel peer pressure to have their cameras on, even if not required 58% of self-identified introverts and 40% of extroverts reported on-camera exhaustion

Up to 80% of businesses are reporting they will move towards fully remote or a hybrid/flex model. It is important that employers understand how these policies may impact employee morale, mental health and productivity Another study reported responses from the 18-24 age group. 64% commented on the following factors: • Embarrassment over what can be seen in their backgrounds • Self-consciousness over physical appearance on camera • Feelings of peer pressure to have cameras on • The fear of embarrassing disruptions by family members or pets at home • Being constantly distracted by other meeting expressions or movements during the meeting With this in mind, employers need to shift their policies and have candid conversations with their teams about how many

meetings they are having and how they feel about meeting on video.

As an employee, there are some ways that you can ease your Zoom fatigue: • Leave 10-15 minutes between calls.

This gives you time to move away from your screen and take a break.

Use this time to get outdoors or move around your home.

• Stick to your meeting start time and end times. Setting boundaries is always helpful.

• You don’t want to be seen; there are settings that allow you to hide yourself.

• Get some remote headphones or earbuds. This way you can turn off your video and walk around. It is a great way to get things done, and still be part of that important meeting.

• Every now and then, just arrange an audio call. Phones have been used for years and have been an effective way of communicating. You will be surprised at how many people will welcome this suggestion.

It is understandable why you are feeling what you are feeling, but now it is time to do something about it. As mentioned earlier, if you are interested in the full study and executive summary, it can be downloaded online, at info.virtira.com/webcam-survey

NEWS

Wednesday, April 28, 2021 | www.TOCaribNews.com | Toronto Caribbean News

PAGE 13

“The Ants Will Come and Tell Me,” Educating the younger generation about their Guyanese history alarm, long before the deadly Jonestown massacre. After Brindley died in 2009, Patricia and the next generation of Benns continued his legacy.

“History teaches that movements have high points and low points. Jewish history records that on their way to the Promised Land, the Jews were set back for forty years in the wilderness. Perhaps, like that story, the march to a new earth must wait, correct itself, and recuperate before another advance, and it won’t take forty years, because the contradictions inherent in the system will be seen as a spur to a new push. I don’t think I will be around, but the ants will come to the grave and tell me.” Brindley Horatio Benn, 1991.

Anyone who reads this book will get an inside look into the lives of Brindley and Patricia Benn and their family, who loom large in the history of this small South American nation of Guyana.

Guyana, because of its recent discovery of oil resources is about to take on a much more prominent role on the global stage. With this book, the authors hope that Guyanese, both young and old will gain a better understanding of their nation’s long struggle for the right to develop into a sovereign nation-state.

MICHAEL THOMAS michael@carib101.com

TC REPORTER

January 24th, 2021 would have been the 98th birth anniversary of Brindley Horatio Benn.

The book “The Ants Will Come and Tell Me” documents how on three separate occasions, the British and American governments came together to overthrow the democratically elected government in the South American nation of Guyana, making it an early test for the techniques of “regime change” by means of divide and rule.

Brindley and Patricia Benn, and their children, have constantly fought for Guyanese sovereignty for over sixty years.

Brindley Benn served as Deputy Premier in the early 1960s, fighting alongside Dr. Cheddi Jagan to help free British Guiana from the British.

It was Patricia who led the campaign to enfranchise Guyanese women.

When their government was finally removed in 1964 and replaced with the puppet regime of Forbes Burnham, the Benn family helped lead the resistance. When Burnham embraced the Reverend Jim Jones and his People’s Temple cult from the US, it was Brindley Benn who sounded the

Here are some of the thing’s readers of “The Ants Will Come and Tell Me” will learn.

• The astonishing saga of the 2020 Guyana election is recounted in detail: how Guyana entered the Guinness Book of Records for the longest interval between an election and the formation of the new government, as a gang of political desperados made a clumsy at-

•

tempt to rig the election outcome with the entire world looking on.

The book examines the efforts of the PPP/C administrations, from 1992 to the present day, to revive the outlook and intentions of Cheddi Jagan, Brindley Benn, and the other leaders of Guyana’s independence movement.

“The Ants Will Come and Tell Me” was written by Benns’ third daughter Lena and her husband Daniel. This book is the result of countless hours of interviews and is also documented with recently declassified material from the U.S. State Department, archives of the CIA and MI5, and material made public by Wikileaks, however when Toronto Caribbean Newspaper spoke with authors Lena and her husband Daniel Platt it was like sitting in a history class and these two were the professors of Guyana’s history.

When asked why England and America are so eager for regime change in that country? Lena answered, “The first time which is 1963-1964 they were terrified that the Cheddi Jagan government (PPP), which had won two previous elections would come to power in Guyana and lead the country to independence from the British and would lean more to the left and this was a threat just like Cuba, and the rumour was that Guyana could become a second Cuba.”

Daniel who did most of the research on this book answered, “We know from declassified documents that President John Kennedy was very concerned that an independent government of Guyana might nationalize bauxite which would

be very embarrassing to his re-election campaign.”

Toronto Caribbean Newspaper “How relevant is Guyana’s present situation to this book?”

Lena said, “The younger generation of Guyanese are not familiar with this history coupled with the mass exodus from the country beginning in the late 70s through much of the 80s. It is said that over 400,000, which is almost half of the Guyanese population, currently live in the US.”

She also noted, now that oil has been found in Guyana the country is almost entirely dependent on other countries to produce its own oil product at this stage.

This book dives deep into Guyana’s political history and troubled elections as author Dainel Platt revealed, “In order to understand the 2020 elections, it is important to look at the history of elections in Guyana. From 1964 to 1992 there were no real elections in Guyana, just shammy elections that were rigged by the PNC government with assistance from the United States, and we know this because the US has declassified diplomatic cables in which they frankly speak about (the best way to rigg elections in Guyana.)”

Speaking of the best way, Lena closed the interview by adding that, “Guyana’s future is really dependent on Guyanese rising above the divisions that they get manipulated by, and keeping one people, one nation and one destiny.”

This book is being released on Amazon as a Kindle e-book, as well as in two paperback editions.

Canadian Black Directorate launched to provide solutions to address economic, racial and social inequities PAUL JUNOR

paul@carib101.com

TC REPORTER

The launch of the Canadian Black Directorate (CABD) on Sunday, April 11th, 2021 signalled a positive development within the African-Canadian community.

On the flyer advertising the Elite launch it indicates that it was endorsed by: Ontario Premier Doug Ford, Federal NDP leader, Jagmeet Singh, MP Peter Fonseca, MP Ziad Aboultaif, Chief Reggie Neeposh, Dr. Leslyn Lewis and CEO Donna Walyn.

CABD has been the brainchild of Dr. Pat Francis who is described as the visionary. She is a well-known pastor in the black community where she serves as senior minister of Kingdom Covenant Centre RY 10TH

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The CABD is a membership organization that is geared toward business and professional leaders that have five main

There are nine advisors for the CABD. The CABD uses the acronym ELITE to describe its objectives, which means: Education,

There will be nine committees that will use a holistic and integrated approach to advance the achievement of these objectives.

The website listed twenty-two individuals as founding members who have a “Dream of equal opportunity, justice, prosperity and security for all Canadians.”

The directors of CABD include: • Dr. Pat Francis (Executive Chair and Visionary) • Gary Bennett (President, lawyer), • Zamal Whyte (Vice-President, Banker) • Shawn Knights (Director, Lawyer) • Veronique Henry (Board Secretary, Lawyer, Professor) • Jerrold Johnson (Treasurer)

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(KCC), which was previously called Deeper Life Christian Ministry.

Dr. Francis states, “You are the change agent others are waiting for, the creative power you are looking for and the servant God is seeking for.” This is her passion.

The aim of CABD is, “To restore, equip and transform lives, propelling youth to achieve their full potential regardless of their circumstances, and to repair harm in order to move forward in positive ways and for safer communities across Canada”

These empowering words show that CABD hopes to affect and impact many lives. In fact, the mission of the CABD summarizes what is important to the organization. It states, “To advance the cause of the black, indigenous and visible minority groups in Canada, to achieve personal success, economic development and social advancement, to create solutions for children and youth, and to empower people to succeed in spite of their circumstances.”

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Leadership, Integrity, Togetherness and Empowerment. This is intended to “Resonate; to make the experience of being a member of CABD rewarding.”

At the launch of CABD, Dr Pat Francis spoke about the vision of the organization which will seek to address anti-black racism and deal with societal inequities.

Dr. Leslyn Lewis who ran for the leadership of the federal Progressive Conservatives spoke about the support she receives, and the fact that she raised over $2 million.

Alonzo Abbey, spoke about how as a youth he was involved in the drug trade. He was able to rise above these early challenges to become a lawyer. CABD has a partnership with Acorn2Oak, which helps youth who get in trouble with the law.

On May 13th, 2021, CABD will host its first workshop titled “Unlocking Your Hidden Potential. Information about the CABD can be found at the website canadianblackdirectorate.ca

NEWS

PAGE 14

Toronto Caribbean News | www.TOCaribNews.com | Wednesday, April 28, 2021

Anti-Human Trafficking Services Hub now a reality in Peel services and supports.

The P.H.T.S.P.C. was formed in 2015 and comprises over forty agencies. Since 2015, the Committee has been committed to offering trauma-informed, survivorcentred services to empower and support victims/survivors in rebuilding their lives.

With Catholic Family Services as the lead, the Committee’s hard work made the Anti-Human Trafficking Services Hub a reality on February 22nd; Human Trafficking Awareness Day. The Region of Peel and the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services are responsible for providing the funding for the new Integrated Services Hub.

The Anti-Human Sex Trafficking (AHST) Integrated Services Hub provides low-barrier, dedicated services for individuals at-risk, engaged in, and transitioning

ADRIAN ADORE

adrian@carib101.com

PRP REPORTER

The hard work of the Peel Human Trafficking Service Providers Committee (P.H.T.S.P.C.) has paid off.

With the funding provided by both the regional and provincial governments, victims and survivors of human sex trafficking and sexual exploitation now have a safe place to receive wraparound

out of sex trafficking/sexual exploitation.

AHST Hub offers: • Comprehensive risk assessment, safety planning, advocacy and coordination of services to support the wellbeing of victims, survivors and individuals atrisk of human sex trafficking • Immediate and specialized supports such as trauma counselling, mental wellness and substance use, health care and case management • Long-term supports that offer stabilization (including housing, vocational and/or educational planning, employment and family reunification) • Access to services and supports which are specifically designed for victim, survivors and individual at-risk of sexual exploitation

•

A continuum of support to allow individuals to set achievable and realistic goals through a supportive mentoring relationship

By building upon and sustaining collaborative partnerships among community stakeholders and implementing a coordinated response, the Integrated Services Hub aligns with the Region of Peel’s Community Safety and Well-Being Plan.

For more information, safety tips and resources about human trafficking please visit the Peel Regional Police Human Trafficking webpage and read their articles containing videos; Human Trafficking – the Signs and Human Trafficking – Too Close to Home.

Ontario parents with school aged kids eligible to receive COVID-19 Child Benefit People’s Health and Our Economy,” the government will increase to $400 from $200 per child and provide $500 extra for parents who have children with special needs.

According to Ontario.ca, anyone can apply for their kids if they live in Ontario and meet the following;

PAUL JUNOR

paul@carib101.com

TC REPORTER

• •

The announcement of direct support to parents of school-aged children was made by the Ontario government in the Spring Budget released in March, 2021.

The extra support to parents will amount to $980 million that the government will be providing to parents to help offset the educational costs that they may have incurred during the pandemic. In the 2021 Budget, “Ontario Action Plan; Protecting

•

a parent or guardian to a child or youth up to Grade 12 have secondary school children over the age of 18 a parent or guardian to a child or youth that is 21 or younger that has special needs

A child or youth with special needs is any; • student reported to be receiving special education programs or services by their school board • child enrolled in licensed childcare and reported to be receiving special needs

•

funding or support child identified as having a special need

For those children who are in gifted program, they are not considered to have special needs. Children, youth or students are eligible if they satisfy the criterion; • • •

attend a publicly funded school attend a private school attend a First Nation operated or federally operated school • attend school in-person or online • are home-schooled • are enrolled in child care • are at home Parents who have received payments for their children under the Support for Families and Support for Learner programs do no need to apply again for the Ontario COVID-19 Child Benefit. For those parents who did not apply before for any of these pro-

grams, they are able to apply for this benefit starting May 3rd, 2021 to May 17th, 2021.

Parents who have previously applied for the Support For Learners program will receive payments starting April 26th, 2021. It will be either $400 for each child or youth up to Grade 12 or $500 for each child or youth up to age 21 with special needs.

There is a restriction of only one parent or guardian who are able to apply for each child and custody must belong to the parent applying. It does not matter if there is shared custody between the parents. The decisions as to which parents will apply is left up to the discretions of the parents. There can only be one application per child.

A student who is over eighteen years old can apply on their own without the parent or guardian involvement. Payments will be sent by e-transfer, direct deposits or cheque. It is important that parents do not miss out.

