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SIMONE J. SMITH/TORONTO CARIBBEAN “The basic tool for the manipulation of reality is the manipulation of words. If you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use the words” ~ David Icke From the book - Human Race Get Off Your Knees: The Lion Sleeps No More In the 90s, he wrote about the 2008 Banking Crash, The War on Terror, Mi-

cro-chipping, and the Cashless Society.

He has written books around 911, providing evidence to show that the story we were told about that day’s events don’t seem to stand up to research.

As one of the most controversial authors of our time, he has spent thirty years unravelling the secrets of the Universe, reality and the unseen

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forces that manipulate our world. He has shone a light on humanity’s lack of thinking, exposing how the powers that be continue to condition our minds, and control our way of life. He has even gone as far as to expose religion and its use as a tool of control.

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FEATURE

Toronto Caribbean News | www.TOCaribNews.com | Wednesday, August 19, 2020

JANEL CAMPBELL

The Overcomer

“If I gave up, someone else would be telling my story.”

For Evangelist Janel Campbell, life has never been easy. She admits this during our sit down session for the Woman Empowered feature. It is one of the reasons why I wanted to speak with her. Being empowered means that you have become stronger, and more confident, especially in controlling your life and claiming your rights as a human being. It means not submitting to the victim role, even though you are dealing with situations that have made you a victim.

True personal empowerment requires a person to set meaningful goals, identify what they want in life, and to take action to achieve these goals, all the while having an impact on the world around you. I could not find a more fitting description of an empowered individual than Janel Campbell, and because of that, I would like to share her story with you.

“I was born in Clarendon, Jamaica, and I am a country girl at heart. Most of my earliest memories involve struggle. We didn’t have a television. We didn’t have electricity. Shoot! We didn’t even have indoor toilets. We had to figure things out. Everyday was a survival. It’s not just my birthplace, it is where I learned to survive.

I moved to Canada in Grade nine; the year was1991 . When I arrived in Canada, my first home was the city of Scarborough. I attended Agincourt Collegiate, which was a non-semester school. Not too long after, I moved to Brampton, but there were no non-semester schools in Brampton, so I ended up going to a school in Mississauga called Meadowvale Secondary School , and completed my high school career at Bramalea Secondary School.

I did what a lot of students do, and opted to further my education. I went off to University of Windsor, and attended St. Clair College for two years. I graduated with a Sociology Degree, and Criminology minor, from Windsor U, and Law and Security diploma from St. Clair College.”

Janel had a difficult time finding work after she graduated university. “To be honest, the degree did not work. I struggled to get in my field. I struggled to get a job to pay back OSAP. So, I decided to leverage my diploma and get a job in

security. I stayed in this field for two years. I made enough money to go into a business that I was passionate about, the food business.”

With a passion for food, and a love of cooking, Janel opened a restaurant called Jamrock. She was able to nab the perfect restaurant location, and for three years, life was good for Janel. Then the 2009 recession hit, and this changed the course of her life again.

“It was a struggle. I was a single, and I had a young son I had to take care of. I tried to get back into the workforce with my degrees. I started volunteering with United Achievers, as a way to get my foot through the door. I also started working as a lunchroom supervisor at Rowntree Public School.

I remember at that time I had a house, and I couldn’t afford to pay the mortgage I had hit rock bottom, and I needed help, but didn’t know where to go. I had a friend who educated me on how to get back on my feet. I had to go on social assistance for a while. It was there that I learned about the food bank.”

“Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favour to those with knowledge, but time and chance happen to them all.” Ecclesiastes 9:11 Janel started accessing the food bank, and during her time there she learned some life lessons. She encountered people going through her situation and worst. She began to do intake work with the food bank, as a way of giving back.

“I thought to my self, how can I help myself, and also help others. I began studying charities, and how to give back. My problem helped me figure out solutions. I would have loved to have a place where I could have gone to for solutions. This is when it hit me; why not I be the one to implement such a place.”

This was the birth of LMC (Life Management Centre), which later was renamed Emmanuel Life Management Centre. It was a gentleman who told her that Emmanuel meant God. “God is in everything we do. Our community needed a place that had resources for people to help them manage their life. Upon starting this venture, I

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knew that this was truly my purpose.”

Janel shares with me that upon discovering her purpose, her confidence started coming back. Hope started coming back. Purpose was back in her life.

“It fired me up. I became alive again. I was not only able to overcome what I was going through, but I could help those who were and had gone through what I went through. I believe that everyone has a purpose. That purpose is connected to their ministry.

I no longer blamed others for anything.

I was going to be that person who did something for others. My growth was evident in so many areas of my life: emotionally, mentally, financially, spiritually, and physically. I was now in a place where I could pour into others.”

Janel was reminded of a story from her youth, when a woman that she used to go to school with back in Jamaica shared a story. “Remember the time when I came to school, and I didn’t have anything to eat. You fed me. I am not surprised that you are doing what you are doing now.”

Janel has a message to young women out there.

“Don’t give up. Be resilient. As long as we have life, we hope. We need a level of endurance.. You will not die. Your situation will not kill you, it is teaching you how strong your really are.”

Written by Simone J. Smith Toronto Caribbean News

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PAGE 3

A pattern of us being displaced, and our history being replaced look at Black Urbanism TO SIMONE SMITH simone@carib101.com

TC REPORTER

Anyone who is of West Indian descent and used to frequent Eglinton West has to admit; you miss it!

You miss the spirit of Eglinton, and how it was a reflection of the colourful street life of many of our islands.

This is the place where Caribbeans from all over the GTA would purchase their daily needs, while others would leisurely gather, and salivate over the smell of jerk chicken on open grills. The distinct sound of Patois, and the soothing sounds of the latest reggae hit or dancehall tune, blasting from outdoor speakers took some of us back to simpler times.

To think, the place that we have grown up with and love is in danger of disappearing. Our Little Jamaica has become cultural wasteland due to powerful forces putting pressure on the community from all sides. Something has to be done.

Romain Baker (BUTO), Dane Gardener-Williams (BUTO), Anyika Mark (BUTO), Elizabeth Antczak (OACC), Mona Dai (OACC), Samuel Ganton (OACC), and Tura Wilso (URSA), have worked with the community to put together a report, that if the city listens, there is an opportunity to shift the disastrous path Little Jamaica is heading in.

Toronto speaks about the cultural mosaic that the city is. If the city stands by its word, then it must dedicate the material resources and adopt the equity-focused approaches necessary to ensure that Little Jamaica and other culturally distinct neighbourhoods are protected against gentrification.

The report “A BLACK BUSINESS CONVERSATION ON PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE OF BLACK BUSINESSES AND RESIDENTS ON EGLINTON AVE W,” is a product of a collaboration between Black Urbanism Toronto, Urban Rural & Suburban Architecture, (URSA), the Open Architecture Collaborative

Canada (OACC), and allied community members and activists. It was published July 2020, and addresses the erosion of trust that: the Eglinton Hill BIA, Fairbank Village BIA and York-Eglinton BIA should begin working towards rebuilding with businesses, and residents of this community.

Business owners are concerned about the challenges of further gentrification, cultural erasure, and disruptive construction because of future development. I had an opportunity to speak with Romain Baker, and Anyika Mark about the work that their teams are doing.

“We realized there was a huge gap with the development of our neighbourhood,” Romain begins. “ Developers are coming in buying up land in the black community and displacing them.

We are seeing this now on Eglinton West. The entire area has been disrupted. I live in the neighbourhood, and I had an opportunity to speak with owners, and they have no idea what is going on.

A lot of people do not realize the historical significance of Eglinton West. There seems to be a pattern of us being displaced, and our history being replaced. Our history always seems to be in the context of slavery, and oppression. It has bearing on us today, and it is hard to identify our triumphs. We have to change the narrative.

We want to be intentional about the space; we have to be intentional.

We want to build communities that we are proud of. Eglinton has survived because the businesses have supplied the Afro-Caribbean Community. The developers are looking at changing the look and feel of the area. (Eglinton Connects Plan). They were not planning to keep the cultural feel of the neighbourhood.

We need to be able to articulate our concerns, our vision.”

I then had a chance to speak with Anyika, who I have interacted with before. She is assistant to MP Jill Andrews, as well as a writer and playwright.

“I am passionate about the work that they are doing. I have been doing this for two years. I was seeing this consistent pattern of the larger corporations infiltrating our communities and displacing us. We are trying to preserve

and maintain the culture.

The developers want to push people out, and build condos. We are not making it as easy as they thought it was going to be. We have to feel ourselves in the area. The city has stopped caring about Eglinton West, but thankfully, there are community members who are very passionate about bringing the cultural back to the area.

Unfortunately, it looks like we are on our own with this one. The community needs compensation. We are going to have to build this as a community. We have started a GoFund Me page (Black Business Grants for Toronto’s Eglinton West), with the hopes of raising $600,000 to rebuild the area.

“What can be done in the mean time by the people who care about the community?” I queried.

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“On the ground activism,” Anyika tells me. “Come to Eglinton. Shop on Eglinton. It is still the exact same vibe.

WE have to support the area. We completely understand; parking is difficult to find, and there are limited pedestrian areas than before. It is frustrating to navigate, but imagine how frustrating it is for our business owners. The least we can do is continue to support them.

Also, we cannot neglect businesses down by Keele and Eglinton. We have to pay attention to them as well.

They are feeling the pain and dealing with a lot of the same struggles.”

You heard them. The only way to truly preserve this area is to show support. So just like how you used to head down there to get all of your Caribbean favourites, plan your day out, and take the trek to Eglinton West.

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PAGE 4

NEWS

Toronto Caribbean News | www.TOCaribNews.com | Wednesday, August 19, 2020

Are you looking to discover a stronger version of yourself?

6 Days of Your Health Summit might be your answer SIMONE SMITH simone@carib101.com

TC REPORTER

“COVID-15! What the hell is COVID-15?”

Mo burst out laughing, and we continued laughing for about three minutes.

I was again dialoguing with another successful entrepreneur, who has utilized the pandemic as a platform to reach personal success goals, and to motivate others. The pandemic did not sway certified Personal Trainer, and Host of Health Your Own Way Podcast, Mo Akins. Instead she observed what was happening on a global scale, and decided that she was going to do what she could to help out.

“I decided to do a health podcast that talks about a variety of topics: mental health, sexual health, business health, financial health, physical health, and spiritual awareness health. As a personal trainer, I am asked a lot of questions, not all that I have answers to, so I decided to create a platform that would provide answers.

Health Your Own Way has been a journey for me. Although I am providing answers for my clients, I have been learning so much along the way. I realize that with

knowledge, people can make informed choices about how to live healthier live. It has helped me understand my clients better, and provide support for them.”

When Mo saw the impact her podcast was having, she saw the pandemic as an excellent time to present what she was learning to a large audience.

“When Corona hit, I was seeing the societal devastation: mental health issues were on the rise, people were gaining that COVID-15, relationships were deteriorating.

It was not a good time. That is what queued me. I knew that it was time to do this.

I came up with the idea of 6 Days of Your Health Virtual Summit. I saw it as a way to help people discover how to become stronger versions of themselves. In six days, I present 36 phenomenal professional panellists, all there to help attendees learn how to break through challenges that they are facing. The goal is to help people create the life that they deserve. The great thing is that the summit is absolutely free, with no strings attached. This summit is worth about $1,500, and it is completely free.”

For readers who are interested about what they are in store for, below is a layout of the topics that will be examined:

Sunday, August 23rd 2020 Sexual Health and Education Panel Unfortunately, the topic of sexual health is not discussed as much as it should be. How sexually healthy are you? What does sexual health look like for you?

“I really want people to take advantage of this free event,” Mo tells me. “We actually have an all access VIP pass that gives guests an all-inclusive ticket to the event. The VIP pass will allow you to ask additional questions to our 36 outstanding guests.

Monday, August 24th, 2020 Spiritual Alternative Health Panel During the pandemic, people were taking the time to get in touch with themselves, and many have turned to alternative medicine. How does living an alternative lifestyle look like for you?

Something that I do not want to do is forget our amazing sponsorship team:

Saturday, August 22nd, 2020 Mental Health Panel This pervasive, and prevalent topic is not going anywhere. More and more people are focusing on their mental health, and sometimes, you just need to hear something that will help steer you in the right direction.

Thursday, August 27th, 2020 Physical Health That dreaded COVID-15. From what I have heard, it could be called COVID-20, or even COVID-30. How do you get rid of that additional weight in a healthy way? How can you then start practicing a balanced lifestyle?

Tuesday, August 25th, 2020 Business Health Digital transformations; what are you missing? How did you look at your business plan before Covid-19? Certain questions needed to be answered.

Wednesday, August 26th, 2020 Financial Health How financially healthy are you? Did you have at least three months living expenses saved before COVID-19 hit? If not, how do you prepare yourself better knowing that in life, anything can happen?