Mother’s Day is coming, what are you doing for your mom?

Sharron Gibson this article is for you! dreams?

I remember when I started doing poetry performances my mother had a small digital camera that she would take to the performance and sit in the front row to take a photograph of me. She would tell everyone who was in earshot that, “That is my daughter,” with the biggest smile on her face.

Those moments are moments that I cherish not only on days like Mother’s Day, which is celebrated in Barbados on May 9th but every single day of the week.

Strong mothers are the backbones of our society as they shape the norms and values that we are taught as children.

As I reflect on the experiences that I have had with my mother I cannot help but think of the children in the world who do not have a mom to love and nurture them, read them a bedtime story or

LA SHAWNA GRIFFITH lashawna@carib101.com

BARBADOS TC REPORTER

BARBADOS -- Mother’s Day; it is the day we celebrate the mother figures in our lives, which have shaped us into the person we are today.

As I sit here on my computer writing this article, I begin to think of my mother Sharron Gibson. A Barbadian born resilient woman who taught me from an early age to never be afraid to pursue my RY 10TH

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kiss them goodnight.

I think about the children whose home is dysfunctional, and the idea of a parent supporting them in their dreams is nothing short of a utopian dream.

I guess I can say that I am lucky to have my mother who is the most selfless person I know. She gives without expecting anything in return and has always told me that, “If I can help someone, help him or her.”

That is something that has been engraved in my mind, and it still is because I believe that we all must be our brother’s keeper especially now in a time where there is so much uncertainty.

With all that is happening, does it not make you think about your mother a bit more? Do you hug her a bit tighter at night? Do you kiss her and tell her how much you appreciate her bringing you

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into this world?

Or do you take her for granted?

If you take your mom for granted, I suggest not waiting till Mother’s Day to plan a big celebration to show her that you care.

Show her that you care every day with small tokens of appreciation.

I know you are reading this like, what am I doing for my mom for Mother’s Day?

Well, it is a secret. I am kidding .

I will let her know how much she means to me, cook her a nice meal, and hug her tighter because, with all that is happening in the world as of late, I have to love those who have been there for me through all of life’s obstacles.

So, mom (Sharron Gibson) this article is for you.

NEWS

Wednesday, April 28, 2021 | www.TOCaribNews.com | Toronto Caribbean News

PAGE 15

Sincere apology, or comfort to a fool; Premier Doug Ford receives significant backlash from the public tore down the caution tape on playgrounds as a way to reclaim their rights to travel, gather, assemble, and allow their children to have some type of normalcy. Police services across the province reacted by issuing statements that they would not randomly stop people or vehicles.

There was a sense of relief when the public heard the police services were not going to enforce such measures; however, the actions of an Ontario Provincial Police Officer enraged others. In a disturbing video that went viral, the OPP officer appears to push a twelve-year-old boy off of his scooter in a skate park in Gravenhurst, Ontario, over masking and social distancing measures. In the video, you can hear the officer saying that the boy fails to identify himself, however, this does not justify his actions. Is this how officers serve their people in the name of health and safety?

Days after implementing such harsh restrictions Premier Ford apologized to the citizens of Ontario for his overreach.

“Simply put, we got it wrong. We made a mistake. These decisions, they left a lot of

AMANDA WILLIAMS amanda@carib101.com

TC REPORTER

Premier Rob Ford stirred up an uproar and major criticism when he implemented the strictest restrictions in North America in mid-April 2021. Some of these measures included shutting down non-essential construction and outdoor amenities, setting up checkpoints at provincial borders, and reducing mobility across Ontario. Police also had the power to legally stop individuals on the street or in vehicles to question why they are outside their homes.

After receiving significant backlash from the public, doctors, and other professionals, things took a quick turn. Videos circulated on social media as people

people really concerned,” Ford said. “For that I am sorry, and I sincerely apologize.”

The government has had a year to collect data, yet somehow there is still no evidence to support any of the government and health officials’ measures. It seems that Ford and his camp have always had it wrong. Is Ford trying to do damage control, or does he have another trick up his sleeve?

Lawyer Rocco Galati of the Constitutional Rights Centre Inc. suggests that the statements issued by police services are suspicious. If Ontario police services refuse to implement Ford’s requests, this may provide grounds to bring in the military and enforce martial law, which may be even worse for Canadians. You can watch Rocco’s explanation in a video released on YouTube

by WholeHearted Media titled “It’s All Playing Out: Taking a Closer Look at a “Leaked” Email from PMO’s Office From 7 Months Ago…”

While Ford backtracks and reopens playgrounds, other activities such as golf courses, basketball courts, and tennis courts remain closed. How is a children’s

playground any more clean or safe than a tennis court? Why are our Toronto Raptors making millions playing basketball while basketball nets throughout the city are either covered or removed? How and why is a large portion of the world back to some kind of normalcy while Canadian citizens are held hostage waiting for instructions on what we can do, where we can do it, who we can do it with, and for how long?

Ford’s apology feels more like comfort to a fool. It doesn’t fix the problems people are currently facing. Apologies do not keep businesses open, put food on tables, grant access to life-altering surgeries and essential health services, nor do they save people from suicide, domestic violence, or support those suffering from physical or mental health issues.

Ontario needs a new plan based on transparency and evidence, not projected modelling. Doing the same thing over and over again while expecting different results is what we call “insanity.” When will our government try something new?

“I just can’t!” The theory of learned helplessness and what it has to do with the COVID-19 Pandemic

Readers may not know, but all of my educational background is in the science of psychology. Psychology is the scientific study of human behaviour and mental processes. It has existed since the ancient civilizations of Egypt and Greece, mostly as a branch of philosophy, but broke out as an independent branch of scientific study in the 1870s.

The primary modern applications for psychology revolve around protecting you from emotional and physical harm as well as providing you with the necessary tools to handle the psychological perils we face daily.

However, there is a side of psychology, which easily qualifies as a ‘dark art.’

There have been those who have sought to learn how to modify behaviour in ways that manipulate. Modern psychology and psychiatry can and has been used to sway opinions and behaviour through deception.

It has been used to get people to buy things they wouldn’t naturally desire (and cannot afford), and to be happy in situations that SHOULD naturally cause unhappiness.

For years scientists have attempted to learn what could make masses of people obey the will of a man like Adolf Hitler, and in doing so, have learned things, which could easily empower another madman to get people to do the same or worse.

Today, let’s explore how the global community, and the citizens of Canada have been conditioned into a (false) sense of helplessness, and — more important by far — what you can do to break that conditioning.

SIMONE SMITH simone@carib101.com

TC REPORTER

If you have watched the movie Django, then you will be familiar with this scene.

Django had just killed the slave traders who had a group of men locked up in a cage. After the slave traders were killed, the gate that held the African American men was opened, but instead of trying to escape, the men sat in there, looking outside. The look bewildered, scared. Freedom was a step away, but it was almost like they didn’t know what to do with it.

In my mind, they were having this internal dialogue, “Oh, it’s unlocked? I didn’t check.”

“Why bother? They’ll probably catch me before I get out.”

“Even if I get away, they’ll just find me and bring me back here. Might as well just stay put.”

When I was watching the movie, I was confused. They were free. The slave owners were dead, all they had to do was leave.

As much as that seemed like an easy thing to do, researchers have known for years that the there is a mechanism that can effectively lock people in their own mental prisons.

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What is Learned Helplessness?

Learned helplessness is a behavioural trait

where a person feels he/she has lost control over aversive circumstances (COVID-19 Protocols), when actually, it is just a biased perception or conditioned behaviour. In simple words, it is a behavioral trait where an individual (or organism) accepts his or her pain, physical/psychological abuse, victimization, or any other aversive problem as an unavoidable and uncontrollable circumstance, even if it is escapable.

The theory of learned helplessness, when applied to humans, implies that psychological illnesses like depression may occur due to a perceived absence of control over the resultant effects of a situation in future. It is a cycle, where an individual experiences undesirable or aversive events (lockdowns, mask wearing, social distancing), develops a ‘perceived’ lack of control over such events (stay-at-home order), and later leads to a firm belief of helplessness regarding such events. Learned helplessness is characterized by phobias, depressions, and negative emotions like sadness, anxiety, frustration, low self-esteem, and lack of motivation.

Before you continue reading, I want you to take a moment to look at the checklist. How many of the experiences on the list are you able to check off?

What can be taken from this is that it certainly is possible to create the conditions to break someone’s will. Let’s take a look at a couple examples.

As Canadian citizens, we take part in the functioning of the country’s political system through voting. We elect our representatives or leaders in expectation of fulfilment of our needs. After casting their ballot for a considerable time period, if we find out that no promises have been kept, or no

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progress has been made on crucial issues, we get discouraged to vote. This is learned helplessness. The general attitude of “How does it matter anyway?” begins to creep in.

Another example is that of a child who is frequently beaten up at home as a punishment for every mistake he makes.

The child might initially try to resist the parents by screaming and crying, or even hitting them back. However, if he gets hit more on protesting, it would gradually make him numb to the beating. The child will begin to think that he has no control over the scenario, nor will he or she fight back or try to escape. This increases the compliance to the abuse, which may become a routine.

When I review the two situations, I can’t help but think about what is happening during this pandemic. As a nation, we have lost so much, yet for some reason, we sit passively, fearful about a virus that only truly affects 0.001% of the population.

Psychology can alleviate so much suffering when used carefully, but it can also be weaponized by the misguided, greedy, and evil people who want to manipulate others for their own pleasure.

We have to find a way to take back control of our lives. Our priority has to be those things that are within our control.

Where and how we live; what we spend our time, money and energy doing; who we spend our time with; how we provide the necessities for our family; the type of community that we live in. These are all things that we have a direct influence on.

Community, if we start exercising our power and exert that influence (however slight), we can train ourselves into a situation that is not hopeless.

NEWS

PAGE 16

Toronto Caribbean News | www.TOCaribNews.com | Wednesday, April 28, 2021

Ministry of Education releases memo to school boards regarding in-person learning for students with special needs already know this. No one wants these students languishing at home, but even more, no one wants these students or their educators to get sick. We urge you to order all schools and programs closed, going virtual, until vaccinated.”

In response to these concerns and others, the Ministry of Education released a memo on Friday, April 16th, 2021 to provide directions to school boards with respect to specific issues that are connected to the in-person learning of students with special education needs. The memo notes, “Most students with special education needs will be learning remotely during this period.

In-person support should be reserved for students who cannot be accommodated through remote learning.”

The letter notes that there are certain criteria that special education needs to meet in order to qualify for in-person learning. This was outlined in an email that was sent to the board of education on April 8th, 2021. There was an expectation that these staff would be vaccinated during the April school break, but unfortunately this did not occur because of the lack of vaccine supply and glitches in booking appointments.

The memo notes that there are specific issues that have to be addressed with respect to the return of students to in-person learning. The memo states, “The

PAUL JUNOR

paul@carib101.com

TC REPORTER

There is much confusion that remains as students with special needs head back to the classroom after the April school break.

These students will be exposed to in-person learning while the rest of students will be learning from remote schooling.

On Wednesday, April 14th, heads of unions representing Toronto public schools sent a letter to Dr DeVilla, Toronto’s top medical doctor regarding their concerns.

They want teachers who work in special education schools and their students to stay home until the teachers are vaccinated and the vaccines have taken full effect.

The letter states, “We do not need to tell you that the numbers warrant this.

You see them before we do. We do not need to tell you that these students are the most medically fragile in our system. You

input and advice of special education staff working with students should also be sought to develop strategies to support students with special education needs, who face difficulty maintaining physical distancing and are unable to wear masks for medical reasons. It is expected that these will be relatively rare cases.”

The memo address issues with respect to COVID-19 school screening and access to asymptomatic testing as well as other health and safety measures. There will be additional daily screening measures in place for elementary students and there will be a continuation of asymptomatic testing. It will be up to the school board to ensure that ASTM level 2 use masks and eye protection, in addition to standard PPE are available to those education workers who have to work in these settings.

The Ontario Secondary Teachers Federation (OSSTF) Toronto Teachers bargaining unit sent a letters to its members on Saturday, April 17th, 2021 which indicate that they have asked for information from TDSB regarding what it will do next week, such as: •

Which special education students will be offered in-person learning after the break? All, or just those with particular needs? What is the criterion for deter-

• •

•

• •

mining which students will be able to learn in-person?

Will there be PPE put in place in addition to that already available?

Will members working with students who are unable to consistently wear a mask be provided with N95 masks? If so, when?

Will the Board allow in-person special education workers to remain virtual until vaccinated + 2 weeks to allow the vaccination to take effect?

Which OSSTF Toronto members will the TDSB require being in person?

When will our members be informed of the TDSB’s expectations in relation to return to in-person learning?

The letter concludes, “Today we asked the provincial Executive what plans, if any, are being considered by OSST/FESSO and/ or the Ontario Federation of Labour to bring organized labour together to fight back on behalf of these workers whose voice is not heard or considered by Ford, his government and our own members who continue to be required to continue to work in person.”

There is much hope that the government will respond quickly to address these very important matters.

Caribbean tourism during the pandemic they will abide by pre-boarding temperature screenings, sanitize their hands before boarding the flight, and wear face-coverings for the duration of their trip. Additionally, passengers must confirm that neither they nor anyone around them exhibits COVID-19 symptoms.

TVISHA MISTRY

tvisha@carib101.com

Dominica Dominica maintains safety and is currently a very safe island to visit. COVID-19 outbreaks in Dominica have been low, well-controlled, and at a minimum. Vaccination drives on the island have begun and currently, 39% of the target population has been vaccinated.

The island has been awarded the Safe Travels Stamp by the World Travel and Tourism Council. This stamp reassures the public that the destination is safe and the island’s health and safety protocols meet globally accepted standards.

Dominica currently offers tourists the opportunity to visit the island through its ‘Safe in Nature’ program. The program ensured that visitors from high-risk destinations have a managed experience after their arrival.

The program allows visitors a safe experience through “tourism bubbles”. The program includes certified visitor accommodations, transportations, attractions, waterbased recreations, and restaurants.

TC REPORTER

The Caribbean tourism industry continues to adapt to the changes caused by the pandemic. After facing severe loss, the tourism industry has begun to rise again. As the year progresses, we can expect to see an increase in tourism across the Caribbean.

Bahamas

The Bahamas continues to welcome tourists amidst the pandemic. Frontier Airlines recently announced plans to begin its service through nonstop flights from Miami to Lynden Pindling International Airport, starting July 2021.

“We are looking forward to offering high-frequency options for flights to The Bahamas for our neighbors in Miami on Frontier Airlines,” said the Hon. Dionisio D’Aguilar, Bahamas Minister of Tourism & Aviation.

“The market is one that remains a high priority and we are excited to welcome visitors to our beautiful shores with convenient flight options this summer.”

Frontier Airline prioritizes customer safety and will require all passengers to complete a health acknowledgment prior to flying. Passengers must acknowledge that RY 10TH

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Antigua and Barbados Antigua has officially announced the launch of its annual Sailing Week. The virtual twohour event will consist of stories, interviews, and entertainment, transmitted from Antigua on April 25th, 2021.

Social media followers of Antigua Sailing Week and Antigua Barbuda Tourism can log on and tune in to Sailing Week Sunday and can enter to win one of two great trips to stay at Carlisle Bay for four nights.

“In the void created by the 2020 cancellation, we relied on social media flashbacks to previous years to maintain visibility and our spot on the calendar. After the cancellation of 2021, we sensed the need to interact with our worldwide audience in real-time while sharing the highlights of racing in Antigua & Barbuda. Essentially it is our

2018

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NG EVERYTHI

Belize Belize has begun its vaccination rollout, and it’s time to book that dream vacation.

The Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) has announced that it will resume port calls to Harvest Caye in Southern Belize. Norwegian Joy

will depart from its homeport in Montego Bay, Jamaica on August 7th, and will include Belize as a part of its week-long Western Caribbean itinerary.

“Over a year after we initially suspended sailings, the time has finally come when we can provide our loyal guests with the news of our great cruise comeback. We have been working diligently towards our resumption of operations, focusing on the guest experience with health and safety at the forefront. The growing availability of the COVID-19 vaccine has been a gamechanger,” said NCL’s President and Chief Executive Officer Harry Sommer. ”The vaccine, combined with our science-backed health and safety protocols, will help us provide our guests with what we believe will be the healthiest and safest vacation at sea.”

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way of extending an invitation to come as soon as is safely possible to race, chase and celebrate with us,” stated Rana Lewis, Event manager.

Tobago The Tobago Tourism Agency Limited (TTAL) officially launched the social media contest “Mask On Tobago” on April 2nd. The contest encourages the use of masks and other PPE in adherence to COVID-19 safety protocols.

To enter the contest, you can show your COVID spirit by sharing photos via social media (Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter) using the hashtag: #MaskOnTobago. Contestants will enter weekly draws and will have the chance to win local hotel stays and other exclusive prizes until April 28th, 2021.

“The Tobago Tourism Agency has recognized the need to meaningfully address the safety concerns and reputation of the destination as we seek to sustain and regain consumer confidence in Tobago locally and internationally,” said Sheena Des Vignes TTAL’s Marketing Coordinator. “Our #MaskOnTobago contest will aid in creating usergenerated content across our digital platforms that illustrates COVID-19 health and safety protocols in action across the island, starting with the proper use of face masks.

It is a definitive step in creating a footprint of evidence of the various safety measures being taken on-island, that will support the recent success of over 100 tourism partners being Safe travels verified and demonstrate to the global traveling public that Tobago is in fact a Safe Travels destination.”

Wednesday, April 28, 2021 | www.TOCaribNews.com | Toronto Caribbean News

NEWS

PAGE 17

Matrix Mortgage; the innovators of the Mortgage Industry change the game again!

SIMONE SMITH simone@carib101.com

TC REPORTER

“As an innovator in the mortgage industry, we decided to accept cryptocurrency to better align ourselves with the shift towards the global adoption of digital currency. Blockchain technology with the use of Smart Contracts is going to change the way mortgages are processed.”

Shawn Allen (Founder at Matrix Mortgage Global) Blockchain technology may radically change the processes through which consumers buy a home, as well as the way financial institutions handle mortgages.

Most simply defined, Blockchain is a decentralized, unchangeable digital ledger best known as the technology that drives digital currency. Most recently, technology companies in the mortgage space are adopting blockchain, and they are doing a magnificent job of revolutionizing and

disrupting the industry.

Matrix Mortgage Global, Canada’s 3x Broker Of The Year, are once again leading the way with their announcement that the company is now accepting: Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, XRP and ETH, as well as several dollar-pegged stable coins, for payment of goods and services including Mortgage Agent Registration cost using BitPay.

What Matrix Mortgage Global has come to realize is the potential for cryptocurrency and block chain technology to transform the mortgage industry, making payments faster, more secure, and less expensive on a global scale. The ability to accept cryptocurrency now expands Matrix Mortgage Global into international markets.

Founded in 2008, Matrix Mortgage Global provides Canada-Wide mortgage financing with Solution Based Lending approaches. They have singlehandedly revolutionized the accessibility of alternative and private funds offering a diverse suite of mortgage and investment solutions. They continue to play a critical role in educating and financing Canadian borrowers, and as active members of the Mortgage Professionals Canada, Matrix advocates for Canadians borrowers at all levels of government.

Now let’s be honest; Blockchain

doesn’t offer a perfect remedy to the problems afflicting the industry. What it does do is provide a model that minimizes some of them. The first major improvement the technology brings is transparency. It decentralizes the storage of information, and it makes all transactions immediately available across all nodes of the chain. Companies and lenders can no longer manipulate information or engage in shadowy practices with data, as it is shared across an entire network and not under their exclusive supervision.

Blockchain technology can also be used to create and support smart contracts during the mortgage process. Smart contracts are self-executing contracts that contain the terms of an agreement written directly into the lines of the code and they work automatically without human intervention. Electronic signatures from all parties verify the contracts. Any changes would only execute when something specific happens, meaning that the contracts would be created automatically and in real-time.

Plus, smart contracts will help streamline, validate and record the mortgage and property transactions without the need for expensive legal council and banks to manually create them. Using Blockchain lowers costs by cutting down and eliminating third-party intermediary,

which will cut out some of those extra fees, making the transaction cheaper for the buyer.

Mortgage applications can be tedious taking between 45 and 60 days to complete. The average mortgage application is about 500 pages and is reviewed or added to by tons of different intermediaries: attorneys, appraisers, brokers, agents, and underwriters. Imagine how quick this process will be when you cut out the middleman.

Recording mortgage agreements on the Blockchain does just that and makes it possible for lenders and buyers to interact directly. It also cuts out the massive piles of physical paperwork, replacing it with a single source of information that both parties can easily access instead.

Overall, Blockchain is set to make it easier to close on the home on your own timeline. Using Blockchain effectively means that you can close on the home from anywhere and at any time. Matrix Mortgage has found a way to cut down on time spent haggling over a closing date, making the process easy for everyone involved.

Keep up the good work Matrix Mortgage Global. Continue to innovate and be the leaders in your industry.

Milk lovers; there is a new type of milk in town!

NIKITA YOUNG

nikita@carib101.com

TC REPORTER

Ontario dairy farmers John and Anna have been in the business for over ten years, and after speaking to them I can tell that they love what they do.

Being a family-owned and operated farm, it’s all hands on deck when it comes to taking care of the farm work. We are all familiar with cow’s milk, but John and Anna have opened up a different market in the North American milk world called A2 milk.

I have never heard of A2 milk before so I was intrigued to find out more. In

our conversation, John explained to me that A2 milk comes from a specific type of cow that is bred specifically for producing A2 milk. He said that before the mass production of milk, most cows produced A2 milk. Though the couple have been dairy producers for quite some time, producing A2 milk is a newer venture. I wondered what made them change their cows to the cows with the genetics for A2 milk.

Anna began to share their story with me about the experience they had with their son who is autistic. A doctor had recommended taking their son off of dairy to help improve some of their sons’ abilities. After noticing the changes like regaining eye contact with their son, John and Anna struggled to find a replacement for milk that their son could still enjoy.

They heard about A2 milk and being dairy farmers, they began to research the benefits compared to regular milk.

I learned there are two kinds of cow milk: A1 and A2. A1 is different be-

cause it’s a beta-casein protein that causes inflammation, which could lead to health problems like leaky gut syndrome. A2 milk is a closer match to human breast milk and does not cause the same inflammation as the regular milk we buy at the grocery store. The live cultures in the A2 milk promote a healthy gut.

After learning about the health benefits and then trying the A2 milk with their son, John and Anna decided to become producers of A2 milk. Their son was able to enjoy milk again without experiencing the negative health effects he experienced with A1 milk. After seeing first hand how A2 milk benefited their family, they knew that A2 milk was what they wanted to start producing.

The cows eat non-GMO feed and are well taken care of. For milk possession, the Spectrum Acres family farm has partnered with dairy processor MC-Dairy who creates seven different products with their A2 milk: 4 % A2 whole milk, 4% A2 choco-

late milk, cottage cheese, plain full fat yogurt, Kiefer, cream cheese and sour cream.

They are all available through MC Dairy either at their facility in Etobicoke, some local grocery stores, and Whole Foods Market. MC-Dairy will also deliver your order within the GTA. There are many great options to try, even for some of those who have trouble with dairy.

John and Anna are open to answering questions about their milk and also offer the opportunity to visit their farm at no cost. On their website www. spectrumacres.org you can find more information about A2 milk and also what kinds of activities they have available to the public on their farm.

They are very connected with their community and welcome those who want to visit the farm for a day out, or to learn more about A2 milk.

PAGE 18

NEWS

Toronto Caribbean News | www.TOCaribNews.com | Wednesday, April 28, 2021

Being an independent thinker seem like a rare quality in these modern times MICHAEL THOMAS michael@carib101.com

TC REPORTER

Being an independent thinker seems like a rare quality in these modern times and there are a handful of people who are trying their best to make it an offence as well. That being said, it is no wonder that a great number of folks have retired their thinking caps.

Here is a classic example of how mankind has become like a bunch of toddlers; a few people - who most likely did not do any research on the dangers of mask wearing - asked the rest of humanity to wear a mask. Without questioning the notion, almost everyone started wearing face diapers, is this smart thinking? Or sheepism?

In the beginning of all this, one

of the worlds so-called top doctors said it was useless, now that same doctor has now told the “Sheeple,” it makes perfect sense to double their mask for maximum protection. My mom always told me that liars should have a very good memory.

She was right.

Speaking of liars, when it was revealed that one of Canada’s politicians went to a sunny destination to bask, while trying to force the rest of the nation to hide in their houses, most people were shocked not realizing that the rule is “Do as I say, not as I do.”

Time and time again here in Canada, we see that certain politicians are hell bent on closing everything including gyms. Now, if you are an overweight politician does that make any sense? Then again, it is said that misery loves company.

While on the subject of company, it is very important in these troubled times to watch the company you keep.

Once upon a time, Canada was in good company on the world stage, standing tall on subjects like human rights, equality, and justice. Since March of last year,

certain politicians in this country cannot point fingers at communist countries anymore. Can they?

Traveling used to be fun for the average person, but these days when one lands at Pearson International, it is becoming extremely hard to tell whether you will be allowed to go home or be escorted to a very expensive hotel (aka quarantine facility) run by “You know who,” all in the name of health and safety.

Probably those twenty plus police officers that moved in on Chris Sky in the wee hours of the morning had his health and safety in mind as well, don’t you think?

Standing up for your rights in this country in 2021 has become a crime that is punishable either by attempted kidnapping or being put on “Canada’s no fly list,” which is a punishment reserved for terrorists. Just ask Mr Sky.

Upon entering college in 2016, I was convinced by a buddy to unsubscribe my cable TV, and to this day that is the best thing I ever did. After graduating with an advanced diploma in journal-

ism, I realize that those three years gave me a different look on news, as opposed to the blatant lies, which have sadly become the norm in this country.