• • • • • •

Tegemea (Virtual Business Support) (tegemea.com) It’s Souper (itssouper.com) Fitin (fitin.io) Steps2Grow Consulting (steps2growconsulting.com) Progressive Health and Fitness (progressivehealthandfitness.net) Kicking with Kara (kickingwithkara.com)

It is with their help that this summit is going to be such a success. I invite the entire community to join us starting Saturday, August 22nd, 2020 as we launch the first ever 6 Days of your Health Summit.”

“How do I watch the summit you ask? Simply visit us at www.6daysofyourhealthsummit.com”

P.S. - COVID-15, or Quarantine 15, happens to be the extra weight that has been put on because we were stress baking, stress eating, and not working out. Don’t worry; the summit will help take care of all of that.

NEWS

Wednesday, August 19, 2020 | www.TOCaribNews.com | Toronto Caribbean News

PAGE 5

For the love of literature; Toronto Urban Book Expo da) - “Notability: Bringing Black Books to Durham Region�

Wilmont ST. CYR (Spooner’s Hill, Barbados) - “Greetings from Barbados�

JONELL PANTLITZ

•

TC JR. REPORTER

According to founder Stacey Marie Robinson. “We are writers, but we also happen to live in the city. We got stories to tell and other things we are interested in. It’s a different vibe. It’s not like a library vibe, not like a school vibe. This is an urban-like a city vibe.

There’s going to be music playing. There’s going to be food cooking. It’s going to have that city feel, but you will be able also to learn something and buy some books and talk to some great authors.�

Jameel Davis Board of Directors also spoke, “Local writers have an opportunity to express themselves, their art, and their creative work because you never know when a reader is going to walk into this event, pick up your book, and what power they have for getting your book out there to other readers.�

The inspiration behind creating a platform such as TUBE arose when Stacey Marie Robinson had taken trips to Huston, Texas, to understand how independent authors were selling their books. She discovered in 2010, that Texas had a National Black Book Festival, which was one of the biggest in the country. From there, she knew there needed to be something similar in Toronto.

“For me to be a part of the event was another wonderful year for us being able to give back. Authors, particularly black Canadian authors in Toronto, don’t necessarily have a platform, so I love that Stacey when ahead and created TUBE, which is a wonderful platform that allows our voices and our stories out there.� said Angelot Ndongmo (Board of Directors).

There is also a new book coming out for all of our book lovers, “Completely Naked,� by Jameel Davis. The book will be ready for purchase by next year. It’s said to be a compelling and powerful book, especially since Jameel’s inspiration for his books comes from his own experiences. He mentioned that,

“Being a black man in America provokes my thoughts for writing. TUBE is highly essential for new writers are well as current writers because people are always looking to read new work. You never know who will be inspired by your story.�

More information about authors and TUBE can be found on Kya Publishing’s Blog.

jonell@carib101.com

“We do it for the love of literature and the celebration and encouragement of literacy.� ~ Robinson Toronto Urban Book Expo (TUBE) returned to the city in the spring of 2020.

This literary event began in 2014 in association with the Toronto Public Library, and has since hosted nearly 100 independent and published writers, community organizations, and provided the opportunity for local book lovers to purchase original literature, as well as meet with a range of authors from Toronto and across the U.S.

Toronto Urban Book Expo has posted a modified version of their Writers’ Retreat and Conference highlighting writers scheduled to present at the event. The expectation is for their voices (and books) to be used as tools for enlightenment and inspiration.

Some of the authors who participated in the event are: • Angela Walcott (Toronto, Canada) - “Reflectionsâ€? • Angelot Ndongmo (Toronto, Canada) “Nurturing our Black Children Through Literatureâ€? • D.A. Bourne (Toronto, Canada) – “Growing Up Black in Canada: “Silence is not a Stanceâ€? • DJ Majesty (Toronto, Ontario) - “All Toronto Hip Hop Tribute Mixâ€? • Isabel Hunt (Toronto, Canada) - “What does it mean to be Black and have a mental illness?â€? • Jameel Davis (Cleveland, USA) - “Greetings from the Toronto Urban Book Expo Board of Directorsâ€? • Jeffrey Cheatham II (Seattle, USA) “Greetings from Seattleâ€? • Kamilah Haywood (Toronto, Canada) “The Crumbling of a Systemâ€? • Osagyefo McGregor of Kareative Interlude (Toronto, Canada) “The Power of the Press: Aligned for Successâ€? • Mutendei Nabtete (Nairobi, Kenya) “The Role of the Writers of Africa & African Descentâ€? • Stacey Marie Robinson (Toronto, Cana-

All their virtual presentations are on www.kyapublishing.com/tube2020.html

CANADA’S LEADING CARIBBEAN NEWSPAPER Selina McCallum TC REPORTER selina@carib101.com

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The statements, opinions and viewpoints made or expressed by the writers do not necessarily represent the opinions and views of the Toronto Caribbean, or the publishers. Toronto Caribbean News Inc. assumes no responsibility or liability for claims, statements, opinions or views, written or reported by its contributing writers, including product or service information that is advertised.

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Wednesday, August 19, 2020 | www.TOCaribNews.com | Toronto Caribbean News

OYA emerging filmmakers enhances young black filmmakers by providing countless opportunities SELINA McCALLUM salina@carib101.com

TC REPORTER

If you’re a journalist or a creative you probably have been asked once in your life, “But are there any jobs in that field still?”

And if you are like me, you were annoyed by that question because you know that no job, no matter what field, is just going to fall into your lap (unless you have connections). Now, bring being black into the mix, and it becomes even more challenging when looking for internships and trying to gain experience.

After I graduated from the University of Windsor with a double degree in Digital Journalism and Communications, Media and Film, I was applying for many jobs in the film and journalism industry but didn’t hear back.

After I met Simone Jennifer Smith and learned about the TCN TV Network in Brampton, I had an interview to become the Production Manager of TCN TV Network in Brampton and got the job. During my time there, I produced several online talk shows. However, my knowledge of other young directors, producers, and screenwriters was still very limited.

I came across OYA Media Group through the Being Black in Canada documentary program by the Fabienne Colas Foundation. The OYA Media Group was founded and operated by Alison Duke and Ngardy Conteh George, who are committed to the ongoing support, education and promotion of young black filmmakers.

The Oya Emerging Filmmakers Program (formally known as Black Youth!

Pathway to Industry) is a three-year initiative that provides twenty post-secondary graduated black youth per year, networking, mentoring, essential skills training alongside industry pros and creative partnerships with Tiff Education, Regent Parks Film Festival Live it to Learn it, NABET 700_M Unifor, VTape, Charles Street Video, LIFT and Trinity Square Video.

Being a part of the second cohort was absolutely amazing and eye-opening. I was able to meet and work with other talented, young and black creatives across the city. I participated in film workshops, one even facilitated by Director X. I was also able to learn of opportunities within the film industry for people of colour specifically or open to all.

Another participant in the second cohort with me got the opportunity to work on a Netflix set.

“They have all these great workshops that these filmmakers and creatives are able to work in. As well as giving a lot of opportunities outside just workshops.

For me, I was able to work on a Netflix set.

I was also able to work on a Tim Hortons commercial,” said Yasmin.

Just as I was excited about Director X facilitating a workshop on his music

videos and films, so was another one of my peers in the program.

“We watch music videos all the time but having an actual director like Director X come in and able to see the process from start to finish. He showed us breakdowns and how he’d pitch music videos to artists and the labels. It was really informative to see the entire process from start to finish,” said Akash.

OYA makes a point of employing emerging black youth in their original productions such as ‘Mr. Jane and Finch’ and encourages producers to hire black youth in projects they direct such as ‘Cool Black North’. This mandate is in place to change the widespread anti-black racism in the industry and unconscious belief that quality is compromised when you make diversity a choice.

For the participants in the second year of the program, we had the opportunity to make a film as the program was coming to an end. I was the Director of Photography and Editor for the film, Confessions, directed and written by Kristen Lambie. I was able to work with a professional producer on set to make Lambie’s film come to life.

This year Canadian Screen Award Winning Director Alicia K. Harris will be the Program’s Filmmaker in Residence.

Alicia will be working with year 3 Participants to create an original Digital Web series produced within the program.

OYA’s program also provides opportunities for youth to direct exciting original content with industry professionals. Last year the Fabienne Colas Foundation in collaboration with the Toronto Black Film Festival teamed up with the Oya Emerging Filmmakers Program to provide production mentorship to six youth to produce and direct their own short documentary. The doc program called ‘Being Black in Toronto’ aims to change old narratives and expand beyond one-dimensional portrayals of the black community.

All of the short documentaries were screened at the foundation’s film festivals in Toronto, Halifax and Montreal and festivals throughout North America.

The series will premiere on CBC’s Absolutely Canada in late August, or early September.

Participants interested in joining go through a rigorous selection process every year. OYA will introduce their twenty-one cohorts for year 3 next month as well as a slate of new partnerships including xoTO, Insight Productions, the juggernaut TV production company which produces the Juno Awards, The Amazing Race Canada and Big Brother Canada to name a few. OYA is also teamed up with commercial production companies as well as with WIFT-T for a new paid internship initiative.

Being a part of the OYA Emerging Filmmakers Program helped me enhance my career as a Director of Photography, expanded my network of black filmmakers in Ontario and overall gave me the experience and opportunities that I could have never found anywhere else. It is a program that I strongly recommend for black youth seeking to have a future in the film industry.

NEWS

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Toronto Caribbean News | www.TOCaribNews.com | Wednesday, August 19, 2020

A two-fold approach to looking at Conspiracy Theories SIMONE SMITH simone@carib101.com

TC REPORTER

Continued From Page 1 -- Whether it is in an interview, or reading one of his books, the information that this man delivers is necessary to open entirely new ways of thinking and perceiving reality.

What is interesting is that what was once ridiculed and dismissed as nonsense, is now being confirmed again, and again.

Could it be that this man is way ahead of his time?

For 30 years, David Icke has been warning people to look deeper into how the world works. He has done so by writing prolific literature that some have written off as “conspiracy theories,” (we will discuss that in a bit). Some of his more popular books include: • • • • • • •

Days of Decision (1993) And the truth shall set your free (1995) The Biggest Secret: The Book That Will Change the World (1998) Perception and Deception (2013) Everything you need to know, but have never been told (2017) The Trigger: The Lie that Changed the World (2019) The Answer (2020)

A running theme in his literature is that the human race is controlled, and that we are quick to acquiesce. This no fault of our own, but it is something that we all need to be aware of. It is the only way that we can take our power back. In his book “The Biggest Secret: The Book that will Change the World,” he highlights the fact that when we give our minds and our responsibility away, we give our lives away, and this is what we have been doing throughout human history. It is exactly why the few have always controlled

the masses. “The foundation of that control has always been the same; keep the people in ignorance, fear and at war with themselves. Divide, rule and conquer while keeping the most important knowledge to yourself.”

“The greatest prison people live in, is the fear of what other people think.” ~ David Icke In the last few weeks, I have had the opportunity to dialogue with highly elevated minds: Robert Kennedy Jr., David Icke, and my most recent one, which you will soon hear all about, Dr.Buttar. All of these men have been labelled as conspiracy theorists, and for that reason, they have been censored, ridiculed, and called hacks. The terminology “conspiracy theory” has an interesting origin, and in my upcoming feature of Dr. Buttar, we will go into that terminology a little more.

Many of the conspiracy theories are quickly dismissed as a product of human imagination. Conspiracies can be two-fold: they either harm or help someone. Sometimes it is difficult to see which side of the fold you are being exposed to, and for that reason, it is important that as media consumers we research diligently, and remain open to hearing two sides of a story.

The existence of conspiracies should not be doubted. The very nature of political action is covert in nature. It has been widely estimated that 80% of political decisions are made behind closed doors, away from the public eye. Armed with this knowledge, we as a community have to open our eyes to the possibility that political actors around the world might just have used the pandemic as an excuse to control information.

“Please don’t believe anything that I’ve written in this book unless it feels right to you.” ~ David Icke, Everything You Need to Know But Have Never Been Told Science will tell you that radio, television, the Internet, or any other electromagnetic carrier can be used to carry a

signal that will influence the behaviour of people who are in close proximity of that signal. During my interview with David Icke, we spoke in depth about the psychological warfare that has been launched on our sub-conscious. Many of us are programmed, and we don’t even know it. This programming begins from the moment we sit in our elementary school class. We are told when we can speak, when we can use the washroom, when we can communicate with others, and when we can leave. It is no wonder that many of us end up in jobs that we hate, just because of our programming.

What the mainstream media has done, and Dave goes into detail on this in the interview, is to keep people in a constant state of worry, agitation, and fear. When we are in these states we can’t think clearly. The part of the brain that controls emotions is called the amygdala.

It is a collection of cells near the base of the brain. This is where emotions are given meaning, remembered, and attached to associations and responses to them.