We were taught that your word is everything; integrity is where it’s at, and at no time should you fabricate a story, article or anything that has to do with the business of news. Even a photograph had to be authentic.

Some people who have not had the bird’s eye view that I have, think a news anchor walks into a newsroom and is just given a script to read. Wrong, or at least that is not the way we learnt it.

A team, which includes the anchor, puts the news together so when a news anchor decides to report misinformation, I know that it is a conscious decision. He or she had enough time to question the script before facing the public.

That being said, it is amazing how some people who call themselves journalists and newscasters would sink so low as to lie to the nation religiously all in the name of “Just doing my job!” I guess we’ve all heard that line before. Be careful if you blindly follow the masses.

Action Summit to combat online hate held to find solutions to this complex issue PAUL JUNOR

paul@carib101.com

TC REPORTER

The issue of online hate has taken on tremendous moral, social, ethical and political significance during the COVID-19 pandemic as the world grapples with challenges related to health inequities, economic disparities and social injustice.

This important summit was held on April 14th -15th, 2021 in hopes of bringing awareness, solutions and strategies. It was organized by the Canadian Coalition to Combat Online Hate, through the Anti-Racism Action Program, which is funded by the Department Canadian Heritage. It involves the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) and funded by the Government of Canada.

According to Canada’s Centre for Digital Media Literacy at mediasmarts. ca, “Since its earliest day, the internet has been hailed as a uniquely open marketplace of ideas, and has become an essential means for people to access information and services.”

On the other hand, there are many negative disadvantages. “It offers a host of offensive materials including hateful content that attempt to inflame public opinion against certain groups and to turn people against one another.”

Mediasmarts.ca notes that it is often difficult to distinguish between online hate and hate speech because different countries have diverse tolerance levels. It states, “The line is even thinner in digital environments when hateful comments posted lawfully in one country can be read in other countries where they may be deemed unlawful.” This creates a slippery slope that is very challenging.

Mediasmarts.ca identifies how online hate is interconnected in three ways: • The harm done to its targets, either from personal harassment or from

•

•

online space being experienced as hostile The risk that those who encounter it may be radicalized by it, becoming more sympathetic and possibly even more active The effect that it has on the values and culture of the online spaces in which it happens

According to the website actionsummit. ca it will, “Bring leading activists, and policy makers together to discuss this serious problem and develop an action plan to combat it.”

There were three tracks covered in the summit: • Track 1: Online Hate: In Search of Regulations to a Complex Issue • Track 2: Remedies and Redress for Online Hate: Shifting Power • Track 3: Raising Public Awareness of Online Hate: What it is and what we can do There were two keynote speakers on the first day: April 14th, 2021, Arndrea Wa-

ters King and Martin Luther King III who served as President and Chairman of the Drum Major Institute respectively. They spoke together as they reflected on the contributions and work of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

‘ “If we stand for justice and freedom, we must stand for it together.” Mr King stated, “There are issues of hatred that exist in every community and these issues we must join together to address, so that we can elevate the beloved community of freedom, justice and equality for all humankind.”

Katharine von Schnurbein (European Commission Coordinator on Combating Anti-semitism), gave the opening keynote address and Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Canadian Heritage gave the closing keynote address.

This summit was indeed a timely and relevant one. There are no easy solutions that are possible to address the intricacies, nuances and complexities of online hate. It is vital that there is continual public awareness to highlight its global significance.

PAGE 20

FEATURE

Toronto Caribbean News | www.TOCaribNews.com | Wednesday, April 28, 2021

J.A.D.A TRUCKING EMPIRE INC. Get Rich, or die Trucking

SIMONE SMITH simone@carib101.com

TC REPORTER

“On June 6th, 2017 I was released from prison, and on that day, I decided that my life was going to change. Since then, I have been failing myself to success.”

I was engrossed in dialogue with Damien Blackman, one of the few African decedents who own a trucking company in Canada. He has over ten years of experience in the industry, and throughout this time, he has continued to find ways to reinvent himself, as a business owner, an educator, a community leader, and as a father.

As an educator, and consultant, Damien enjoys working with new entrepreneurs in helping them develop and establish their own businesses. He has successfully assisted in the start-up and evolution of African owned trucking businesses. From planning, to development, to contract securement, hiring and launching of their companies, Damien is now recognized as one of the most inspiring trucking mentors in Canada.

What truly makes Damien so successful is his ability to develop and foster relationships. He aspires daily to help change the lives of those who need a second chance in life. The interesting thing about this story is that I have known Damien since I was a child. We grew up in church together, and I remember hearing people speak very negatively about him. When I went away to school, I lost track of him, so I was excited to see that not only had he made a success of himself, but that he was also serving his divine purpose; motivating people to do more with their lives.

Our reunion was bittersweet because during our discussion, I learned things about his life that made me feel very sad. He had gone through so much, and naturally, I wish I could have been there to help him.

The fact that I now have an opportunity to tell his story has inspired me. I would like to introduce the owner of J.A.D.A Trucking Empire Inc., God sent Damien Blackman.

“As you know Simone,” he began. “I was born in Barbados and came to Canada

when I was ten years old. When we arrived, we moved to Jane and Driftwood. I was excited to be in Canada. I saw the lifestyle as a child and everything looked so amazing. I realized at thirteen, fourteen years old, that life in Canada was not how it was painted to us in the Caribbean. I remember the day that I discovered that I lived in a lower income neighbourhood. It was a bit of a culture shock, because I had no idea Canada would be like that. They only showed one thing in the media. It was not as fun-filled as I thought.

Damien shares with me that life wasn’t easy. It was tough being raised by a single mom in a new country. Not only was she navigating through a new cultural experience, she was also dealing with abuse in her relationship. Eventually, she had to leave her husband, and make her way with four children in tow.

“Life was not easy,” Damien continued. “I had to watch my mom being emotionally, mentally, and physically abused.

At that time, my stepfather was abusing me too, so because of this, the streets became my home. I was looking at life like I was alone. I remember every time I got arrested, they would ask me if I wanted to go home or stay in jail. I always wanted to stay in jail, because I knew that if I went home, I would get beaten.

When my mom finally left my stepfather, it was just my mom, my siblings, and I. This meant that I had to take on the male roles. I had to learn a lot of things on my own, and I learned what I had to on the streets. I did what I had to do to take care of my mother.

I used to get arrested a lot, but never charged. This is how I know that God was always there. I don’t think that I was a bad guy, but I did bad things. I remember stealing a pair of shoes, because I hadn’t had a new pair for three years.”

Naturally, after being in the street life, Damien graduated to different levels. One day it all came to head. The police raided his condo, and they found a pistol.

He had to serve two and a half years, and it was during this time that Damien stopped to take a look at where he had come from, and where he was going.

“For the first 60-90 days I was depressed. Somehow, I got my hands on some Benadryl. I would pop them, and sleep for a few months. That is all I did was sleep.

Finally, one day I said, enough was enough. I had to decide on what I was going

to do when I got out. All distractions were removed. There were no clubs, no television, and no friends. I had to face myself.”

“And be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed [how?] by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” (Romans 12:1-2)

His change began right there behind prison gates. He began to read selfhelp books, and yoga books. He even began to meditate, something he had never done before. He was ready to do something great, the question was, what was that?

“I had already been driving trucks, and I will tell you, trucks saved my life. When you are arrested, it is hard to get a decent job. With my previous experience driving trucks, when I got out, I was able to get a job driving trucks making $25.00 per hour.

When you are reintegrated into society, it is hard to find a job. If you do not have a plan, you can end up getting back in the rat race. With my truck license, all that mattered was that I was qualified to drive.

My goal when I was incarcerated was to open my own trucking business. I had to get my first truck. In March 2018, I purchased my first truck, and that started the motto that I used to this day, ‘Get rich, or die trucking’.

My first year, business went really well. I was new to entrepreneurship, so naturally, I made a lot of financial mistakes.

I mismanaged funds, and at times, my ego got the best of me, but I took the time to learn everything there was to learn about the trucking industry.

At one point I was up to five trucks, but during the pandemic, I had to sell some of my trucks, and just like everyone else, my industry was hit, but we adjusted as a company, and we are wisely expanding.”

During our time together, I learned a new word.

“I am inexorable Simone,” he told me, “There is no quit in me. You have to have a lot of faith and put the work behind it. We are not supposed to operate in poverty. I believe the reason I push so hard is because of how I was raised. I wanted a family, and I didn’t have that structure. In our culture, we don’t leave much for the next generation. I want them to have something even when I am gone. It is about Legacy.

I thank my mom for having the courage and the strength to raise me as a God fearing man. I owe her all of my success.”

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PAGE 22

FEATURE

Toronto Caribbean News | www.TOCaribNews.com | Wednesday, April 28, 2021

JIMMY DENNIS Telling the truth behind the story

When you Google Jimmy Dennis, what comes up now is R&B artist. Learning that his searchable identity had gone from convict to free man to musician means everything to Dennis. But he shares with me, “That’s what it always should have said.”

Unlike some of my other Classic Men Features, I am writing this one with the intent of waking people up to a reality. There is something not right in this world. There are people who are capable of unexplainable evil, and yes, they walk amongst us. Not only do the walk amongst us, but they also hold levels of authority that make them think they have the right to ruin people’s lives.

Last Thursday, I had the honour and privilege of entering the world of Jimmy Dennis. Jimmy shared with me the story of being a 22-year-old, up-and-coming R&B musician who was wrongfully convicted of the 1991 murder of a 17-year-old girl in Philadelphia. When he finally walked out of prison a free man in 2017, he made it his mission to fight day and night for wrongfully convicted men who were going through what he went through for twenty-five years.

This is a story of triumph, yes, but more so than that, this story is one that needs to be told over and over again. There is nothing that can be done, nothing that can be said that will give Jimmy Dennis his life back.

What readers need to realize is that a story like this can happen to someone in your family. As Africans living in the diaspora, we have to know that life will work against us, especially if you are an African American man.

It is time to take a trip through a horrifying experience, one that I would not believe if I didn’t hear it myself. Welcome to the life of Jimmy Dennis.

“When I walked into the Philadelphia courtroom on October 16th, 1992, I was still feeling hopeful,” Jimmy begins. “I was facing a murder charge, but I held onto one thing; I knew I didn’t do it.”

Let’s backtrack a little bit.

This painful experience started off as a rumour. A 17-year-old girl named Chedell Williams had been shot and killed in the Fern Rock section of North Philadelphia after a man attempted to steal her earrings. A few days after her murder, the police received a tip from someone who said he heard it was “Jimmy from the Abbotsford projects that had pulled the trigger.” When police started asking questions, the tipster admitted that it was hearsay, but they still thought it important to follow up on an unqualified lead.

At the time of the killing there were twenty to thirty people in the area, and for some reason, the police only took statements from nine of the thirty. This is where the inconsistencies with this case begins and believe me there are a lot of them. Five witnesses who didn’t pick Dennis from a photo array of potential suspects

weren’t called back for the line-up.

There was no physical evidence, no DNA evidence, no weapon, and no known connection between Dennis and the victim. The officers who arrested him took the homicide file, signed it out and it disappeared. On the stand, that same officer was asked about this, and he pleads the fifth. The victim’s clothes could have been tested for DNA evidence, but the clothes disappeared. The police went on the stand and said the cleaners threw it out.

Jimmy also had an alibi: He’d been traveling from his father’s house to the projects at the time of the murder. He even waved to one of his neighbours. Still, he spent nearly a year in county jail awaiting trial, and at trial, a jury found him guilty of first-degree murder.

“I recall hearing my mother sobbing, loudly. When I glanced over at my family, I saw my older sister, Hope, rocking back and forth in her seat, crying uncontrollably. My older brother, Greg, and several childhood friends who I had never seen emotional, were crying. My daughters, then just one and four years old, didn’t know what was happening to me, but their eyes, too, filled with tears. Seeing all of my family and friends so distraught is an image that will leave my mind.”

This was the beginning of twenty-five years that would change Jimmy’s perspective on life forever. “It is suffering,” Jimmy tells me. “The goal of death row isn’t rehabilitation. How do you rehabilitate someone by locking him or her in a cage for twenty-two hours a day? I got an hour or two in the yard and the library, but even there, I was still caged. I got ten minutes to shower on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Meals were served through a slot on heavy plastic trays that were rarely clean and often covered with reminders of what others really thought about black people. I was allowed one ten minute phone call per month. A life like this does something to you mentally, something that cannot be explained in words.”

By the time he walked out of prison a free man in 2017, the world had changed dramatically. Now he had to figure out how to function in a new world. Naturally, everyone wanted to hear Jimmy’s story. Jimmy was more than willing to open up, but he has been very disappointed with how journalists, and magazines have shared what he has gone through.

“What happens is I will do an interview, and I will give them access, and I tell them about corruption in Philadelphia. When I go to read the article, everything is watered down.

What is the point of me giving you access if you are not going to use it?”

Jimmy questions.

“Give me an example of what you mean Jimmy,” I asked.

“We gave Rolling Stone access to my life for two-years, but then they didn’t share the parts that mattered. It was a rose-coloured glass story. I was

disappointed and I shared my disappointment with them. They told me that they were going to do another story, but I have not heard anything yet.

The media doesn’t want to tell the truth. This happens again, and again. It is almost as if the journalists are protecting the police, or the system that is doing us dirty. What the police officers did was evil and corrupt. They tried to kill me for something I didn’t do. I had two incidents where I nearly died. They threatened witnesses, and they destroyed evidence. This was done intentionally, and it was to kill an innocent African man, and destroy everything around him.

When my dad found out that I was going to trial, he had a stroke. I watched my mother’s health deteriorate. She is coming off from a stroke right now, but she has never been the same. My two daughters still deal with trauma. The fact is that my daughters couldn’t handle that their dad was on death row. They wanted to commit suicide. They had their entire life altered.

To add to that, they lied to the victim’s family, which gave them no closure.

When I was speaking with Jimmy, I could hear the pain in his voice.

I was curious, how did he get through those twenty-five years?

“It was always music Simone,” he tells me. “I had a list of songs in my head that kept me going all that time.

I couldn’t find the spirit to sing when I was on death row. There is darkness about that place that would not allow me to create. Unlike in those dark early days in prison, I now write constantly, whenever and wherever inspiration comes.”

Even though music is now his focus, he is currently working with three different men to help them get out of prison. “I get entrenched in their case and learn everything. I speak to families. I become their voice. I champion their cause. I check up on them and their family. I put positive pressure on the system. I have even helped one innocent man come home. My most recent project is work that I am doing on a bill to abolish the death penalty.

There are people out here who need my help, so I am going to give it to them.”

When Dennis isn’t attending innocence-community events, he’s in the recording studio, relieving his pain through song. In 2020, he released his third and fourth singles in two years.

“Hate the Skin I’m in,” punches at the tension behind recent civil unrest and the need for movements like Black Lives Matter. His latest, “Tears This Year,” speaks to the trials of 2020.

“Music is always first for me.

I have to take back what was stolen twenty-five years ago. Now I spend my time writing, and trust me, I have some new music coming out on May 13th and it is meant to inspire. It is time to take my life back.”

Written by Simone J. Smith Toronto Caribbean News

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PAGE 26

FOOD

Toronto Caribbean News | www.TOCaribNews.com | Wednesday, April 28, 2021

Mango Coconut

BAKED CHICKEN With a Hint of Curry

English translation…

“I don’t drink coffee, tea – mango NOEL time don’t care how nice it may be CUNNINGHAM – mango time. In the heat of the mango crop when the fruit they’re noel@carib101.com ripe and drop wash your pot, turn them down – mango time.”

CULINARY EXPERT

This time of year is my favorite. Not only the memories of going to a mango bush or eating “We nuh drink coffee, tea a mango by the galore but my mom would time!” always make mango jam, using the

There are not enough words turned mangoes. Nothing beats to describe the love that we as Ca- homemade jam with crackers or ribbean people have for mango. So mango juice on a Sunday. much so, that some people will sit During mango season you and have only mangoes for dinner. will find several mango varieties A real yardie cannot eat one mango each with its own texture, taste, at any given time – it must be three size and flavour. There is Blackor more. There is even a folk song ie, Stringy, Tommy Atkins, Beef, in Jamaican patois called ‘Mango Bombay, East Indian, Number 11, Time’ that details the excitement Sweetie Come Brush Me, Parry, surrounding the season. It goes like Robin, and St Julian, widely known this… as Julie.

“Mi nuh drink coffee, tea – Everyone has their favoumango time care how nice it may rite and their favourite way to enbe – mango time in the heat of the joy them. Some make mango ice mango cro when di fruit dem a ripe cream, jellies, jams, cheese, pie and an’ drop wash yuh pot, tun dem punch. The leaves are even somedung – mango time.” times used to treat hypertension,

insomnia and fever.

This week I’m sharing one of favorite ways to use mango in a dish just in case you happened to have lots this season. There’s something about the combination of mango and coconut that just works for me. This recipe uses mango, curry and coconut which comes together nicely to make a sauce for this chicken dish.

Ingredients • 6 chicken thighs bone-in, skin on • 1 tbsp. curry powder • 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper • 3 cloves garlic, chopped • 2 stalks fresh thyme and scallion, chopped • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper For the Sauce: • 1 cup roughly chopped mango • 1 cup coconut milk • 1 medium onion • 2 cloves garlic, chopped • 1 tsp. ginger chopped • 2 tsp. curry powder

Directions 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 2. Marinate chicken with the first five ingredients. Place chicken in a baking dish skin-side up and put to bake for 25 minutes.

3. Make the sauce: add the coconut milk and mango to a blender and purée until smooth.

4. Heat oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add onions, garlic and ginger, stirring occasionally until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the curry, cook for another minute. Add the mango coconut purée and simmer for 5 minutes on low heat. Remove from heat and set aside.

5. When the chicken is almost ready pour the mango-coconut sauce over the chicken and leave to cook for an additional 5 minutes. If desired, serve on a bed of rice.

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HEALTH

Wednesday, April 28, 2021 | www.TOCaribNews.com | Toronto Caribbean News

PAGE 29

Decreasing the risk of gout: No longer the blue-blooded disease W. GIFFORDJONES MD DIANA GIFFORD-JONES COMMON SENSE HEALTH

King Henry VIII of England offers an excellent example of how too much wine, rich food and obesity trigger the agony of gout.

But why did Leonardo da Vinci, Sir Isaac Newton, and Benjamin Franklin, to name a few, develop this excruciating disease? And how can you decrease the risk?

More than nine million North Americans suffer from gout, a type of inflammatory arthritis in which the body produces too much uric acid, or the kidneys fail to excrete enough.

Genes play an important role. Gout

and diseases such as diabetes are more likely to occur if there is a family history. But given the rise from only three million cases just over a decade ago, more than genetics is driving the problem.

Uric acid is not friendly to joints. Dr. Larry Edwards, professor of medicine at the University of Florida, says, “People with high levels of uric acid can be accumulating crystals and damaging joints for years before they have their first gout attack.”

Dr. John Fitzgerald, professor of medicine at the University of California and co-author of the American College of Rheumatology’s latest clinical practice guidelines for gout, says, “Gout is part of the metabolic syndrome,” and that people diagnosed with gout suffer first from the early stages of Type 2 diabetes and obesity, which increase the risk of gout. It is a classic example of the Gifford-Jones Law that states one disease often leads to another and another.

The first attack of gout is a huge wake-up call. Dr Thomas Sydenham, “The English Hippocrates”, died of gout in 1698.

He wrote, “The victim goes to bed and sleeps in good health. About 2 o’clock in the morning, a severe pain in the great toe; more rarely in the heel, ankle or instep awakens him. Now it is a violent stretching and tearing of the ligaments – now it is a gnawing pain and now a pressure and tightening. So exquisite and lively meanwhile is the feeling of the part affected, that it cannot bear the weight of bedclothes nor the jar of a person walking in the room.”

Will one attack inevitably mean another? If you do not have high levels of uric acid in the blood, kidney disease, and are fortunate to have the luck of the Irish, there is a possibility that years may pass without another attack.

On this premise, your doctor may decide to “wait and see” alongside regular checks of uric acid levels.

But as another attack may occur at any moment with increased risk of injury to kidneys, your doctor may decide it is prudent to start urate-lowering therapy (ULT).

There are several drugs that are taken daily

that will lower uric acid and help stop crystals from forming in kidneys.

Studies from the University of California show about one-third of gout patients now receive URT. This treatment may take as long as six months to control the blood level of uric acid. Until lowered, there may be more attacks.

Other studies in the U.S. and the Netherlands have identified genes associated with higher levels of uric acid in the blood, including up to a forty-fold increase in the risk of gout.

Diet can play a role in treating gout. Some doctors suggest cutting down on foods that increase uric acid such as red meat, shellfish, alcohol, and sugar. But results are limited.

Genetic testing holds promise in identifying cases before symptoms appear.

For now, prevention is the best course.

Adopt a healthy lifestyle to keep gout from suddenly causing a painful wakeup call during the night.

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Wednesday, April 14, 2021 | www.TOCaribNews.com | Toronto Caribbean News

COMMUNITY

PAGE 31

Welcome to Entrepreneurial Minds, with David Anderson; inspiring the next great entrepreneurial mind DAVID ANDERSON d_anderson@carib101.com

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Growing up as a black man in this world can be tough. I have been targeted by the police and subjected to racism on numerous occasions. I have been stopped under the suspicion of looking into cars and breaking into houses. Though many may feel these obstacles would hinder them, I have used it to my advantage.

As a black man in society, in order to be successful you have to have tough skin, be educated and be able to adapt to any environment. This was a lesson I had to learn the hard way. Growing up in Rexdale was an interesting and unique experience.

As a child for fun, I would ride my bike; play basketball, soccer, football and manhunt with friends. I started taking basketball seriously in grade seven when a coach saw me playing in a local basketball gym. This

was the moment that changed my life. Until I met him, I had not had anyone believe in me besides my mother. Coach Gray told me that I would not be seeing my friends as much because I would be focused on school and basketball. He was the first person to tell me I was good enough and smart enough to get a scholarship. Basketball has been a cornerstone in my life, which has helped me stay on track along my journey.

Since grade nine, I knew I was special, had a gift and I wanted to impact others. Other than being a professional basketball player, the only careers I ever wanted were to be an architect and a social worker. When you have a gift and come from where I come from, you have to separate yourself. To stay focused I had to take two buses to go to high school 45 minutes away. I was able to put myself in the right environment to support my personal and professional development.

After high school I was privileged enough to get a scholarship to play basketball at Sault College in Sault, Ste Marie. In college, I was the only black male in my class for two years. While in college I learned that my life experiences were an advantage and not a disadvantage. I have

never been a leader in a group project or assignment until college. Speaking from my perspective allowed others to understand how one thinks, operates and navigates in problematic situations.

I graduated with a Social Service Worker diploma in 2017. Since graduation I have worked in a middle school, worked with youth on the spectrum as a child and youth worker, and as a program Associate Director and facilitator for Rexdale Youth Mentorship (RXYM).

Being raised in Rexdale, has bestowed on me experiences that allow me to positively impact the youth and community that I grew up in. Recently I have used the skills I have acquired and developed over the years to start David Anderson Career Consultants Inc. (DACC). Our goal is to provide accessible business consulting to entrepreneurs. We are committed to supporting professional’s reach their goals with individually tailored career roadmaps.

We aim to stimulate economic opportunities for entrepreneurs by providing them with tangible tools to support their personal and professional development.

DACC has been able to provide enormous value through our social media channels. We provide fun and interac-

tive business tips on a daily basis, while encouraging entrepreneurship, educating and highlighting successful entrepreneurs.

In order to be successful, you have to do research, challenge yourself, change your environment, and build connections, while utilizing and mobilizing resources.

Starting RXYM was a lifelong goal of mine. I always wanted to positively support people to achieve their goals and to believe in more. The community I support is the community I grew up in. I have known the youth and their parents for many years. The community has put a trust in us to support their youth’s personal and professional development into adulthood.

RXYM serves youth 13-21 years in black and marginalized communities. We aim to provide a safe space for youth by facilitating education workshops, homework club and book club, hosting community events and volunteer opportunities. We are funded by Ontario Trillium and just completed our second year of program.

Welcome to Entrepreneurial Minds, with David Anderson. I look forward to sharing the knowledge that I have acquired and inspiring the next great entrepreneurial mind.

LIFE

Wednesday, April 28, 2021 | www.TOCaribNews.com | Toronto Caribbean News

Why doing what you love may not be the best advice for you DANIEL COLE

daniel@carib101.com

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

How do you find out what you love to do, If you have? Take a moment to think about that. What factors contribute to you loving it? Is it an interest you’ve developed from childhood? What outcomes, feelings, or results do you need to have to be sure it’s exactly what you love to do? At what point do you start loving it? Are there other activities or vocation that you can do that will give you the same results, feelings or outcomes?

The phrase “do what you love”, if not well

contextualized, is not only vague but also misleading. Our interests develop in childhood, and these interests are influenced by many social factors. As we age, these interests sometimes change. Hence, why some will take years studying a course, and upon graduation, choose a completely different career path. Doing what we love is a question of life purpose and calling, of which I believe everybody has one. Loving what we do, either it’s what we really love to do, is a question of perspective and our disposition towards life.

To come to a point where you give all your waking hours to doing what you love simply means you’ve mastered the art of making a living doing it. You may first have to find love doing what you are doing before you have the luxury of doing what exactly you love to do.

Not everyone will start out in life doing what they love to do, and by the way, most people are even yet to figure out what

exactly they love to do with their life. Given a culture that is easily influenced by social media, celebrities and projected lifestyles, getting clarity about one’s life purpose and mission is quite a task.

We go to school, we learn some skills, and we pursue a career in line with what we’ve learnt, and as long as the vocation pays our bills, we love it. Over time, we call this what we love to do. Most people only do what they are skilled at and find a way of loving it. Sometimes life will demand we embrace opportunities that are outside our area of interest, the most important thing is not to lose grip or sight of what we really love to do with our life.