These are our emotional memories.

When we are triggered into a fearful state, it is impossible to reach a higher state of awareness. Fear is one of our number one adversaries, and the only way to conquer this adversary is to open oneself up to knowledge. This means being aware of your biases and challenging them.

We know that there is a chance that they may try to block our interview with David Icke. We know this because they have systematically taken down any interview he does that goes against the mainstream message and causes people to think.

In April 2020, YouTube removed an interview with Mr Icke in which he said there “Is a link between 5G and this health crisis.” In May 2020, The Centre for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) published an open letter calling on tech companies to ban Mr Icke’s accounts. The letter said Amazon, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube had amplified “Icke’s racism and misinformation about COVID-19 to millions of people.”

A spokeswoman for YouTube made this statement to BBC: “We have clear policies that prohibit videos promoting medically unsubstantiated methods to prevent the coronavirus in place of seeking medical treatment, and we quickly remove videos violating these policies when flagged to us. Now any content that disputes the existence or transmission of COVID-19, as described by the WHO [World Health Organization] and local health authorities are in violation of YouTube policies. This includes conspiracy theories which claim that the symptoms are caused by 5G.” Alice Walker, the beloved activist and author of The Colour Purple, also went under fire for promoting David Icke. On her personal website, she made herself very clear, “I do believe he is brave enough to ask the questions others fear to ask, and to speak his own understanding of the truth wherever it might lead. Many attempts have been made to censor and silence him. As a woman, and a person of colour, as a writer who has been criticized and banned myself, I support his right to share his own thoughts.”

Again, I want to remind the readers of my remarks regarding conspiracy theories and that they are two-fold. Why is it that we have to take what the WHO says as truth, and disregard what science is telling us? What I find interesting is that when I was listening to Icke, he spoke about certain topics that were eerily similar to topics that were talked about in my interviews with Robert Kennedy Jr., and Dr. Buttar. These interviews were not staged, yet for some reason, certain messages were consistent.

I encourage readers to take a look at the video that accompanies this article. What I didn’t want to do is rehash the interview. I do not want to put my own spin on things, I want the community to take the time to research outside their comfort zone and take from the interview what feels right for them.

Watch the full interview TorontoCaribbean.com/DavidIcke

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Toronto Caribbean News | www.TOCaribNews.com | Wednesday, August 19, 2020

Call for Federal recognition of Emancipation Day PAUL JUNOR

paul@carib101.com

TC REPORTER

The celebration of Emancipation Day on August 1st, 2020 has brought a chorus of calls across Canada for official recognition of it by the Canadian government.

Nova Scotia’s Senator Wanda Thomas has been working tirelessly for years to gain federal recognition of this day as a national holiday. In 2018, she introduced a private member’s bill in the Senate but it was unfortunately dropped.

She has not given up and is persistent in achieving this goal.

On August 1st,2020, CBC News in

a report titled, “N.S senator calls for Canada to officially recognize Emancipation Day,” highlights her work. “From coast to coast, we could pause and recognize Emancipation Day, and use it as a time to remember, use it as a time to reflect and use it as a time to commit to action.” She carefully informed Canadians that aside from the celebratory aspect of Emancipation Day, it is an invocation to continue to fight because of the prevalence of everyday racism and violence. Even if the federal government does not recognize it, she is asking Canadians to recognize it nationwide.

In the House of Commons in Ottawa, Member of Parliament, Manid Jocohari introduced in a motion calling for Emancipation Day to be recognized across Canada. Unfortunately, it did not occur because of COVID-19 but she is persistent that she will follow through with it hopefully in the fall. “Even when that hap-

pens, that’s just one part of the equation.

Reparations are important. An apology is important. These are things that have never happened.”

On August 1st, 2020, there were several marches, protests and demonstrations that were held across Canada.

In Vancouver, there was the official recognition of August 1st as Emancipation Day, which is the first city outside Ontario to do so. Ontario has recognized this day provincially since 2008.

At the suggestion of Brampton City Councillor Charmaine Williams, Dixie 407 Sports Park has been renamed Emancipation Park This was endorsed at the July 8th, 2020 meeting by all the members of council. Ms Williams states, “To the best of my knowledge it is the first Emancipation Park anywhere in Canada. I look forward to seeing more initiatives that increase our historical understandings of the roots of anti-black racism, as we work

to tear down the barriers that hold back human potential.”

Annamie Paul (a Green Party leadership candidate), and her sister Ngozi Paul started an online petition. It states,

“Today as we mark Emancipation Day, we call in the Government of Canada to make 2020 the last year that this important event in the history of Canada goes unrecognized. We the undersigned citizens and residents of Canada call upon the Government of Canada to proclaim August 1st, as Emancipation Day, and to celebrate it on that day each year.”

The petition is a “Call for Recognition of Emancipation Day in Canada.” It can be found at petitions.ourcommons. ca. It has been open for signatures since July 23rd, 2020 and will be used for signatures on August 22nd, 2020. Further information can be obtained at annamiepaul. ca.

RIU Hotel in Montego Bay hires 35 foreign contractors: What about unemployed Jamaican citizens?

JANIECE CAMPBELL janiece@carib101.com

TC REPORTER

As the rest of the world, Jamaica has been attempting to combat the economic crisis that COVID-19 brought along. Tourism, an enormous sector that rakes in billions in revenue, was put to an abrupt halt due to lengthy unprecedented border closures.

It’s been reported that approximately 75% (about 120,000 workers) of the country’s tourist sector had become unemployed.

With that being said, it’s been recently brought to our attention that there has been a huge job opportunity in the country… only, it’s not being offered to its citizens. We received this message from a concerned worker regarding this questionable matter:

“Jamaicans are out of work and the government is importing workers.

This is unacceptable, I have many workers in Central St. James who need jobs NOW!

Thirty-five labourers from the Do-

minican Republic arrived in Jamaica, via Montego Bay yesterday by way of private aircraft, to work as carpenters, plumbers, masons, tilers et al, at the RIU hotel now under refurbishment in Montego Bay.

These workmen who came into our island, to work on a foreign owned hotel, were furnished with Jamaican work permits, while hundreds of our skilled labourers cannot find a job in Jamaica.

The whole idea of getting overseas hotels was not only that they will attract another type of visitor to our shores, but that in the construction phase of the hotel as well as in the refurbishing phase of the property, skilled Jamaican craftsmen would benefit from the work to be done on the hotel.”

Indeed, quite a head-scratcher.

For a country that requested emergency financing from the International Monetary Fund (a bill of $520 million, to be exact) for recovery efforts and supporting vulnerable individuals, it’s a puzzling question as to why their national people weren’t prioritized. What’s even more jarring is the second part of this message:

“Now, when they came in, there was no interpreter at the airport to assist the health team in their interviews.

Neither was there any evidence that that the passengers had been tested [for CO-

VID-19] before coming to Jamaica.

Now they are free to roam or infect whomever they wish, because we cannot stop them from roaming across the island. The Dominican Republic has nearly 54,000 infections, nearly 1,000 deaths, according to a running tally of the US-based Johns Hopkins University.

Yesterday, Dominican Republic’s President Danilo Medina declared a state of emergency for 45 days due to an increase in coronavirus cases. The decision came as new spikes in coronavirus cases have been recorded countrywide following the reopening process to facilitate tourism.

The order, which was approved

by Congress, took effect today for a period of 20 days then it will be reviewed based on the epidemiological evolution of COVID-19 in the country.”

Fact check on this one: as of August 12th, 2020, the Dominican Republic actually has 82,224 confirmed cases and 1,371 deaths. With Jamaica having just over 1,000 cases and a miniscule 14 deaths, these statistics are extremely alarming.

Jamaica’s Ministry of Labour and Social Security released a statement on this issue. To sum it up, they confirmed that 34 of the 35 enlisted workers had

been employed to Clima Insular Caribe Ltd, a maintenance company contracted by the RIU Hotel. The press release claims that these chosen individuals have a keen expertise in a range of services such as air conditioning, air duct repairs and underwater welding. They conclude with a promise that this project will provide employment for approximately 400 Jamaicans. They did not address where the workers had arrived from or why unemployed Jamaican labourers were not the first to be sought out.

In recent months, Jamaica majorly invested in its tourism sector with the debut of a free online training program for workers negatively affected by the virus.

A program that received over 6,500 registrants within its first few days of launching, it’s clear that people in the country are searching for work and are effectively preparing themselves for when it’s time to return to normalcy. While it seems as sort of a slap-in-the-face to bring in foreign labourers, are they doing right by the country by creating more jobs?

We’ve personally reached out to Jamaica’s Ministry of Labour and Security and they have not responded to our requests for comment.

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Wednesday, August 19, 2020 | www.TOCaribNews.com | Toronto Caribbean News

NEWS

PAGE 11

Indigenous, tribal, and the first of its kind; new reality series Dancehall Divas SIMONE SMITH simone@carib101.com

TC REPORTER

“They represent the true immigrant story.

Dancehall is your social identity. When you have made it, you floss on the dancehall.”

In the world of dancehall, there is music, the vibes, the culture, and then, there is the lifestyle. For those who make it to the top of this cultural creation, they enter an influential space, and with the help of social media, dancehall has gained international popularity.

Dancehall has become a survival strategy for many Jamaicans who come from tough situations, and has served as an alternative to a life of crime. For those who enter this culture, the main motivation as dancehall entertainers, is the hope of creating a better life.

On September 10th, 2020, a new series will explode onto the scene featuring the lifestyle and interactions of six women from different parts of the world, representing the indigenous dancehall lifestyle.

Dancehall Divas is an experience of the elaborate, hyperbolic nature of women in the dancehall scene. Their lifestyles are entertaining, riddled with swag, drama, and grit.

I had the opportunity to sit down with Heather Elliot-Whitehead, the creative mind behind Dancehall Divas. She is already flipping the script and breaking barriers as the first dancehall-centred reality show of its

kind.

“This is a project that has taken over my world in some ways,” Heather shares with me. “I am an attorney outside of all of this, and I also own a PR firm in New York called Elliot Care Group. We work with prominent people of colour, who exist in the political sphere, film industry, and sports realm.

It is entirely self-funded, which makes it is such an undertaking. I decided to just wing it on my own, hoping it would catch the eye of a network, and they say, Hey! Let’s do it.”

The Dancehall Divas project started in Toronto in May of 2018. Heather had been invited to a party by the one and only Lady Hilly (Mother of Toronto Dancehall), and what she saw sparked her creative mind.

“What I saw at the Banquet Hall Party was so cinematic. My thoughts were, I couldn’t leave the banquet hall without getting this on television. I decided that I would get a group of Toronto women who are front and centre of Toronto dancehall, and make some magic. Toronto after all is one of the most prolific dancehall cities in North America.”

The show stars six stunning women, each with their own unique story: Danielle D.I She is a reggae artist, born and raised in Kingston, Jamaica. “I am such a warm person, but I can be the biggest bitch if I want to be.”

Simma (Simone Smikle) (UK) Rap artist, singer and songwriter, Sim Simma is a fresh face, with a gritty sound.

Asoya Juicee Bunny (Toronto) A Toronto based rapper/actress who recently dropped a single titled Wine Up in January 2020.

Sexii Peppa Clarendon native Ochanna Spencer is a budding dancehall artiste working her way up in the music game.

Barbie Dolley She went from being a nobody, to the most popular promoter in two years.

She is the mother of seven children, and she was pregnant with twins while shooting the pre-season.

Sky Hollywood Straight from New York City, she is a celebrity host, entrepreneur, microdermabrasion expert, and owner of MedSpa I could only imagine what it must have been like working with all of these personalities, so I questioned Heather about some of the difficulties that she had when filming.

“After a year or so, it was not taking off the way I wanted it to. I had to make some cast changes because I wanted to make this concept diverse. These ladies are from all parts of the world: London, Jamaica, New York, but despite their differences, we are a very tight group.

One of the most difficult tasks was getting the crew vested in understanding the vision. I have a really good filming team from the Toronto Film School. They didn’t understand the culture, but they still did a good job. I did some development training with the girls, and we had to fly everyone in to Toronto. I put a lot of money into the quality. It is just like Love & Hip Hop. We wanted to make sure people like the qual-

ity.”

“How did your team deal with the pandemic? I know that it has had an affect on the filming of movies and shows.”

“We never stopped working,” Heather shares with me. “I got into gear. I got the new cast together. We wanted to go to every city that the girls live, but we had to rethink what we were doing when COVID hit. I observed how other production companies were handling the pandemic, and I made the decision to do a preview season. I figured, we have enough to do five episodes 30 minutes each. We didn’t want to wait any longer. We all see this as a blessing in disguise.”

“Alright!” I questioned. “What makes this series so unique, and what should people expect?”

“DRAMA, DRAMA, DRAMA! There is also a lot of soul, and a lot of heart. There is so much more to these women then arguing. They share their pain, their personal situations.

Other reality shows are westernized. This is indigenous and tribal, and the first of this kind. This distinguishes us from the rest of the shows. We are the one and only. We have a Podcast, which was rated Top 15% in Canada. Stories that are told on the podcast (Dancehall Divas), are also shared in the show.”

This first pre-season will introduce the Dancehall Divas to the world. It will intimately take viewers on a trip through the lives of these women. You can visit the Diva’s website (www.dancehalldivas.tv) for biographies, media information, premiere dates, network, and streaming options. You can find them on CEEN Caribbean TV, and Amazon Prime (in October).

PAGE 12

NEWS

Toronto Caribbean News | www.TOCaribNews.com | Wednesday, August 19, 2020

Canada’s largest corporate mental health initiative commits $5 million to diversity fund JANIECE CAMPBELL janiece@carib101.com

TC REPORTER

Renowned telecommunications company, Bell, has dedicated a lot of time and money towards creating positive changes and supporting mental health across Canada.

Bell Let’s Talk, an awareness campaign created by the company, was inaugurated in 2011 to combat stigma surrounding mental illness. Originally beginning as a five-year $50 million commitment, the program has been renewed twice. This year, they have dedicated a further five years with a target goal of $155 million for action in mental health care, research and workplace health.

Recently, the campaign announced their latest initiative, ‘Bell Let’s Talk Diversity Fund’, a $5 million pledge to

support the mental health and well-being of Black, Indigenous and People of Colour (BIPOC) communities across the country.

The newly implemented fund is intended to build on earlier funds to address the needs of these marginalized communities and has a strengthened focus on supporting initiatives that increase access to mental health services.

“Working with expert advisors and partners, the Bell Let’s Talk Diversity Fund will offer grants to organizations working to make a positive and lasting difference for BIPOC communities in every region of the country,” said Mary Deacon, Chair of Bell Let’s Talk. “As our mental health initiative evolves, Bell Let’s Talk continues to embrace new opportunities to deliver culturally informed community supports addressing the mental health needs of racialized Canadians.”

The fund will award grants of up to $250,000 payable over 3-5 years to organizations that offer culturally informed and evidence-based mental health and wellness programs for BIPOC communities. In its initial launch on July 30th, Black Youth Helpline was one of the first organizations to receive the generous grant.

“With funding from Bell Let’s Talk, Black Youth Helpline will build on its successful history of services and resources to promote access to professional and culturally appropriate support for youth,” said Barbara Thompson, Founder and Executive Director of Black Youth Helpline. “Now more than ever, the importance of having mental health supports and services available to black youth across Canada is crucial.”

The National Association of Friendship Centers (NAFC) was another organization that had received an inaugural donation from the campaign.

“The National Association of Friendship Centres is excited to begin a partnership with Bell Let’s Talk to support the mental health and well-being of urban Indigenous communities,” said Jocelyn Formsma, Executive Director of NAFC. “We are thrilled that this funding will help to ensure our communities have access to culturally-specific mental health supports.”

This is nowhere near the first time that Bell has offered its charitable efforts.

Just earlier this year, Bell Let’s Talk announced that it would be providing $5 million in funding for organizations remotely

delivering mental health support amid the COVID-19 crisis. The funding helped five organizations support people experiencing isolation, anxiety and other existing challenges during these past difficult months.

“The biggest public health crisis in a lifetime, COVID-19 demands an unprecedented response across every part of Canadian society, including finding new ways to accelerate the delivery of mental health services in such a challenging time,” said President and CEO of Bell, Mirko Bibic, in a press release.

The Diversity Fund is now accepting expressions of interest until September 14th. Canadian registered charities, nonprofit organizations and community organizations are all eligible for consideration.

“Bell has taken a strong stance against racism and social injustice and we’re taking meaningful action to address the impacts of systemic racism on Black, Indigenous and People of Colour within our company and across our communities,” said Bibic.

For more information about the Bell Let’s Talk Diversity Fund, send an email to mentalhealth@bell.ca.

Summer is ripe, and culture is flowing at Shelburne’s Multicultural Day MICHAEL THOMAS michael@carib101.com

TC REPORTER

Like many events in the world during this time, Shelburne Multicultural Day has decided to go virtual.

This cultural event has lots to offer and does not want the public, and the community to be left out. This year’s event will feature: art, poetry, foods from a variety of cultures, artists, and live recorded performances of entertainers, recipes, vendors showcasing their work, and much more all taking place for the entire month of August.

Shelburne Multicultural Day is an

inaugural event meant to showcase cultural diversity in the community. This very popular event offers visitors an opportunity to enjoy arts, crafts, and foods from the residents and businesses in Shelburne.

Now in its 3rd year, this multicultural event has a proven track record of bringing the Shelburne community together as well as the rest of the county.

This event has become purposeful in many ways: • Breaking barriers of communication • Building and connecting a community where people would be proud to be a part of • Creating new business opportunities to cater to the community’s cultural needs • Helping current businesses know how to cater for the community’s needs • Educating our younger generation on different cultures of the world and allowing them to show their creativity • Opening the door for future growth

•

Spreading a positive message about who we are as a community

Toronto Caribbean Newspaper spoke with Althea Casamento, host of the Shelburne Multicultural Day, and Vice-Chair of AntiBlack Racism and Discrimination Task Force about the origins of the event, its growth, and going virtual.

Casamento told Toronto Caribbean Newspaper she is floored at the growth of this event after starting from a small room in a community library to where it is at today. “In 2019, I again booked the same room in this community library and was so happy with the turn out that I actually had to arrange to get a bigger facility, because I could not accommodate the amount of people that wanted to participate.”

“This year,” she said, “I was even happier, because, not only did Shelburne participate but Dufferin county also. I added an extension to it called a vendor’s market where local businesses in the com-

munity that are culturally based can get a boost and showcase what they have to offer.”

“Unfortunately,” Casamento said, “COVID happened, so I decided to have something virtual. We are still able to celebrate with the community despite everything that is happening. We are not able to have that in-person feeling, but at least we can share with each other virtually and know that we are still there supporting each other.”

“I am Guyanese, and when I moved to Shelbourne from Brampton it was a bit of a cultural shock for me. After talking to other community members that moved here, I learned it was the same for them. My kids experienced the culture shock as well, so the goal of Multicultural Day at the start, was to make sure that the younger generation understands that they do not have to lose who they are to fit in.”

The summer is ripe, and the culture is flowing. Visit Multicultural Day!

What is the letter of the day?

Introducing Kwame Simpson (aka Wello/Raga Rebel) JONELL PANTLITZ jonell@carib101.com

TC JR. REPORTER

Many Guyanese at home and in the diaspora have become familiar with this statement from Kwame Simpson, known as ‘Wello’ and ‘Raga Rebel,’ after his popularity blasted up in late May on the Tik Tok app.

The twenty-six-year-old produced a character known as the Substitute Teacher, and he hilariously goes through the Guyanese alphabet. This well-rounded art-

ist made Guyanese creole a significant talking point by highlighting a letter per day, using a Guyanese term and description, put together humorously and entertaining.

With everything created, there is forever inspiration that leads up to it. Wello revealed, “I just saw a random tweet of someone talking about their grandmother and how they all pronounce orange, and it was funny to me. I also always watch these videos of people from the Caribbean diaspora explaining their patois.” So he chose to put a little spin on it, and instead of just doing a word, he did a letter with a description, and the rest is history.

Wello also agreed that one of the reasons that his content went viral is because there is not a lot of Guyanese representation on social media, so it was foreign to the masses.

Being born in Guyana, a country

in South America, Wello grew up, and lived on a farm in New Amsterdam, Berbice, until he moved with his parents to St Maarten, then back to Guyana, before finally taking up residence in New York.

But what many do not know about this twenty-six-year-old is that he is a well-rounded artist, who is involved in acting and went to college for two years to perfect his skills. Wello also makes music, which is on SoundCloud under the name ‘WELLO,’ and he is a part of a professional dance company where he is familiar with eight different dancing styles.

In a recent interview with Toronto Caribbean Newspaper, Wello admitted that it could be challenging to balance everything he does, “I started the series because of the Coronavirus, and I had some time, now it’s just trying to find time to balance everything.”

Wello also mentioned that when you are an artist, always creating content, you become worried about if the public likes your content. This is the reason he avoids planning days in advance. He just takes out his equipment and starts recording his material.

Moving away from the social media light. Wello also has a business called “The Raga Closet” (the name birthed from being called a ragamuffin while growing up in Guyana). It is a thrift store located in Brooklyn New York, he mentioned, “I started the business because people liked my fashion sense and my style.” He has plans to move it internationally.

To stay up to date with this talented artist follow his on social media @ ragarebel Stay tuned for a new series coming up where he will explain Guyanese proverbs.

NEWS

Wednesday, August 19, 2020 | www.TOCaribNews.com | Toronto Caribbean News

PAGE 13

Neville O’Riley Livingston Aka Bunny Wailer hospitalized MICHAEL THOMAS michael@carib101.com

TC REPORTER

According to a well-known Jamaican news source, Neville Livingston Wailer also known as (Jah B or Bunny Wailer) was hospitalized after suffering complications from a stroke he had in 2018. Rumors were making the rounds that the famous reggae icon had died, but that was all it was, rumors, Mr. Wailer is alive and recovering, said his manager, Maxine Stowe.

Wailer’s manager also said the family and his rehabilitation team are making preparations to have him released from the hospital as early as this weekend and is actively transforming the outpouring of interest into prayers for his recovery and strength for the families.

One has to know the musical history of this iconic foundation member (Jah B Aka Bunny Wailer) in order to understand why he is so important in the world of Reggae music today.

A founding member of the Wailers born Neville O’Riley Livingston on April 10th, 1947, in Kingston Jamaica, Bunny Wailer’s life took a series of twists and turns before he landed on his feet musically.

He grew up in the village called Nine Miles St Anns, and it was there that he met his childhood friend and Reggae king as he is called today Bob Marley. Wailer and Bob both had an interest in music, but Bob’s mother and Wailer’s father also had an interest in each other, and the two single parents join forces to become a family with the boys.

Bunny Wailer is the youngest of the three famous Wailers, and the only surviving one of the trio. The others are Bob Marley and Peter Tosh who died in 1981 and 1987, respectively.

The group called the Wailers was formed in the Kingston ghetto named Trench Town during the early 1960s and had seven members. They had numerous hits in the ska and rocksteady eras, like Simmer Down, Lonesome Feeling, and Thank You Lord.

Wailer, who did not like touring, split from the Wailers in 1976 upon returning to Jamaica, his real reason for quitting was never revealed even though, the one that is given is that his religious beliefs did not allow for the eating of processed food,

and there was nothing else to be had on the road.

Although Wailer had many ups and downs musically, his perseverance eventually allowed him to achieve a very successful solo career with a string of hits for many years; hits like: (Rock and Grove), (Dance Rock), and the famous (Ballroom Floor), launched his own recording label named Solomonic Productions, and has also won three Grammy awards for best reggae album. He was also awarded the Order of Jamaica in 2017 which is the fifthhighest civic honor in the country.

Wailer released Blackheart Man, considered one of reggae’s all-time best albums ever. On this album, Wailer was accompanied by Peter Tosh, the Barrett Brothers (that is the Wailers own riddim section) plus Marley himself who joined in on one of Wailers song called “Dreamland.”

Never one to shy away from the issues,

Wailer has concentrated his energies on political issues in his homeland and helping the youth, which has taken him out of the studio for about a decade. He also formed a political party called The U.P.P. platform which calls for the decriminalization of marijuana. Jah B is back this time with a full album called “Communication.”

One of the things that has made Wailer successful, is the fact that he has never sat and cried about the trials of life but has accepted changes and as such has adapted to the times musically.

The 73-year-old is also suffering emotionally, as his wife and longtime companion Jean Watt has been missing since Saturday, May 23rd, 2020. Fans and well-wishers join together to wish Wailer a speedy recovery and hope that his wife is found safe and sound.

Renewed calls for apology for slavery in Canada PAUL JUNOR

paul@carib101.com

TC REPORTER

The celebration of August 1st as Emancipation Day has drawn attention to the history of slavery in Canada. It celebrates the abolition of the Slavery Act, which came into effect on August 1st, 1834. (https:// www. heritagetrust.on.ca).

In the fall of 2017, the United Nations Human Rights Council released a report that focused on the periods 1500s to 1834, in which it recommended that Canada apologize and possibly pay reparations for the injustices meted to People of African Descent. Subsequently, in 2018 a Senate committee called for an apology and reparations. According to the June 2nd,

2020 edition of the Globe and Mail titled, “Trudeau won’t say whether Canada will apologize for history of slavery or pay reparations” despite being asked twice about apologizing, he avoided the question and deflected,

“We will continue to work with the community on the things we need to do.”