Steve Jobs has rightly said, “Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to believe what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the

PAGE 33

heart, you’ll know when you found it. And, like with any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So, keep looking until you find it, don’t settle.”

Man’s strongest instinct is survival.

To a father who’s still struggling to provide three-square meals to his family, pay his children school fees, or provide shelter for his loved ones, to an adult who is still struggling to make both ends meet, the idea of doing what you love may not sound appealing.

Sometimes you have to do what you have to do; to be able to do what you really need to do.

Not many people started out in life doing what they love, and it’s Ok. But once you identify the areas that best bring you results, joy and happiness, put more effort into those areas. Life is a journey, a journey of risk and uncertainties, a journey of twists and turns. Enjoy the ride, collect memories and live in the moment.

PAGE 34

LIFE

Toronto Caribbean News | www.TOCaribNews.com | Wednesday, April 28, 2021

Stuck in the middle of a riot; Part I; reliving my past trauma SIMONE SMITH simone@carib101.com

HUMAN SPECIALIST

She stood there with a makeshift knife pointed at me. The room was in chaos.

Women were running around, grabbing what they could. I could hear shouting outside, but my eyes were trained on the young woman in front of me. She was wearing a scarf over her face. Her eyes were wild, as she looked me up and down. I was paralyzed. I knew that I should run like the other girls had, but my feet could not move. I stepped back slowly, and silently began to pray,

“God, please get me through this.” A noise came from across the room, and the young woman looked over in the direction of the noise. She looked back at me, lowered the knife, and ran towards the direction of the noise. I still couldn’t breathe. I stood there holding my breath.

I wanted to cry, but for now, I was just happy to be alive.

I had begun to get used to my life in Panama. One thing that I must say is that I have always been able to adapt to

adverse situations. I have been through quite a bit in my life, and I know that all that I have been through was to prepare for that moment, and moments after my Panamanian experience.

I was fortunate that the women who had clout in the prison had taken to me. This made my life easy. I was not bothered at all, and after two weeks, most of the women were just curious as to why I had ended up there for what I had done.

Most of the women who were at the prison were there for trafficking or smuggling charges. I was the only one there that was not in for drug smuggling or trafficking. To many of them, I was a unicorn. An unheard of situation that they could not understand, but they were fascinated by.

I had learned quite a bit about prison life, especially prison life in a third world country. One thing I did learn is that prisoners run a prison. The guards are only there to look like authority, but they are not running the place. They are pawns in a chess game, and the inmates learn how to move these pieces on their proverbial chessboard. Whether it was sneaking in weed, cigarettes, money, or other contraband, all it took was knowing the right person.

As a natural observer, I watched everything, and learned the ropes from

the angels that God had set in my life. It was nice to know that I had people who were there to watch my back. I asked questions, and observed the movement of others. I learned what not to do, how to pull my weight, how to get the things I needed like soap, lotion, and condiments. In Panama, you had to have your own creature comforts. They provided you with the bare minimum, and everything else you had to take care of.

Thankfully my mom had sent me some money, and I was able to pay back Andrea, and Angie for lending me soap and helping me out the first week that I was there. The rest of the money I kept in my bra. I had been instructed to not let anyone see how much money I had on me. If I was going to purchase anything, I had to lock myself away in the bathroom, take out exactly how much money I needed, and put the rest away.

Letting others know you had money was dangerous, but they didn’t have to teach me this. I had learned this during my days in Detroit.

I was adapting. I was getting used to what my life was in that moment.

What I didn’t know; the political climate was heating up, and there was a lot going in the world. The spillover was going to affect the lives of many people, and I was going to be one of them.

Become undone and bloom; welcoming the Super Full Moon in Scorpio GARCIA AKUA

garcia@carib101.com

COSMIC CORNER

“For a seed to achieve its greatest expression, it must come completely undone.

The shell cracks, it’s insides come out and everything changes. To someone who doesn’t understand growth, it would look like complete destruction.”

Cynthia Occelli Happy Taurus Season family! Hope you are all slowing down a bit to plant some flowers!

Taurus season is all about planting new seeds for growth in our life. With the constant lockdowns it can feel like we are already moving much slower, much more cautious or moving in fear, or not moving much at all. This is why our spiritual health is so important, especially during these un-

certain times.

On April 26th, 2021 we will have a Super Full Moon in Scorpio. Super Moons occur when the Moon is closer in orbit to the Earth. This is our 2nd closest Moon for the year, we will definitely feel her impact.

Scorpio is the opposite sign of Taurus, Full Moons always occur in the opposite sign of the Sun. The Full Moon illuminates what is beneath the surface. In this case, Scorpio rules the deep waters and brings to light what is hidden. While Taurus influences our self-worth, values and material possessions, Scorpio influences our deep feelings, things that are hidden and our shared resources. It also highlights spirituality, sex and debt.

Scorpio energy is deep and intense. It dives deep into what is hidden. It challenges fears and exposes the shadows.

Under this Full Moon, we may feel the inner pull between what we value and how we truly feel. Issues we have pushed to the side or hidden within may be triggered at this time for you to face them and finally release.

Many people have gone into debt this last year. People are in fear of what tomorrow will look like. Many people are going through breakups/divorces and now

need to split shared resources. However, there is hope, the hope is you.

Use this Full Moon to spend time with your inner thoughts. What are you afraid of? How are you valuing yourself?

Are you still hiding behind pain, trauma and fear? How can you connect to yourself more deeply, more intimately?

The only thing you can control is YOU. We can control how we respond or react. We can control how we value ourselves, and those we love. We can choose to face our fears and most importantly we can choose to release what no longer serves us.

If love is not being served, then leave the table. We are being inundated with fear from mainstream media to social media and everywhere in between. Fear cripples, fear can crush your hopes, and fear prevents you from moving.

Before we plant our goals for this season, please use this moon to get clear about what you truly want for yourself and loved ones.

Are you willing to become undone to bloom in your greatest expression? Dive deep, face your fears, let everything out, and bloom!

LIFE

Wednesday, April 28, 2021 | www.TOCaribNews.com | Toronto Caribbean News

PAGE 35

Education experts raise alarms; “Our children are going to suffer!”

PAUL JUNOR

paul@carib101.com

YOUTH EDUCATION

There have been many challenges that parents, guardians, and caregivers face as they navigate the schooling of their children in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

CP24 reported on Monday, March 22nd, 2021 that experts have raised concerns about the potential long-term effects on students. It states, ‘early research and anecdotal reports point to measurable learning loss, racial and socioeconomic disparities, and an urgent need to mitigate harms that may not even be obvious yet.”

This has drawn the attention of experts such as Amedeo D’Angiulli, professor of neuroscience at Carleton

University who told CP24, “We need to mobilize more, everything that we can to help teachers deal with this crisis.” He believes that there will be an increase in developmental and learning disorders, which will be a direct reflection of delays in obtaining medical screenings and school interventions.

He states, “The real wave will be that in two, three years we’ll wake up and we’ll see that we have more social inequality, illiteracy and other things that we then need to fix.” This is a sobering prediction as it reveals that the present academic roadblocks that students face will influence the: emotional, physical, social and mental well being of students.

Amedeo’s conclusion is based on analysis of approximately 100 papers, which examined the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on education and child development worldwide. The data revealed that there is, “Delays at every age to varying degrees and in different ways.” This learning and academic gap will have greater long-term effects.

George Georgious, who serves

as director of J. P. Das Centre on Developmental & Learning Disabilities in Alberta, analyzed early readers in Grade 1, 2 and 3 and compared their reading scores in September 2020 and January 2021. He observes that there was improvement in reading for the students in each grade but their reading levels were six-to-eight months below their grade level. He states, “Because they cannot read, they tend to also act out, so it’s related to externalizing behaviour problems. They act out, they are more aggressive, there is depression, and lower self-esteem.”

He believes that there has to be timely, target interventions as was done in Alberta’s Fort Vermilion school division in which struggling readers were exposed to focused tutoring four times a week which resulted in 80% of the Grade 1 and 2 students being able to read at their grade level. George states, “This tells you that if you don’t provide intervention right away, you will end up in a situation where most of your kids in Grades 1, 2, 3 will be reading well below grade level. If you

act proactively… then you have good chances to support these kids who were left behind.”

Sarah Barrett is a professor of education at York University. She surveyed 764 public and private school teachers during May-June, 2020 and conducted in-depth interviews with 50 of them to find out information about their attainment of developmental needs. In a subsequent follow up in December, 2020 and January, 2021 she discovered that teachers expressed uncertainties with respect to the acquisition of social skills by the students. She states, “They sound really demoralized. They’re very glad to have their students in front of them again, but they know that the students that need the most are the ones that are not getting what they need.”

Students who have learning disabilities, racialized, Indigenous and English-language learners are of particular concerns to these teachers. She observes, “A full year is more than just a disruption. It means that across the entire system, adjustments have to be made.”

The Great Royal Wife Tuya; a historical figure hard to find DAVE RANKIN dave@carib101.com

AFRICAN HISTORY

It is very rare for scholars to mention the name of this week’s muse. Rightfully so. Digging up information was quite a chore. Obviously, it’s very different with her husband and nesew Seti the 1st. Any nesew who decides to walk in the footsteps of Thutmosis the 3rd, and very nearly succeeding, deserves all the praises sent their way. However, his legacy could not have been passed on through his heir without the union of his Great Royal Wife. The seldom mentioned and often forgotten, Tuya.

When I mentioned that finding history on Tuya was a challenge, I meant it. There are no records of what her early

life was like, outside of the fact that she was the daughter of a high-ranking military officer named Raia and was born in Thebes around the year of 1325 BCE. There are no records on how she met her husband and future nesew Seti the 1stt. Since Tuya was born into military life, it would be safe to assume that her union with Seti the 1st, who also came from a military background, was a transition that she had been prepared for.

There are very sparse records that indicate Tuya would have married Seti when she was about fifteen years of age. What we do know for sure is that the two quickly started a family. She bore her first of possibly four children for Seti around 1305 BCE. His name was Nebchasetnebet. Their daughter Tia was next in line. Tuya gave birth to her second son, and future heir Rameses the 2nd a few years later. Their last daughter Henutmire, is of questionable birth among Egyptologists due to the fact that they have not found any records to support the kinship. The kinship is only

assumed due to a statue of Tuya located in the Vatican that depicts Henutmire on the side. Because of this, it is assumed that she is the daughter of Tuya.

While there are no inscriptions or statues attributed to the Great Royal Wife during her marriage to Seti the 1stt, her son Rameses the 2nd didn’t lack in that area. When Rameses the 2nd ascended to the throne, Tuya went from the Great Royal Wife to the ‘Queen Mother who bore the Strong Bull.’ With this new title, her son made it sure for the world to remember his mother’s name. Just to list a few items. We have already mentioned the statue located at the Vatican Museum. There are inscriptions that celebrate Tuya as the Queen Mother. Rameses the 2nd had a chapel dedicated to his mother at his famous Ramesseum. There is also a limestone statue located in Abydos that has Tuya’s name engraved on it.

Where her son left off in venerating his mother, Hollywood went on to produce a number of films where

the Queen Mother’s name would live on. In the famous Ten Commandments of 1956, Irene Martin plays Tuya. In Dreamwork’s 1998 film The Prince of Egypt, Helen Mirren voices her. Finally, Ridley Scott’s mega film Exodus: Gods and Kings, Tuya is played by Sigourney Weaver.

Queen Mother Tuya lived up to around year twenty-two of Rameses’ reign and was buried in the Valley of the Queens, a burial place for the wives of the nesew. It was also called ‘Ta-SetNeferu’ meaning the place of beauty.

Tuya’s tomb is designated as QV80 and is located to the west of QV66, belonging to Nefertari. Her sarcophagus was made of granite, and had a lid depicting the Queen Mother. The tomb was later used during the Third Intermediate period, which led to the deterioration of the painted scenes which adorned the tomb of Tuya.

PAGE 36

LIFE

Toronto Caribbean News | www.TOCaribNews.com | Wednesday, April 28, 2021 Photo Credit: Sauce The Official

Do not be afraid to fail; Vice President of The Young Democrats empowers youth in Barbados LA SHAWNA GRIFFITH lashawna@carib101.com

SPOTLIGHT FEATURE

Shaquani Hunte is a twenty-three-year-old positive young woman who resides in beautiful Barbados. The young woman who comes from a family of artists is the owner of Infinity B Salon where she offers cosmetology services.

Hunte said that her passion for art derived from having an artistic family. “In my family, it was very easy to become involved in art because almost everyone is an artist. I have four members of my family besides myself who currently hold and or are currently pursuing a degree in art. My family was very supportive when I decided I wanted to pursue an art career.”

The young lady who is pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Management with Psychology at The University Of The West Indies, Cave Hill Campus said that despite her love for the arts she decided that she also wanted to learn how she could run Infinity B Salon better.