In response to the Trudeau’s avoidance Professor Afua Cooper states, “The Prime Minister has to do better. It’s scandalous and I’m outraged by it. It says to me that the federal government doesn’t take black people’s issues seriously.”

Furthermore, Professor Michelle Williams states that Canada would continue, “Hiding behind the myth of racial equality. The delay tells me that we continue to be the subjects of purposeful neglects of governments.”

Professor Barrington Walker goes further and stated according to The Globe and Mail that that “He was disappointed

by Mr. Trudeau’s non-response and that an apology would help to educate Canadians on the connections between slavery

and the discrimination unfolding today and show black people they are viewed as equal citizens.”

Natasha Henry, president of the Ontario Black History Society (OBHS) wrote in an article titled, “If black lives truly matter in Canada, an apology for slavery is only the first step,” on June 9th, 2020 for Spacing Toronto (spacing.ca) “Given how the government of Canada has issued apologies to other communities that were harmed in the past, the hesitation and refusal by Ottawa to make the recommended and demanded apology further illustrates how black Canadians are not valued.” She notes further “Canada has yet to reckon with its slave past and its enduring legacies. Trudeau’s inability to give a firm response is a metaphor of how Canadians fail to confront their own histories of racial oppression.”

In another article titled “Apology, Truth and Reparations: The overdue reckoning with Canada’s slave past,” on July 23rd, 2020 for Spacing Toronto Natasha writes, “While an apology is long overdue, it is not sufficient on its own. An apology

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should be a starting point of a process that seeks to right the historic wrongs of antiblack racism born out of the direct effects of enslavement as a means of addressing the on-going racial and economic trauma of intergenerational racism.”

She notes that on three occasions Ellis Harding-Davis of the Amherstburg Freedom Museum wrote to the Prime Minister: the last time in 2018. He initiated a letter writing campaign requesting that Justin Trudeau make a collective request for an apology for slavery. There was no response to the first two attempts, but the third one was acknowledged. No response has been resulted so far.

In a march on August 1st, 2020 in Toronto, Yvette Blackburn, spokesperson for Global Jamaica Diaspora Council states, “There’s never been an apology issued. I think it’s time. Emancipation should be everywhere.”

Now, is the time to put pressure on the Canadian government to do the right thing!

PAGE 14

NEWS

Toronto Caribbean News | www.TOCaribNews.com | Wednesday, August 19, 2020

Removal of Police Officers from school is welcome PAUL JUNOR

paul@carib101.com

TC REPORTER

The presence of fully uniformed and armed police officers in schools has been problematic for many people across Ontario. The School Resource Officer (SRO) program has existed in the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) for about ten years, until it was suspended in 2017.

In an announcement on Tuesday, July 28th, 2020, the Peel District School Board (PDDB), as reported in the Toronto Star titled “Peel police to stop program that puts officers inside local schools” has suspended the program. This is a welcome move for many.

Organizations have been fighting for years to have police officers removed from academic and educational institutions. The SRO program started in the TDSB after the death of Jordan Manners who was killed at C.W Jeffery’s in 2007. One of the recommendations of the report was the placement of uniformed officers as a deterrent to criminal activities in schools.

In the TDSB, officers from the Toronto Police Services were stationed in forty-five secondary schools during the school day.

Amidst oppositions to the program, TDSB held six public consultations across Toronto from September 20th, 2017 to October 2nd, 2017. Many of these occurred in marginalized communities. There was feedback from stakeholders that raised concerns that led to its suspension.

Organization such as LAEN(LatinX, Afro-Latin America, Abya Yal Educational Network) led by co-directors Andrea Vasquez Jimenez and Silvia Argentins Aravaz, have been at the forefront of the fight for #PoliceFreeSchool. They conducted

free webinar series on March 25th, 29th, and April 8th and 12th, as well as a virtual rally on April 22nd to inform and educate the public about this issue. They see it as a labour human rights safe public health issue. They are motivated to see a transformative and systemic shifts in two areas: 1. Shift to investment in fixing the education funding formula to have properly funded schools and have funding be equity led 2. In addition, identifying how much is spent on school policing, and that the funds are divested, shifted away and invested into more preventative and supportive health schools and educational needs.

The announcement that the PDSB will put the SRO program on hiatus is directly due to the lobbying efforts of LAEN. The Regional Police Service will be engaging community consultations during this time.

According to the July 28th, 2020 Toronto

Star, Sophia Brown, executive director of the Brown Black Community Action Network of Peel spoke out, “The consulting piece is a good step.” Furthermore, Jaspal Gill, interim director of PDDB stated, “We have heard from members of our school communities, in particular those who identify as black and Indigenous that they do not feel safe when (school resource officers) and other police officers are present.”

Furthermore, in the words of PDSB supervisor ,Bruce Rodrigues,”If we determine that the new model does not meet the needs of the students and families we serve, we will not move ahead.”

One of the five demands by the Parents of Black Children, which held the March for Black Students on Monday, August 3rd, 2020 (www.marchforblackstudebts.com) was in support of LAEN. The demand stated, “We are in solidarity with them in demanding that schools across all educational levels including post-secondary be police-free.”

Government of Canada recognizes black history in Canada with four new historic designations SIMONE SMITH simone@carib101.com

TC REPORTER

“Black Canadians have made and continue to make significant contributions to the cultural, social, and economic prosperity of Canada. These designations will help raise awareness of black history in Canada and the unique challenges faced by Canadians of African and Caribbean descent.”

The Honourable Bardish Chagger, Minister of Diversity and Inclusion and Youth Created in 1919, the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada has advised the Minister responsible for Parks Canada regarding the designation of places, persons and events of national historic significance under the National Program of Historical Commemoration.

Based on recommendations from the HSMBC, the Government of Canada has designated over 2,150 national historic sites, events, and persons. Each of these designations contributes its own unique story to the greater story of Canada.

National historic designations encourage us to acknowledge the struggles and conflict that have led us to the Canada of today, and help us reflect on how to build a more inclusive society for today and future generations.

“This announcement is a step towards: acknowledging our past and current injustices, fostering healing, and bringing about the long-term changes necessary to eradicate racism and discrimination in all its forms.”

Greg Fergus, MP for Hull-Aylmer and Chair of the Parliamentary Black Caucus For the past 400 years, African Canadians

have faced – and continue to face – prejudice, inequalities, and systemic barriers to full and equal participation in society.

The first day of August commemorates the abolishment of the Slavery by the British Empire in 1834 and is also known as “Emancipation Day.”

Beginning in 2015, and being observed until 2023, Canada officially recognizes the United Nations International Decade for People of African Descent. The International Decade promotes greater global recognition of and respect for the cultures, history and heritage of people of African descent.

The Minister responsible for Parks Canada, Jonathan Wilkinson, announced four new designations under the National Program of Historical Commemoration. The new designations recognize the national historic significance of two persons: Richard Pierpoint and Larry Gains and two events: The Enslavement of African People in Canada and the West Indian Domestic Scheme as they relate to black history in Canada.

These new designations help to shed light on the collective and personal experiences of black Canadians and their struggles for freedom, equality and justice. The new designations include: The Enslavement of African People in Canada (c. 1629–1834) Between 1629 and 1834, there were more than 4,000 enslaved people of African descent in the British and French colonies that later became: Quebec, Ontario, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and New Brunswick.

Children, women, and men were reduced to property that could be bought and sold, exploited for their labour, and subjected to physical, sexual, psychological, and reproductive violence. Britain outlawed participation in the Atlantic slave trade throughout its Empire in 1807.

However, it wasn’t until the passage of the Slavery Abolition Act in 1833 that the British parliament prohibited enslavement, effective August 1st, 1834.

People of African descent in Canada were legally free, but they were not

equal: they have faced systemic racism, racial segregation, prejudice, and inequality in Canadian society, the roots of which can be traced back, at least in part, to the many, complex legacies of enslavement.

Black Loyalist Richard Pierpoint (c. 1744–1838) Richard Pierpoint, born in the Kingdom of Bundu, a region located in present-day Senegal, was captured, forcibly transported across the Atlantic to the Americas and then sold into slavery as a teenager.

After twenty years of enslavement in the British Thirteen Colonies, he regained his freedom by fighting for the British during the American Revolution and settled in Upper Canada by 1791.

During the war of 1812, he was involved in the creation of “the Colored Corps”, composed of men of African descent who helped protect Upper Canada by taking part in the fighting and repairing fortifications in the Niagara region. He unsuccessfully petitioned the Lieutenant Governor in 1821 for passage back to Africa, and died in 1838 on his farm in the Township of Garafraxa. In recent years, the life of Richard Pierpoint has been recognized as one of the more well-known examples of the early contributions and hardships of black Loyalists.

Heavyweight Boxer Larry Gains (1900-1983) Born on December 12th, 1900 in Toronto, Ontario, Lawrence Samuel “Larry” Gains was one of the most talented boxers in the first half of the 20th century.

Despite racial discrimination he gained prominence in the 1920s and 1930s by winning the Canadian, British Empire, and World Colored Heavyweight Titles. It was difficult for Gains to find toplevel fights in North America, because racial discrimination limited his opportunities.

Gains left Canada in 1923 to pursue his professional boxing career in Great Britain and Europe. In February 1927, he won his first professional title when he became the Canadian Heavyweight Champion. A year later, he won the World

Colored Heavyweight title and in 1932 became the British Empire Heavyweight Champion.

His career was limited due to racial discrimination, as non-white athletes were barred from competing for the English Heavyweight Title and promoters maintained an unofficial colour barrier for the World Heavyweight Title, both championships for which he was a legitimate contender.

West Indian Domestic Scheme, (1955-1967) The West Indian Domestic Scheme, launched in 1955, was a targeted immigration program that permitted approximately 3,000 women from the Caribbean to come to Canada to work as domestic servants as a path to eventual citizenship.

This program offered a very limited route for Caribbean immigration to Canada at a time when discriminatory government policies restricted non-white immigrants from settling in Canada. While the program was discontinued in 1968, some of the women who participated went on to make significant contributions to Canadian history and helped to build vibrant Caribbean communities in Montréal and Toronto.

One of the best known participants in the West Indian Domestic Scheme is the Honourable Jean Augustine, who migrated to Canada from Grenada in 1960 before going on to become the first black Canadian woman elected to the House of Commons in 1993 and eventually appointed to a Cabinet post in 2002. As Parliamentarian, Jean introduced a motion to declare February as Black History Month, which ultimately passed and is widely celebrated to this day.

By sharing these stories with Canadians, the hope is to foster understanding and reflection on the histories, cultures, legacies, and realities of Canada’s past and present.

To nominate a person or historical event in your community, please visit the Parks Canada website for more information: https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/culture/ clmhc-hsmbc/ncp-pcn/application

NEWS

Wednesday, August 19, 2020 | www.TOCaribNews.com | Toronto Caribbean News

PAGE 15

Loss of the ‘Doctor of The Poor’ OMNIYA ALI

amniya@carib101.com

TC REPORTER

Waves of sadness have rippled throughout the Egyptian community upon the loss of a highly influential life. Mohamed Mashally also known as the ‘doctor of the poor’, has recently passed away leaving behind a never forgotten legacy. Mashally passed away on July 28th after dedicating almost fifty years of his life serving those in need. In a damaged economy where plenty of people in poverty are unable to receive the right amount of care or attention, the ‘doctor of the poor’ was aware that his role as a caretaker was beyond the material aspect of life. Mashally took it upon himself to provide that care for poor people in remote villages near where

he lived in Tanta, for as little as 10 pounds ($0.83) for those that could pay it but often waived the fee for those that could not. In an interview with Deutsche Welle he expressed “Medicine is a humanitarian profession and not a commercial one.”

When asked about his inspiration for such a selfless attitude, Mashally shared a story he encountered in his early days as a doctor. A ten-year-old diabetic boy needed his insulin shot, but his mother found herself deliberating between buying his shot or feeding all her children with what little money she had that night. Upon realizing the burden he posed on his mother, the little boy set himself on fire to alleviate the dilemma. Mashally was quick to cover him in a blanket and try to save him, unfortunately the boy died in his arms, and from that day, he decided to devote his knowledge to treating the poor. “I pledged to God that I would not take a penny from a poor person and that I would remain in my clinic to help the poor.” Mashally who specialized in endemic illnesses, bilharzia and worm diseases, which mainly affect individuals of low income, then kept his promise and served this demo-

graphic to the day he died at 76 years old.

Although his deeply altruistic actions are a direct reflection of his character, they can also be traced back to several issues such as maldistributed wealth, an unstable economy and traces of the damage of post-colonialism. Mashally had the means and the qualifications to become a rich accomplished doctor, yet he chose his position.