“I decided to pursue my Bachelor’s degree in that area because I believe that having a background in Management would be an asset along with Psychology. I wanted to learn how to manage my business better.

Furthermore, I believe that studying psychology would expose me to the inner workings of people.”

Hunte, a former Bronze Medalist at the World Skills Competitor and graduate at the Samuel Jackman Prescod Institute of Technology said initially the decision to start her own business was not an easy one. She knew that she wanted to start her own business as a nail technician.

“After doing my internship at a very well-known salon called Genetics, where I was trained and nurtured into the nail technician I am today, I decided it was time for me to leave. I went back to school pursuing my degree in visual arts. It is after I started that degree that I opened my own business.”

Hunte noted that one of the greatest highlights of her career is seeing the faces of her happy customers as they look at their stunning nails.

The young businesswoman, who has a very pleasant personality, also gives

back to her community as she currently runs a Non-Profit Art Class with Bush Hall Institute for Action and Research.

“Teaching art classes for kids was always a dream of mine. The opportunity arose when I had to find a location to complete my give back hours as mandated by the Government. I reached out to Mr. Springer where he told me to come for an interview and I did. While being interviewed he asked me about my interests, and I explained to him about my passion when it comes to art. He then gave me the ok, to come up with an art program centre around children, and I did.

I was asked to set up a syllabus and I got tired of calling it an art program, and just like that the idea for Art For The Youth was born. I designed the logo, brochure and flyer as well as a way to run the program after speaking to Mr. Springer we settled on donations.”

Hunte’s passion for helping people does not only pertain to the creative sector as she is also the Vice President of The Young Democrats, the youth arm of the Democratic Labour Party, which is one of the oldest political institutions in Barbados. She said she joined the Young Democrats to assist with shaping youth empowerment in the community.

“Everything I do is centered around youth empowerment, youth building and making the path easy for people coming after me to navigate. I realized I had a passion for it and just started.”

One of the things she would like to see improved in Barbados is the educational system, which she noted is not as comprehensive as she believes it ought to be.

“In Barbados, we have an excellent trade school at the Samuel Jackman Prescod Institute (SJPI) of Technology, as well as an excellent academic school at the Barbados Community College. I believe the two of these schools should be working in tandem, as they have so many overlapping programs that could be improved if we combined these two institutions.

A student who studied graphics at the SJPI should be allowed entry into BCC even if they did not meet the necessary matriculation. We need to make these transitions easier.”

Hunte’s word of advice to any young person reading this article, “Do not be afraid to fail. Some days you might. Do not be afraid to speak up because your voice and your opinion matters. But most importantly do not forget to be you, the world needs more people to be themselves.”

Wednesday, April 28, 2021 | www.TOCaribNews.com | Toronto Caribbean News

We need each other TARA MYSHRALL tara@carib101.com

COMPELLED TO CHANGE

“Human beings are not meant to live alone. There is a fundamental biological imperative that propels you and every organism on this planet to be in a community, to be in relationship with other organisms.” Bruce H. Lipton I sit in my basement yet another day working away at this keyboard trying to make sense of the world outside my door. I intentionally do not listen to the news anymore as my soul can’t take all the negativity that is constantly being thrown at us and I am compelled to change this fearbased thinking one way or another.

I thought a year ago that this pandemic would be far behind us, but I know now that it was an ignorant thought.

We are approaching our current (I have lost count!) lockdown. Over this time, in social isolation, I have been diligent with my mindset. I do the work to keep myself moving forward in a society that feels determined to shut us down. I want our people to be safe from this virus but at what cost?

Are we potentially making ourselves worse off by all these on-again offagain measures? The numbers keep rising and the response is to shut us down and lock us in our homes. This is resulting in more and more lost businesses, worsened mental health, a sense of disconnection from our community and a lack of trust for our government.

What will the consequence be when we invade privacy, encourage neighbors to breach trust and shut down playgrounds for our children?

Our neighbors are being encouraged to call authorities if there are more than two people connecting outside or if

someone has a guest in their home. Our home is supposed to be a safe haven. Our neighbors are supposed to look out for us and we can do the same in return.

We are on dangerous grounds when we look to lock people in their homes for over a year, take officers from fighting crime to illegal people monitoring and keep our citizens and children locked in isolation. It has far too many connections to unspeakable horrors of the past and many of us will not stand for it.

Building a sense of community is so important for a sense of belonging, pride and connection. We are not meant to be isolated, we need each other. Our community includes those who are in our neighborhood, our friends and colleagues that we have connected with, those who share common values. We meet with these people and share ideas, love and energy.

Many of us thrive when we connect with people, whether it be over a drink on a patio, sharing a story around a fire, or discussing grand visions of how we will change the world.

The latest mandates from the Ontario government are shaming tactics that are outrageous and detrimental to not only our mental health but our children’s.

Our children need to run outside, get dirty and play with their friends in some capacity. And so do adults, because we are simply big kids. Even my dog gets depressed if she doesn’t get her walk in to meet nearby dogs.

So, what’s the answer? I am not saying run freely in the streets and continue to spread COVID virus, what I am saying is we need to use discretion. But we need to ensure that on the other end of COVID we are not creating a world that is filled with grayness and mistrust.

We need the richness of life to shine its light through. We need tactics for mental health and we need to get out and connect with our community in a safe way. I ask you to challenge your thinking to look at possibilities and share these with your government. If we want new outcomes, we have to try new tactics.

How to stop yelling at your kids After a bad night’s sleep or a stressful day, it doesn’t take much for parents to lose their temper. While yelling can feel good in the moment, you’ll likely feel guilty afterward if you raise your voice in front of your kids. Here are a few tips to help you keep your composure.

the likelihood of losing your temper. Ad­ ditionally, consistent punishments will ensure your children know the con se­quences for breaking the rules. It’s also important that both parents be on the same page about the rules in order for them to be effective.

REASSESS YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES Do you often feel overwhelmed by your hectic schedule? If you’re getting pulled in a million different directions, it’s nor­ mal to lose your cool. Parents often feel like they have to put other people’s needs before their own, but this can leave them overworked and make them quick to have an outburst.

LEARN TO REIGN IN YOUR REACTIONS In the heat of the moment, shouting can feel like an automatic response.

However, there are several things you can do to dissipate your anger before it boils over: • Verbalize your emotions by saying “I’m very upset and I want to scream” • Take several deep breaths and count to 10 slowly in your head • Go to another room or step outside for a few minutes to calm down

Consider whether you can redistribute chores at home or cut back on the tasks that demand your attention. Additio­ nally, be sure to make time to recharge each week with activities you enjoy.

BE CONSISTENT WITH DISCIPLINE Laying out clear rules about how your kids are expected to behave can reduce

Finally, don’t hesitate to use babysitting services, parent helplines and other re­ sources that can give you the support and advice you need to foster a more positive home life for you and your kids.

LIFE

PAGE 37

PAGE 38

HOME

Tips for gardening in a shady yard Even if your yard doesn’t get much sunlight, it’s still possible to grow a beautiful garden. The key is to select shade-tolerant spe­cies. Here are some suggestions.

PERENNIALS In addition to hostas, which thrive in shady conditions, many perennials don’t require much sunlight. Consider planting:

• Leopard plants, whose yellow flowers are sure to brighten dim spaces • Coral bells, which are great for lining the edges of a flower bed • Undergrowth ferns such as ostrich, lady and wood ferns • Bugbane, which has spikes of wispy white flowers on tall stems • Forget-me-nots, which have beautiful blue springtime blooms There are also a number of ground cover plants that are well-suited for shady conditions such as bugleweed, lily of the valley and cree­ping dogwood.

SHRUBS There are several types of ornamental shrubs that can add height and texture to a shady garden, including: • Holly • Dogwood • Squirrel corn • Rhododendrons • Some hydrangeas In addition to looking for shade-tolerant species, be sure to consider the hardiness zone you live in when selecting plants for your garden.

Toronto Caribbean News | www.TOCaribNews.com | Wednesday, April 28, 2021

Bring your houseplants outside this summer This summer, consider bringing your houseplants outdoors. Doing so will enhance the appearance of your garden and provide your plants with more light to grow.

time. Start by placing them outside for a few hours a day. Make sure the temperature is above 12 C and that they’re protected from wind, rain and direct sunlight.

In particular, cacti, spurges and succulents will benefit from time spent outside.

You can transplant them into flower beds or arrange them in pots.

Gradually, you can increase the time your plants spend outdoors. This process should take about two weeks. However, be sure to wait until overnight temperatures remain above 12 C before you leave your plants outside for the rest of the season.

Hanging plants such as ivy, pothos and spider plants are a great way to adorn a pergola or gazebo. If you have large potted plants, use them as accent pieces for your deck or patio decor.

GIVE THEM TIME TO ADAPT Remember that your plants need time to acclimate to outdoor weather conditions before being exposed to the elements full

PLANT INSPECTION Before you bring your houseplants back inside, check them thoroughly for bugs. Shower them in warm water, including the underside of the leaves, to wash away any unwanted pests. If necessary, repot your plants prior to bringing them indoors.

FUN

Wednesday, April 28, 2021 | www.TOCaribNews.com | Toronto Caribbean News

PAGE 39

WEEK OF APRIL 25 TO MAY 1, 2021

ARIES

The luckiest signs this week: CAPRICORN, AQUARIUS AND PISCES

You’ll feel a strong urge to make changes in your life. You might be getting bored of your daily routine; a few transformations will help make life more exciting.

TAURUS

It’s never easy to please every­one, but somehow you’ll man­age to pull off a miracle. At work, you’ll be able to complete a task or close a deal that you thought was impossible.

PUZZLE NO. 734 ANSWER TO PUZZLE NO. 734

HOW TO PLAY :

GEMINI

This will be a stressful week at the office. You’re strong though, and you’ll manage to handle any mess that comes your way with tact and a bit of empathy.

Fill in the grid so that every row, every column, and every 3x3 box contains the numbers 1 through 9 only once.

CANCER

You’ll be cheered on by a large group of people, both at work and in your community. You’ll stand out from the crowd, and you’ll be surprised to find that others put you on a pedestal.

Each 3x3 box is outlined with a darker line. You already have a few numbers to get you started. Remember: You must not repeat the numbers 1 through 9 in the same line, column, or 3x3 box.

LEO

People will gather in your home this week. If you have young children, don’t be surprised if they invite several friends to join in on activities you planned.

VIRGO

PUZZLE NO. 24 51. Coffee cups 53. Unburden 54. Levitate 55. Opera show-stopper 56. Omelet need 57. Picks 58. Pre-Easter time 59. Meek DOWN

ACROSS

1. Certain trains 4. ____ up to (admits) 8. Abide by 12. Cauldron 13. “My Left ____” 14. Roast 15. Flightless bird 16. Brass horn

17. Till bills 18. Zola novel 20. Pruned 22. Confuse 24. Snacked 27. Recital pieces 30. Craving 31. Veto 32. Attentive 33. Explorer ____

de Leon 35. Topaz, e.g.

36. Groupie 39. Pile up 40. Deadly reptile 41. No can do 43. Civil 45. “____ but the Brave” 49. Proceed slowly

1. Divisible by two 2. Tibetan holy man 3. Amaze 4. Frequently, to poets 5. Was willing to 6. Nary a soul 7. Paper fastener 8. Reed instrument 9. Large handkerchief 10. Increase 11. Approval word 19. Berserk 21. Friend by mail 23. Practical 25. Spasms 26. Former spouses

27. Heroic narrative 28. Is obligated to 29. Outdoor light source 34. Sign of the future 37. Beast 38. Personality 42. Start 44. Works by Keats 46. Metals 47. Near

48. Irritable 49. Expert, for short 50. Pitcher spout 52. Was located

ANSWER TO PUZZLE NO. 24

You’ll have plenty to talk about this week. You might run into friends you haven’t seen in a long time. One thing’s for sure, you’ll chat with people for hours on end.

LIBRA

You’ll spend a lot of time in sto res, even if it’s just to spruce up your summer wardrobe. Your friends will persuade you to splurge, leaving a big hole in your budget.

SCORPIO

Feeling enthusiastic, you’ll pro­pose a number of good ideas and promising initiatives. You’ll successfully bring together se­veral people to complete a ma­jor project.

SAGITTARIUS

Don’t turn down an invitation to go to a spa or anywhere else that’ll help you relax. In order to restore your vitality, you need to take time to recharge your batteries.

CAPRICORN

Stress can be contagious, but you’ll enjoy the opportunity to be around others. You’ll make progress at work by getting the job done as part of a team. You’ll appreciate the peace and quiet at home.

AQUARIUS

All of your activities make time management a must. A lot of re­ sponsibilities will fall on your shoulders. You’ll also have a rea­ lization about your career.

PISCES

Some friends will invite you to go on an outing or vacation in the near future. You might get clo­ser to your spiritual side; a pil­ grimage would be an enriching adventure.