Having been raised poor, his father planted the seed of compassion to the less fortunate in him, and that continued to grow to his last day on this earth. According to the 2020 Index of Economic Freedom, Egypt is ranked 11th among the 14 countries in the Middle East and North African region, as “its overall score is well below the regional and world averages.” Although the reform that occurred in 2011 primarily sought the improvement of Egyptian living standards and welfare, as per the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy, the trade deficit is only growing, further expanding poverty levels “as a result of a government more interested in serving itself than it is in serving them.”

Circling back to Canadian physicians, the infinitely difficult process of ap-

plication, acceptance and studying at a medical school in Canada as if not enough is accompanied by crushing debts. Although the average salary for a doctor in Canada can range from about $300,000 to $700,000 annually, depending on the specialty, the number of years required to reach that level and amount of money can be rather daunting for most. A medical student enters the field with an abundance of compassion and generosity, but the fatigue and burnout implemented by the field produces robots incapable of expressing adequate emotions and empathy. A society without caretakers would simply collapse, however, the idea of working for free would never cross a doctor’s mind in North America. That can be easily attributed to the costs associated with the required education. The appropriate amount of support needs to be provided from the government to those caregivers in order to generate a positive feedback loop of benevolence and care within the society.

In admiration of Mohamed Mashaly’s last wish that his work would be carried on by others once he passed, let us be images of humanity and ethics just as he was.

After the election battle, Guyana declares a winner MICHAEL THOMAS michael@carib101.com

TC REPORTER

“We are in this together. We are not separated by class, by ethnicity , by religion, nor by politics, we are united in the true Guyanese spirit.” President of Guyana Dr. Mohammed Irfaan Ali “I want to assure you, that I would uphold that oath. I will work every day in the best interest of the people of Guyana. There is only one future and that future requires a united Guyana. That future requires a strong Guyana. That future requires every Guyanese to play a part in building our country, ensuring we leave a better Guyana for the next generation.”

Ali was sworn in on August 2nd,

when GECOM ruled in the PPP’s favor. He seemed very positive as he delivered his speech of nation-building and unity. This came five months after Guyana’s general election, which was held on March 2nd, and was followed by numerous court challenges and a recount.

Ali who was born on April 25th, 1980 (in Leonora, a village in the West Coast Demerara region of Guyana) holds a doctorate in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of the West Indies, and once served as Project Manager of the Caribbean Development Bank’s Project Implementation Unit in the Ministry of Finance and Senior Planner in the State Planning Secretariat.

He became a member of Guyana’s national assembly in 2006 and was subsequently appointed to the portfolios of Minister of Housing and Water and Minister of Tourism Industry and Commerce.

During his time as Minister, Ali performed the duties of President and Prime Minister on separate occasions. In 2015, the People’s Progressive Party (PPP/C) went into opposition. During this time he served as chair of the Public Accounts Committee and

co-chair the Economic Services Committee of the Parliament of Guyana.

Guyana’s outgoing former president David Granger has signaled his party’s intention to challenge the election’s results in court via an election petition, and said, that his coalition cannot indorse a flawed report.

Granger said that his coalition will campaign to make sure that the votes of all Guyanese are accurately recorded, tallied and reported on. He made it known that they will challenge the results lawfully, peacefully, and purposefully.

Granger recently issued a warning to the new ruling party over what he calls their dangerous pattern of aggression, namely government workers who were asked to resign, and others who were locked out of their offices,

In a public address, he said, “The People’s National Congress warns the PPP to desist from perusing this dangerous pattern of aggression against officials, members of society, and persons perceived to belong to other political parties.”

“PPP,” he said, “will bear responsi-

bility for the consequences of its conduct.”

Meanwhile, President Ali has ensured senior public servants that they have nothing to worry about and should continue to do their job professionally.

PPP’s Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance Gail Teixeira, said, that there is no witch-hunting taking place, but there is a need for those who were appointed because of their political allegiance to exit the system gracefully.

Teixeira, said, “I want to assure Guyanese that we are not here to take away food from people’s mouth. We are not here to take public servants who have been working hard in the system. We are not dealing with the public servants’ weather they are cooks or drivers, secretaries or clerks. If they are political appointees in the system as I have said, then we are asking them to resign, and if they do not, they will be getting letters of termination.”

Meanwhile, Granger asked his supporters to conduct themselves in a peaceful manner and thanked the Guyanese people for their support and patience throughout the elections.

A look at six positive outcomes of COVID-19 JONELL PANTLITZ jonell@carib101.com

TC JR. REPORTER

It is no secret that the recent pandemic has affected our world in a negative way. Times like these are why it is important to remember that there’s always a little sunlight trying to peek through cloudy skies. So I am going to help with this situation by taking a look at the positive outcomes of the dangerous virus.

The environment Before COVID-19 was declared a pandemic, there were a lot of controversial discussions surrounding air pollution, so our frenemy COVID-19 has played its part. There have been images of pollution hot spots around the world, from north-eastern China to

northern Italy, and the UK, which shows dramatically lower levels of CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions.

Air pollution is one of the biggest silent killers in the world, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Air pollution kills an estimated seven million people worldwide every year, WHO data shows that 9 out of 10 people breathe air containing high levels of pollutants. Researchers from Stanford University also say in places like China, the reduction in air pollution has led to fewer premature deaths from breathing toxic air.

Connecting with friends and family Has anyone else notice that for some reason, you are speaking to your friends and family more than ever. Before the pandemic had started, I would talk to my cousins and grandmother once a month; now, we were on a video call almost every day. We all have been so busy living the ‘life,’ many of us have lost real, genuine moments with our loved ones. It may have been rushing into meetings, trying to make ends meet, or just living the ‘life.’ Now that life has slowed down, take the time to rekindle.

Better practices Things have changed, and people are becoming more aware of how important it is to keep clean environments. Our recent times have made us aware of how to do that more hygienically. From shaking hands to a simple high-five, everyone has had a lifestyle change for the better. We’re going to remember to cover our mouths when we cough, and to sanitize our hands after touching anything because we know what can happen if we don’t.

Education is digital and affordable Online classes have become a new way of life for educational institutions, and it arrived with a few benefits too. Institutions now save on the infrastructural costs, and as a result, students do not need to worry about those extra charges, making it more affordable. Moreover, parents can now be more involved in their child’s education, with first-hand knowledge about how classes are being taught and directly understand how their child perceives concepts. As the online education system grows, we can expect an increase in the reach and accessibil-

ity of education within every section of the society.

Burst of creativity Whether you’re painting, baking, singing or setting the new Tik Toc trend, the outpouring blast of creativity that I’ve seen over the last few months has been immaculate.

It is an incredibly artistic and creative time for you to learn something new. Two of my friends have started up their businesses.

Artists are hosting virtual listening parties; classes that teach new skills or events are being run online via Zoom. I’ve even spent more time reorganizing my life. Hopefully, this burst of creative vibes will not end here.

Motivation The pandemic at hand has caused a lot of people to start new ventures; this aids us in having a backup plan in the wake of a similar situation on our planet. This may be by starting a new business, investing etc.

We have had many ups and downs relating to COVID-19, but it’s beautiful to see the positive in everything. Hopefully, all the positive effects of this pandemic will not end with it.

NEWS

PAGE 16

Toronto Caribbean News | www.TOCaribNews.com | Wednesday, August 19, 2020

Hepatitis C is silent like the gog; A good many don’t know they have it tattoos or piercings with poorly sterilized equipment. But for baby-boomers, born between 1945 and 1965, it’s believed that hepatitis C was transmitted long ago through contact with contaminated blood, before robust infection controls were in place. About 75% of North Americans carrying the virus are baby boomers. Estimates suggest that 250,000 Canadians are infected and about 3 million Americans.

A good many of them don’t know it. Just like a thick fog, hepatitis C is eerily silent. It innocuously takes its toll on your liver.

Our bodies are designed to fight foreign invaders. For example, when a misstep leads to a splinter in your foot, your immune system kicks into action.

Your body targets a range of immune system cells to the injury, and redness and swelling are signs that the battle to overcome invading bacteria has begun.

In the case of hepatitis C infection, the virus finds a home in the liver, reproducing faster than the body’s immune cell fighters can beat it. The result is a perpetual

W. GIFFORDJONES MD DIANA GIFFORD-JONES TC HEALTH REPORTER

It’s a shame when you are slowly dying from a disease you don’t know you have.

What a tragedy if there is a cure. Yet this ignorance is a reality for many aging boomers who don’t know that they are infected with the hepatitis C virus.

Anyone can contract hepatitis C. Infection occurs through transmission of tainted blood. It’s rare to be infected today through the healthcare system, as we’ve gotten much better at screening blood products and of course sterilizing medical equipment. Today, it is likely the reuse of injection needles by users of street drugs that leads to infection. Some people become infected from getting

state of inflammation in the liver. The battle also results in a gradual death of liver cells, which in turn causes fibrosis or scarring. Fibrosis itself isn’t a problem. But in time, functionality of the liver becomes so impaired that there isn’t enough blood flow for the liver to do its work.

Only after substantial damage is done do symptoms start to appear.

Fatigue, easy bruising, jaundiced eyes, swelling in the legs, dark-coloured urine.

These are some of the signs that not all is well.

The good news is that hepatitis C can be detected through a series of tests. And it can be treated. Over the past decade, advances in direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) have led to highly effective treatments lasting between two and five months. The only catch is in the cost of the medications, and coast to coast there are different rules about who qualifies for coverage. Generally, coverage is extended only to those with advanced severity of liver disease. For everyone else, the price of the drugs may outweigh the cost of monitoring the progression of the

disease carefully.

But how do you know you have these options if you don’t even know you have the problem? The best advice is to talk with your doctor about your likely risk factors. Did you receive a blood transfusion prior to 1990? Do you, or did you, inject drugs with used needles? Have you resided in countries where hepatitis C is a problem (e.g. India, Pakistan, Vietnam, Egypt, even southern Italy) and received medical care or vaccinations? Have you shared a razor, nail clippers or toothbrush with an infected person?

If concerns are high, or if symptoms are present, then have tests done.

DiaEither that or run the risk of blissful ignorance while your liver takes the toll.

Joseph Conrad wrote, “It is not the clear-sighted who rule the world.

Great achievements are accomplished in a blessed, warm fog.� Let’s hope that is the case for those with hepatitis C who go undiagnosed.

The story behind the story Sema Stori brought to you by Docubox East Africa nominee, founder of Docubox and known for producing critically acclaimed films including: ‘Coming of Age’, ‘Dangerous Affair’ and ‘Something Necessary,’ is well aware about the funding challenge among African filmmakers.

Judy says, “I was too familiar with how difficult it was for African filmmakers to keep making excellent work without more support – funding, technical input, networks, the list goes on. We couldn’t have been readier to have a conversation with Comic Relief when we heard about the direction they wanted to take.�

The first film to premiere on Wednesday, August 12th, 2020 was “It’s Okay Not To Be Okay,� a film by Eugene Muigai. The short documentary film is a personal story following the life of Eugene Muigai, a boy who has struggled with depression. It follows his personal journey from childhood through adulthood, as he struggled with feelings of inferiority, feeling misunderstood, hated, and alone, without a clear purpose to justify existence in this world. Mental health has long been a subject that has drawn stigma and ridicule locally, and that is exactly why Sema Stori chose it as one of the four pillars in the Sema Stori Program.

“I am a creative who is passionate about storytelling, and I enjoy every aspect of it,� Eugene Muigai speaks of his passion for film.

Every Wednesday the project will be rolling out the films on the Sema Stori Facebook page for the public to watch and raise conversations during

EMBUKANE LIBOSSO embukane@carib101.com

KENYA TC REPORTER

KENYA -- The Sema Stori (Sheng slang for Stories that Speak) project is brought to you by Docubox East Africa with the support of Comic Relief Collaboration.

Drawing fine young filmmakers from the East Africa region working within their local communities, the project seeks to spark conversations around mental health, early childhood development, gender justice, and the right to safe secure shelter and settlement.

Sema Stori is working with skilled and locally rooted filmmakers to share stories about the issues from their own perspective. It focuses on creating documentary shorts which will be made through small awards to talented filmmakers in the East Africa region, and with support to assist film makers in accessing mentoring, tapping into opportunities for their films to be seen, and focusing up front on the social impact they want to create. Docubox based in Nairobi, Kenya leads the project – an African led film fund, run by African filmmakers for African filmmakers.

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PAGE 18

Toronto Caribbean News | www.TOCaribNews.com | Wednesday, August 19, 2020

Exploring the science of creativity through self-expression and technology; Creative Thinkers Lab LA SHAWNA GRIFFITH lashawna@carib101.com

BARBADOS TC REPORTER

BARBADOS -- Norman Mayers is the founder of Creative Thinkers Lab, which operates as a collaboration between Red Mango Studios, the Caribbean Dyslexia Association and Ten Habitat. The free after-school workshop caters to children thirteen to nineteen years of age living in the Caribbean region.

Mayers who is a creative director, entrepreneur, design writer, and teacher with more than twenty years experience is the co-founder of REDMANGO which is a creative studio based in Barbados and Germany.