CROSSWORD PUZZLE ANSWERS USE AMERICAN SPELLING

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PAGE 42

REAL ESTATE

Toronto Caribbean News | www.TOCaribNews.com | Wednesday, April 28, 2021

Government incentives for home buyers JAY BRIJPAUL brijpaul@carib101.com

REAL ESTATE PRO

Homes provide shelter and security. They are a scarce commodity. Prices are surging in this turbulent economy. For those who are renting, the dream of homeownership is becoming elusive. The government recognizes that. Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) air-marked over one billion dollars to assist. The government will lend a portion of the down payment interest free.

With bigger down payments, buyers would require smaller mortgages and that would effectively lower their monthly payments.

This is called a shared equity program. CMHC will lend the buyer 5% of the sale price on resale homes and ten percent on new homes. CMHC will have an equivalent percent stake in the home. The loan will be registered as a second mortgage against the property and is for twenty-five years. If the property sells before twenty-five years, CMHC will get an equivalent percentage of the sale price. If there is a loss, CMHC will absorb their portion as well. Buyers can invest

more than the minimum down payment provided that their down payment plus the amount from CMHC is less than twenty percent of the sale price.

To qualify, buyers must satisfy anyone of the three criteria below: • Be a first-time home buyer • Anyone who recently experienced a marriage or common law breakdown • Anyone who has not occupied the home they owned for the last four years Here is an example of how the program works. Devi wants to buy a new construction that cost $400,000. With the shared equity program, CMHC will contribute 10% of the down payment, which will be $40,000.

Devi must also invest a minimum of 5% of her own money, which will be $20,000.

With the incentive, Devi’s remaining mortgage amount would be $340,000 instead of $380,000, which will result in a lower monthly payment. If the current interest rate is 2%, then Devi will save $169.54 monthly or $2,034.48 yearly. Over the span of twentyfive years, Devi would save $50,862.00.

Devi must qualify for the mortgage which works out to be, in the GTA, about 4.5 times of her gross income. For example, if Devi’s income is $100,000, then Devi will qualify for $450,000 mortgage. She must have the minimum down payment of 5% plus closing costs. If Devi buys in GTA, Devi’s

income must not exceed $150,000 to qualify for this program. If Devi is buying a home with other family members, their combined income must not exceed $150,000 as well.

For homes outside of GTA, the combined income must not exceed $120,000 and the amount of mortgage qualified for is capped at four times the gross income. This program is available to Canadian citizens, permanent and non-permanent residents who are on a work permit.

This incentive must be paid in full after twenty-five years or whenever the property sold. For example, if Devi sells the home for $700,000, since CMHC had initially invested 10%, then, Devi must repay 10% of the final sale price to CMHC. In this example, that is $70,000. Homeowners can choose to repay the loan in full at any time before twenty-five years. Partial payment is not acceptable. To do so, the property fair market value must be established and then the equivalent percentage be paid to CMHC. CMHC can force the owner to repay their portion if: • The intended use of the property has been changed, for example, converting an owner-occupied home to a rental property • When a co-borrower wants to buy out his or her partner and need to borrow more insured money • When a co-borrower wants to remove

•

his or her name from the title of the home When a borrower wants to port the mortgage from one property to another

The first step is to get pre-approved for a mortgage. Make sure that you meet all of the above requirements to qualify for the program. Once this is done and you have found a home that matches your criteria, then, you need to complete the necessary applications.

Applications and other important information can be viewed at http://www. placetocallhome.ca/fthbi. Once the application is completed, your lender can submit it on your behalf. CMHC will then review your application and, if approved, you must call FNF Canada, a mortgage transaction management company at 1-855-844-4535 to activate your incentive. They will ask you for your lawyer information. This process must be completed at least two weeks before your closing date. With this incentive, along with the ability to use up to $35,000 from your RRSP towards a down payment and the rebate from land transfer tax, home ownership is possible.

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PAGE 44

FINANCE

Toronto Caribbean News | www.TOCaribNews.com | Wednesday, April 28, 2021

Apply these five principles to your relationship with money and watch your savings blossom CLEVE DeSOUZA cleve@carib101.com

WEALTH MANAGEMENT

A healthy, loving relationship between two people involves communication, respect, boundaries, trust, and support. Apply these five principles to your relationship with money and watch your savings blossom.

Here’s how these principles figure into strengthening your relationship with money: Communication means letting your financial records reveal your secrets. Review your bank and credit card statements every month. Tally up exactly how much you spend in different categories. Remember, the ideal formula calls for spending 50% of your income on your needs, 30% for your wants, and 20% for savings. If you regularly review your statements, it’s easy to see where you spend your money. Then, you can adjust your spending to match your goals.

When you look over the previ-

ous month’s statements, do you even remember the expenses? If you can’t, then it wasn’t worth whatever you spent. Respect for your hard-earned money means not frivolously spending it. Building your personal financial worth also shows respect for the work it took to earn your money. This doesn’t mean you never spend money on luxuries. Instead, it means you consciously choose to spend money on what brings you joy and skip the meaningless expenses.

When you’re reviewing your monthly statements, set boundaries for your spending. While you’re at it, spend a few minutes each month to celebrate your successes. Did you make coffee at home instead of stopping for a drink custom-made by a barista every day? That’s progress and you should take a moment to congratulate yourself. Don’t stop there, though. Now, you need to set a goal of investing that extra coffee money so it works for you. Talk to a professional adviser and when it’s time to review your statement next month, you’ll find yourself celebrating how properly invested money grows.

Trust your instincts when it comes to money. If you regularly review your finances, then you know what you need to do. For instance, you already know money can’t buy happiness. If your bank statements reveal that you spend more on de-

signer clothing than you invest in savings each month, then you know you need to make changes. Instead of foolishly using money to try to buy happiness, instead focus on what money can do for you. Let a financial adviser show you how wise investments generate money to buy a home, pay for college, or provide for retirement.

Finally, support and forgive yourself for financial mistakes. We all make them. The difference between the wealthy and the financially strapped is the wealthy learn from their mistakes and don’t repeat them. If you over-spent during the 2020 holiday season, don’t go into a funk. Simply pay off the debt and make a plan for enjoying the 2021 holidays without spending so much money. For example, instead of giving your parents an expensive gift, give them what they really want - your time. Spend a day helping them clean out the attic. You’ll both feel good about taking care of a dreaded task while making new memories.

Whether we acknowledge it or not, we all have an emotional relationship with money. Like any other relationship, spending time working on emotional connections pays dividends. The only difference between your financial and emotional life is that it’s easier to quantify and measure the results of your efforts to improve your relationship with money.

Social justice for the insurance industry – Now is the time!

ANDREW STEWART andrew@carib101.com

FAMILY ADVISOR

Hello and thank you for reading this article, whether you read my articles regularly or it’s your first time. I want to prelude so you have the proper context for this article. At the time of this writing, I like so many people across the world waited with sweaty palms, a pounding heart, shaky legs, and legit nervousness watching and waiting for a verdict. A verdict that in my opinion, would either propel humanity forward into the inclusiveness we want or backward into chaos. On March 20th, 2021, Derek Chauvin was found guilty of second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and manslaughter in the death of George Floyd. I don’t need to recap what happens because we either saw the video, read, or heard how Derek Chauvin knelt on George Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes during an arrest on May 25th, 2020.

The verdict was covered across almost all communication spectrums. From sports, news, entertainment, music, law and business channels, etc. It didn’t matter what profession, race, gender, religious belief, or economic station you are a part of, this was about the justice system doing the

right thing and an individual being held accountable for his actions.

I’ve asked this question to myself and I’ll ask you. Did this verdict give you any sense of closure or relief? The mere fact that with all the evidence and testifying from his peers and experts, I still had doubt justice would be served. We are at war and fighting for social justice. Everyone deserves equal economic, political, social rights and opportunities. But the reality is that this world is not designed to work that way.

Access to insurance in our society raises significant issues about distributive justice and fairness in the public. Every person has the right to be free from discrimination in insurance in the areas of services, contracts, and employment. In 1992, the Supreme Court of Canada in Bates v. Zurich Insurance encouraged the industry to begin looking more closely at non-discriminatory alternatives in rate setting in the auto industry. It ruled that the insurance industry could continue to use discriminatory criteria such as age and marital status, but that the industry could not do so indefinitely.

Several insurance practices routinely distinguish between people based on, among other things, gender, age, marital status, and disability. For example, an underwriter’s assessment of whether a preexisting condition substantially increases risk is often based on generalized assumptions about how a group behaves and the risk to the insured may be inaccurate in that it relies on stereotypes rather than the

actual circumstances of the case.

When the insurance industry identified workplace stress as a major risk insurers began to limit long-term disability benefits, often to only twenty-four months unless the employee was hospitalized for people with disabilities caused by nervous and mental conditions. That means people with mental disabilities are being treated differently than people with physical disabilities.

It’s very common for employees who are suffering from a mental illness to be denied benefits after twenty-four months but if they had been hospitalized would have been entitled to benefits.

Insurance companies use actuarial data analysis to set premiums and disallowing coverage to individuals considered to be too high risk. The irony is that those same individuals are the ones who need insurance coverage the most. Insurance companies tend to use general medical information concerning a particular condition without considering an individual’s specific circumstances. They overlook both individual behaviour, social programs, financial and family support to persons with disabilities.

This practice of making broad generalizations when assessing an individual’s degree of risk does not achieve the level of social justice and charging of premiums that coincide with the risk. The industry has the technology and the willingness from the public to infuse new approaches for actuarial and cost analyses. Re-evaluate rates, discriminatory classifications.

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SPORTS

Toronto Caribbean News | www.TOCaribNews.com | Wednesday, April 28, 2021

This week in sports European Soccer “Super League” hangs in the balance MARCEL MARIAK marcel@carib101.com

TC JUNIOR REPORTER

Basketball - Kyle Lowry: Champion, All-Star, DOCTOR???

“It ain’t official yet, but when it’s official I will not respond to anything other than Dr. Lowry,” commented a proud Kyle Lowry at a post-game press conference after defeating the Brooklyn Nets. His remark was based on an announcement

by Nova Scotia’s Acadia University that the Raptors point guard would be one of seven people being awarded an honorary doctorate.

Dr. Ricketts, the president and vice-chancellor of Acadia University explained that the institution is honouring Kyle Lowry for how he rallied Canadians during the Raptors’ 2019 championship victory and his role in founding the Lowry Love Foundation with his wife, Ayahna Cornish-Lowry.

Although Kyle isn’t a doctor yet the convocation will be held virtually on May 9th the basketball star has immedi-

ately started enjoying his new title. When asked what kind of doctor he would be, Lowry replied that he would become the “Doctor of Greatness,” even going so far as to jokingly state that he might replace Alex McKechnie, the Raptors’ VP of Player Health and Performance.

With all of the recent Raptors’ madness involving injuries, health issues, and circulating rumours about a potential Lowry trade, it will be incredibly refreshing to have some light-hearted fun and imagine that the Raptors will have a doctor on the court leading the team (does this mean no more injuries??).

Soccer - Futbol Fan Nightmare: European Super League project crashes!

On April 18th, twelve top European soccer clubs made dreams come true for soccer fans around the world when they stated that they would be breaking away from UEFA-governed leagues to start their own competition. They announced the creation of a “European Super League”, where the best teams from the continent would go head-to-head regularly. Gone were the days of waiting for six-months to see two mega-clubs like Barcelona and Real Madrid compete.

Now, these types of showdowns would occur every week -- a soccer fanatic’s paradise.

The 12 teams that announced the league on Sunday were as follows: • Arsenal (English Premier League) • Chelsea (English Premier League) • Liverpool (English Premier League) • Manchester City (English Premier League) • Manchester United (English Premier League) • Tottenham Hotspur (English Premier League) • Atletico Madrid (Spanish LaLiga) • Real Madrid (Spanish LaLiga) • Barcelona (Spanish LaLiga) • AC Milan (Italian Serie A) • Inter Milan (Italian Serie A) • Juventus (Italian Serie A) Despite the joy of soccer fans around the world, the Super League received harsh backlash from UEFA, with the organization stating that the league was a “cynical idea,” and based on self-interest. UEFA even went so far as to threaten to ban participating clubs from performing in UEFA-governed competitions. Despite being harsh, this criticism was unsurprising. After all, an independent league, separate from UEFA and featuring some of the world’s best teams, would directly compete with and likely cripple the UEFA Champions League -- a competition

whose main selling-point is putting the globe’s greatest clubs head-to-head.

Unfortunately, the elation of soccer fans around the world dissipated as quickly as it appeared. With growing tensions between UEFA and the Super League and incessant threats from the former organization clubs began to crack under the pressure. The formation of the Super League took a crushing blow when on April 20th, the six English Premier League clubs backed out of the Super League. The next day, the majority of the remaining Super League clubs also withdrew from the project. The two remaining teams, Real Madrid and Barcelona, have released no statement but the writing is on the wall.

With this sad development, chances of fans ever witnessing the inaugural game of the European Super League have all but gone down the drain. As it stands, the only realistic way for the Super League project to come to fruition would be if a deal was reached between the Super League and UEFA. The settlement would have to balance the interests of both organizations allowing the Super League to perform and be profitable while ensuring the economic stability of UEFA and its competitions, a nearly impossible outcome.