Speaking with our Barbadian reporter La Shawna Griffith, Mayer’s said the mission for the lab is not to cater to dyslexic children solely.

“It is not about dyslexic children.

I started with kids who think differently, creative kids, neurodiversity and it just so happened that I am dyslexic, and I saw the relationship between the two. Thus,

when I started the actual programme I met Yvonne Spencer who is the Director of Caribbean Dyslexia Centre and I told her my idea.”

Mayers added the initial conversation he had with Spencer in London, led to her telling him his idea was best suited for dyslexic children. He realized that in the Caribbean and Barbados in particular dyslexic children are left at the wayside, and not given the opportunity to reach their full potential. This is something that he is hoping his programme can help curb as he believes every student thinks and learns differently.

“Every child, every person is unique [as] it is not about dyslexics it’s about if anything that we are all different.

We think differently. We are not put out like factories. Every child, every person is unique.”

However, the creative director who has achieved many accolades said one of the problems with traditional benchmarks in our schools is that schools often only accentuate challenges while ignoring or even penalizing the special skills of students who think differently.

Many of these students have a full range of strengths, including problem solving and communication skills.

Creative Thinkers Lab’s purpose is to help students who think differently identify their unique strengths and build

Photo Credit: Zakai Burnett

self-confidence. We now need more young people who can think creatively and solve problems in unconventional ways.

Using an example of a thirteenyear-student that is still a part of his programme, he stated that the young lady was valued by what she could not do well, which in her case was reading and spelling. Mayers started working with her to identify her unique strengths, and discovered it was visual thinking, designing and art. With their help she began to explore and display her own brilliance, while building self-confidence in school and beyond.

The Creative Thinkers Camp will begin on August 10th, 2020 and will run for two weeks. It will consist of blended learning where the participants will have

live sessions in a classroom setting as well as sessions via Zoom. The sessions will explore the theme of Exploring the Science of Creativity through Self-Expression and Technology.

The students who participate will learn foundational skills and the mind-set of: creational thinking, problem solving and communication. They will be introduced to: the eight essential attributes of being a creative thinker, how to think differently, how to cultivate the art of being unique together, as well as the science of creativity.

The Creative Thinkers AfterSchool Lab will begin accepting applications for their fall term in September 2020.

For more information visit their website: www.thecreativethinkers.org

New political movement targets dynamic leadership role MKUU AMANI

mkuu@carib101.com

UK TC REPORTER

UK -- “We will take a dynamic leadership role.” Jaddoo on We Matter, the new movement that will challenge inequality.

“The whole concept of We Matter is this...”

It’s just before 2:00 pm on a swelteringly hot Sunday, August 9th, 2020.

I’m in Birmingham’s Centenary Square, speaking to human and race rights campaigner Bishop Desmond Jaddoo about the ‘Justice in the City’ event taking place that afternoon.

I was trying to find out more about ‘We Matter,’ a new political movement aiming to ‘unite the fight across the Midlands for black political and economic change.’

“If someone else matters, then we matter.” Jaddoo continued. “If you matter, I matter. No matter the colour of our skin. It’s a basic message of equality.”

“But we have a particular focus on

the black community because clearly, we fall foul of everything. And it is no longer business as usual, it’s now that God has told us what to do, which is to lead our people to greater prosperity.”

“We need to level the playing field of inequality, and we need to do this through dynamic leadership and getting round decision-making tables, and that’s exactly what we plan to do.”

The city centre event centred around We Matter’s emergence as a new political movement. The actual launch takes place later this month, August 29th.

What can we expect from this new movement?

“We will take a dynamic leadership role.” he said. “We have to look at the socio-economic and the disproportionality issues that we face - which are countless, and the only way to change that is by taking a political stand, and making sure that we are around the decision making table.”

“Birmingham is yet to have a black African or Caribbean MP [Member of Parliament] - now that speaks for itself. Clearly we’re being left behind, and we need to address that.”

And as far as today’s event was concerned? What could we expect to take away?

“You can expect empowerment and a constant message encouraging our young people, encouraging our elders - and that call to stand for justice - that’s what you’re going to hear today.” he said.

As part of the pre-launch, there were performances and guest speakers, including Reverend Val Benjamin and Bishop Jonathan Jackson. Alongside civil rights campaigner Charlie Williams, Bishop Jackson kept the crowds updated.

Free bottled water, face masks and hand sanitizer were also available.

Renowned Gospel Reggae artists Annette B and Lytie were just a part of a lineup that included a host of musicians, singers and the performance poet Keith Panton.

“We want the authorities to know that we are here, and we are here to stay.

The We Matter movement is here, and here to stay,” Panton told the crowd before reciting a poem he’d written for the event, entitled ‘We Matter.’

Annette B was in effervescent form and treated the crowd to a rendition of her infectious track ‘Pop God Style,’ a song inspired by Althea & Donna’s charttopping single, ‘Uptown Top Ranking.’

Silver-tongued lyricist Mikey Radical was also on hand to share his unique brand of reggae-infused worship. He did

so in a thumping duet with Pastor Owen Uriah.

Marie Thompson and Simin Adewale, and sisters Cheryl and Adelle Rhule-Martin, of The Rock - New Testament Church of God combined to treat the city centre to some popular worship songs, including ‘Lord, I Lift Your Name On High.’

The UK’s black community has its heroes and heroines. A visit to the 100 Great Black Britons website should quickly remove any thoughts to the contrary.

But does it have a civil rights campaigner to match someone with the stature of America’s Martin Luther King Jr, or South Africa’s The Most Reverend Desmond Tutu?

If not, then with the emergence of this new political movement, and Bishop Jaddoo, one of the key figures at the spearhead, could this be about to change?

“Today is the commencement of that journey into power around the decision-making table.” Bishop Jadoo said.

“One of the things that we haven’t done – unlike the civil rights movement in America, we haven’t grasped the importance of the church leadership when it comes to political equality, and we now have to do that.”

To find out more about We Matter, visit the We Matter Facebook Page

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PAGE 20

FEATURE

Toronto Caribbean News | www.TOCaribNews.com | Wednesday, August 19, 2020

the the poetic poetic word word Trigger Warnings

BY GLORIA O’KOYE Triggered that we got people locked up With the same actions Other careers profits from Triggered at trigger warnings, Because where were they When blocks got shot up?

Experience bullet symphonies played as lullabies And wake up to the sirens....

Phone calls unanswered Triggering More triggered thoughts It’s a game who gets more triggered by the trigger in playgrounds, Kids be crying...

A funeral procession after silence What is a trigger?

Our families ask...

Give definition To be brushed off As survival...

What doesn’t kill you, Makes you stronger...

Even if you triggered At every footstep around the corner Triggered to cross the street To avoid cat calls to name-calling.

Keep it on the low low May soothe unwanted attention Maybe skipping classes Means resolving fights And crossing out failures Maybe the teacher that said You won’t amount to anything, Could be right Because words can dig deep From a position of power What’s the message trying to convey?

Trigger warnings are a privilege Depending if the environment Holds space, In most cases Highly doubt it Triggers may wear poker faces, Triggers may remain discreet Until the dirt burst out of carpets Triggers come in all shapes and forms, Expressed in ways approved by folks And others are frowned upon Just have to learn how to distinguish a trigger, Before assuming trigger warnings Will always get public applauds

Photo Credit: Sasha Hali

CARIBBEAN COLLECTIVE MAGAZINE Celebrating West Indian Women around the world SIMONE SMITH simone@carib101.com

TC REPORTER

“Where are women of colour looking for representation? I started this because I knew that West Indian women needed a platform that highlighted our success, celebrated our icons, and focused on West Indian culture, beauty, and fashion.”

Juanita.D In 2012, there was a longitudinal survey of 396 African and Caucasian preadolescent boys and girls. The survey was to assess the long-term effects of television consumption on their self-esteem. The result of this survey is one of the main reasons that this week we have chosen to feature Caribbean Collective Magazine.

The results highlighted the fact that media exposure (specifically television) predicted a decrease in self-esteem for African and Caucasian girls. On the other hand, there seemed to be an increase in self-esteem among Caucasian boys (Racial and Gender Differences in the Relationship Between Children’s Television Use and SelfEsteem: A Longitudinal Panel Study, Nicole Martins Kristen Harrison, 2012).

I realized that during this time, much of our focus is on the current Coronavirus Pandemic, but there has been a silent epidemic picking away at the self-esteem of young women, specifically young women of colour. This epidemic is self-hate, and more research is starting to expose that it’s a direct result of misrepresentation in the media.

I had the wonderful opportunity of dialoguing with Juanita D, the Chief Editor of Caribbean Collective Magazine. The magazine was created because Juanita recognized that there was a need to celebrate and provide representation for West Indian women, especially those who live with hyphenated identities.

Now, there are publications that represent other cultures, but nothing that serves as a digital anchor for: Afro-Caribbean, Indo-Caribbean, Asian-Caribbean, Native-Caribbean, Multi-racial Caribbean, or other women that identified as West Indian.

With the way that media has been positioned, many women of colour grow up feeling inferior, and not up to par with the

idolized European standards. Speaking as a woman of colour, I remember how I used to feel about my dark skin tone, and my extra curly hair, which looked nothing like what I was seeing celebrated in magazines like Vogue, or Glamour. Sure, once a year (usually around Black History Month in North America), these magazine publications would have a black model or actress for a photo shoot. In many ways, I think it was to convince consumers that they were diverse.

Other than that, one, or two times, women of colour are bombarded with standards of beauty that are impossible to identify with.

What Juanita and her team have done with Caribbean Collective Magazine is produce a digital magazine that represents emigrated West Indian living in: Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom.

Their focus is on empowering and engaging women utilizing the power of storytelling, and they have done so through: interviews, features, creative photography, and digital media.

“I decided to launch this on April 30th, 2020, right in the middle of the pandemic.

I had no idea where it would lead to, but I knew I had to do it.”

Juanita was born in Guyana, South America and at two years old immigrated with her family to Brooklyn NY. At a young age, she was drawn to the beauty and fashion world, and at the age of seventeen, she started modelling. Her love for the beauty and fashion industry grew, and she continued her modelling throughout college. She graduated from Loyola University in Maryland with a B.A. in communications, and also holds an MBA from the University of Illinois. Ever the pupil, Juanita is currently completing a Master’s from Harvard University.

Juanita was open with me about the fact that she was not sure what she wanted to do with her life. What she did know is that she wanted to help people.

“I am currently a Wealth Manager on Wall Street,” Juanita shares. “Of course, I wanted that fairy tale life: husband, children, picket fence, and a beautiful home, but there was also something in me that really wanted to give back. Believe me, the financial industry is a male dominated industry, so I knew what it feels like to be underrepresented.

This is why representation is so important for me.

As a teenager, and even now, there are very few things that I wanted more than to see myself represented in magazines, and in the fashion industry. This is what started me on my journey five years ago.”

Using the experience that she had

gained moving through the beauty industry, she founded her own beauty company.

It was only the start for her. She took a step further and began to serve as Editor for Brown Girl Magazine. As a travel blogger, she was able to document travel journeys in over thirty countries. She was also given the opportunity to produce beauty content for bridal magazines.

This takes us up to April 30th, 2020.

During a time when many people were still trying to wrap their heads around what was happening in the world, Juanita was working on launching Caribbean Collective Magazine.

“A lot of people had switched to working virtually. I decided to just start utilizing social media to bring awareness to the work that we were doing at Caribbean Collective. There has and continues to be limited representation of West Indian women in media. Did you know that Beyoncé’s publicist is from Grenada? No. Well, that is because no one is talking about it. When I was looking up articles on West Indian women, I found it difficult to find anything online.

I realized that this was how I was going to serve my community. I would create a powerful platform that recognized influential and local West Indian women doing phenomenal work in their industries and communities. We created this magazine to provide fresh content, coverage of trending news, celebration and dialogue surrounding: Caribbean art, icons, beauty, music, and lifestyle.”

On August 1st, 2020, Caribbean Collective Magazine launched their website, and the articles are already creating a buzz.

“Things have moved so quickly for us. Within fifteen days of launching, I already had five writers, and I now have an Assistant Editor. We have teams in New York City, and Toronto. It has been quite an experience. I want the magazine to be Vogue meets Essence, but for us West Indian girls.”

What is inspiring is that Juanita utilized the pandemic as a motivating force to create something that will become part of her legacy. Not only is it important to support this young woman because of her bravery, but also because we now have another place to go, where we as woman of colour can share in stories that we can relate to. Visit Caribbean Collective Magazine at https:// www.caribbeancollectivemag.com/ and take a peek at their work on Instagram and Facebook.

If you see an article that you think will interest someone you know, share it with the hashtag #caribbeangirlmagic.

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PAGE 22

FEATURE

Toronto Caribbean News | www.TOCaribNews.com | Wednesday, August 19, 2020

Photo Credit: Ashley Mardus

The laudable

LUKE WELCH “People will come up to me and say, ‘I remember you when you practiced back then.’ My response, yeah! I remember that you doubted me too!”

He has participated in the master classes of several distinguished artists. He has performed internationally including appearances in: Canada, United States of America, New Zealand, Netherlands, Germany, France, Belgium, Italy, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, and England. He has received exemplary results in academic and competitive adjudication.

In 2018, he performed for Netherlands Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende, and has been honoured with: Harry Jerome Arts Award (BBPA), FACTOR, Government of Canada, NUFFIC, Huygens Scholarship Programme (Netherlands), and the Portia White Scholarship (BBPA).

To add to our Classic Man’s extensive curriculum vitae, he released his debut solo album ‘The Universal Language’ in April, 2015, his second album ‘Crossing Borders’ – Scarlatti in February, 2017, a third album ‘The Return’ – Beethoven and Schumann in February, 2019, and appeared in the movie ‘Het Cadeau’, starring Hanna Verboom in February, 2015.

To think, I have only glazed over the list of achievements and honours that our Classic Man has received.

Our goal with this feature series is to highlight the great work that has, and continues to be produced by men of colour globally, and to redirect the narrative that is found on most media outlets.

This week I am thrilled to present to the Toronto Caribbean Newspaper readers, the laudable Luke Welch.

“Gullible, yet optimistic, I remain for the next coveted opportunity.”

For years, Luke has questioned if the lack of interest in classical music within the black community is because it is so underrepresent at the highest

levels, or if the lack of representation is yet another form of systemic discouragement towards some groups of society.

From an early age, Luke’s parents saw something in him, and they began to foster his abilities in whatever way they could.

“I grew up in Malton, a very diverse suburb of Mississauga. I was introduced to instruments in grade two, or three. In school, our music teacher Mr. Gibson was always teaching us different instruments. The one instrument we were not allowed to touch was the piano. I wanted to learn how to play, so he allowed me to play acoustic instruments.

At eleven or twelve, I started taking lessons. I had always enjoyed the piano, but practicing was a little harder to warm up to. I didn’t want to practice everyday. I wanted to be a kid.”

He realized quickly that there were not many other black pianists who were learning how to play classical music. Even though he was told that he was musically gifted, he felt that there were other pianists who were light years ahead of him. It lit a fire under him, and his goal was to improve and become the best version of his musical self that he could be.

“Around 15, 16, I you couldn’t pull me away from playing the piano. It just clicked for me. I became more selfregulated about practicing. I practiced all the time. I remember my piano teacher telling my parents, ‘He is playing well, but if he practices, he would do better.’

So that is what I did. I practiced.”

In 1999, Luke attended the University of Western Ontario (London, Ontario) and received his Bachelor of Music (Honours). He then completed his Master of Music (Performance Studies – Piano) in 2006.

“University was a rude awakening to me. I practiced six, seven hours a

day. I have always loved everything classical music has to offer. No matter how many hours of practice, there was always more work to do, and new heights to reach.

In my third year I developed Tendinitis, Carpel Tunnel Syndrome, and a pinched nerve. I couldn’t play at all, so I had to take a few years off. One doctor told me that if you can play five minutes, let your body tell you when to stop. Other doctor’s were giving me medicines that didn’t work. I had literally practiced so much that I had to stop doing the thing that I loved.

During my time off, I had time to think. I reflected on all my years as a pianist. I realized that I had not encountered a single black pianist. I observed this not only in school, but also: at competitions, professional performances, piano master classes, and other musical environments. I had been so busy building my career that I didn’t have the time to be as cognizant as I probably should have been.

I realized that the stakes were much higher than simply accomplishing great feats playing classical music. I came to understand that I represented a community within a community – and by that I mean being a black classical musician in an already marginalized society.

It became of paramount importance to be the best on stage, but it was imperative to remain aware that the lights, camera, and action did not stop for me just because the performance was over.”

Luke took a huge leap when he moved to the Netherlands in 2018, on a full scholarship. He remained there for ten years, and the lessons he learned during this time have served him throughout his career.

“I was committed to my own improvements, and those my piano teachers laid out for me. It seemed strange that I was often met with equal confusion, resentment, discouragement, and sometimes

straight-up disdain from others around me. I have actually been stopped from entering a concert venue in which I was the performer, until I was able to convince the person at the door to look at the advertising poster to affirm that I should even be allowed inside the building.

I am not one to theorize whether or not my ethnicity has had an impact on my career opportunities, nor do I care too. I believe that quality will always succeed. I just need to continue to prepare well, push myself to be a better musician, maintain a respectful attitude, and appreciate the incredible support from everyone around me, and those who have contributed to my career. The rest will take care of itself.

Now that he is back in Toronto, Luke is teaching at a conservatory in Toronto, and teaching privately.

“I have not let COVID-19 get me down. I have used it to bolster my career.

I am still giving concerts; one is coming up on August 22nd, 2020 (Vancouver time, 9:00 pm). What I am most proud of is my most recent award, the 2018 Harry Jerome Award. My contributions to the black community are being recognized and it feels great.

I encourage young black men to stay true to you. Don’t be too persuaded by positive, or negative feedback.

People will try to plant doubt, but fight through that.”

Written by Simone Smith Toronto Caribbean News

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PAGE 26

FOOD

Toronto Caribbean News | www.TOCaribNews.com | Wednesday, August 19, 2020

l’s

Chef Noe

T U N O C O C N E K C I H C JERK FFLE WA ets West! e m h t u o S

Waffle • 1 cup flour NOEL • ¼ cup cornmeal CUNNINGHAM • 2 tsp baking powder • ½ tsp cinnamon noel@carib101.com • 1 tsp salt • 1 tbsp sugar CULINARY EXPERT • ¼ cup of water Listen, homemade chicken and waffles have never tasted better; super crispy and perfectly flavoured coconut fried chicken paired with fluffy and tender golden waffles!

The most perfect pairing! Chicken and waffles are an American dish combining chicken with waffles. It is part of a variety of culinary traditions, including soul food and Pennsylvania Dutch cuisine, and is served in certain specialty restaurants in the United States.

I switched things around to Carribeanize it by marinating chicken pieces with jerk seasoning and a coconut brine and instead of a regular waffle I serve these with my festival (fry dough) recipe which resulted in a crispy cinnamon festival waffle. If you’ve missed the recent virtual Jerk Fest this was one of the dishes that I prepared.

Here is your chance to give this simple soul food dish a try in the comfort of your own home. The sweet and spicy hot sauce with the chopped scallion is the star of this dish.

Ingredients • 1 whole chicken, cut in 9 pieces • 1 (2 cups) can coconut milk • 2 tsp salt • 4 tbsp jerk marinade • 2 cups flour, for dredging • 1 pack coconut powder • Oil for frying

Hot Sauce • 1/3 cup hot sauce honey • 3 tbsp hot sauce • 1 stalk scallion, chopped Directions 1. For the fried chicken: Thoroughly rinse the chicken, then marinate with jerk seasoning and salt then cover all the pieces with 2 cups of coconut milk.

Soak in the fridge overnight or up to 24 hours.

2. Combine flour, 2 tsp salt and coconut powder in a bowl. Remove chicken from the refrigerator, pour off excess liquid and dredge into the flour mixture and deep fry until golden brown roughly 15 minutes.

3. For the waffle: Mix baking powder with festival mix and water then add to a heated griddle and cook until golden.

4. For the sauce: Combine all the ingredients and mix to combine. Drizzle over chicken and waffle.

HEALTH

Wednesday, August 19, 2020 | www.TOCaribNews.com | Toronto Caribbean News

PAGE 29

Parkinson’s disease and chiropractic care and one of them is chiropractic care.

DR. VIKAS PURI drpuri@carib101.com

HEALTH SPECIALIST

Parkinson’s disease has significant impact for the patients affected, their caregivers as well as society. Ultimately, the root cause of Parkinson’s disease is the lack of dopamine in the brain which plays a vital role in telling your body how to move. Dopamine is also important for smooth muscle control, therefore when the nerve cells break down and cannot make dopamine, patients start to experience the signs and symptoms of Parkinson’s. Parkinsonism refers to the set of signs and symptoms that are characterized by the following motor symptoms: rigidity, tremor, bradykinesia (abnormal slowness of movement) or postural instability.

Over time, with the growing and aging population, the prevalence of Parkinson’s disease amongst Canadians is expected to double by 2031, increasing the incidence rate to 50%. Although there is no cure, there are a few options to help improve the quality of life

Common signs and symptoms of Parkinson’s disease Parkinson’s disease is a progressive movement disease, meaning that it eventually gets worse over time. There is no simple diagnostic test that can be done to confirm if an individual has Parkinson’s disease, this is usually confirmed through neurological history and the physical onset of signs and symptoms. There are two main categories of common symptoms of Parkinson’s disease which are motor and non-motor symptoms.

Motor symptoms include difficulty walking (shuffling gait), balance problems, rigidity, postural difficulties, dysphagia, muscle pain and overall slowness of movement. Common non-motor symptoms that arise are anxiety, depression, dementia, mood swings, constipation, excessive sweating and orthostatic hypotension.

What role does chiropractic play?

Research and chiropractic care with Parkinson’s patients have concluded that there is a high influence of chiropractic on the symptoms of this disease. Ultimately, chiropractic care results in improvements in the function of the nervous system, restores motion and stimulates natural regulation of dopamine.

Improve nerve function Chiropractic care is neurologically based and focuses on improving nerve function through adjusting spinal misalignments.

Often, these misalignments in the spine can cause an interference which then in turn disrupts communication in the body. Through spinal manipulation, chiropractic care can result in nerve cells functioning at optimal levels so that proper dopamine production can help improve symptoms related to Parkinson’s disease.

Improve muscle control As discussed briefly, muscle stiffness/rigidity and mobility issues are common complications of Parkinson’s disease. Unfortunately, this can increase the chance of slips and falls that patients may experience. If there are misalignments in the spine this can add to muscle stiffness because if vertebrae in the spine are out of place, this can pull on different muscles resulting in tightness and pain.

For a Parkinson’s patient specifically, chiropractic care can help ease muscle stiffness resulting in improvement in muscle control.

This can also help avoid the risk of injury such as dangerous slips and falls.

Improve quality of life Many are not aware that chiropractic care has the ability to slow down the progression of

Parkinson’s disease resulting in a better quality of life not just for the patient themselves, but also their family and caretakers. Spinal health is core in many diseases and plays a vital role in everyday health. Yes, there are medications out on the market to help the progression of Parkinson’s disease. However, those medications only target the signs and symptoms and not the root cause itself. In this case, that is directly related to the production of dopamine and death of nerve cells. Spinal adjustments performed by chiropractors improve nerve function resulting in decreased severity of symptoms, increase in health and function and of course overall improves the patient’s quality of life.

Parkinson’s disease is one of many without a definitive cure and can be extremely difficult to live with. Not only does it cause pain and discomfort, but it has a significant impact on one’s quality of life. There have been numerous amounts of research done on chiropractic care and Parkinson’s, and most case studies have shown that patient’s with Parkinson’s have similar misalignments in the neck or cervical subluxations. It is encouraged that patients with Parkinson’s disease should have access to various treatment options that help improve their overall quality of life and comfort, which is exactly what chiropractic care has proven.

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Wednesday, August 19, 2020 | www.TOCaribNews.com | Toronto Caribbean News

PAGE 31

Vitamin D to survive the Pandemic W. GIFFORDJONES MD DIANA GIFFORD-JONES COMMON SENSE HEALTH

An effective vaccine against the coronavirus may be the only way to end the pandemic. Wouldn’t we all love a return to social normalcy and easier sleep? But until scientists deliver a vaccine, or until the virus runs its course and goes away, we need to use other measures. Among them, medical authorities should be sharing more information with the public about natural ways to build up immunity against viral infections.

Vitamin D is one of the crucial components of your immune system.

Many people are deficient in it. Perhaps because there are no headlines about it, some people don’t seem to care. A report in the

Irish Medical Journal says it’s vital to have the right amount of vitamin D to achieve its full benefits. So, what’s the scientific evidence?

Dr. Declan Byrne, Clinical Senior Lecturer, St James Hospital and School of Medicine, Trinity College, Dublin, says, “Our findings call for an immediate supplementation of all hospital inpatients, nursing home residents and older Irish adults with vitamin D.” He adds, “Our findings also suggest that vitamin D supplementation in the broader adult population and frontline workers will help to limit infections and flatten out the coronavirus curve.”

Indonesian researchers added fuel with a study analyzing 780 patients who tested positive for the coronavirus. Among those patients determined as vitamin D deficient, 98.8% died!

So, the concern that a deficiency of vitamin D is associated with an increased risk of developing coronavirus is gaining global attention. For instance, Professor Ian Brighthope, an Australian nutritional guru who pioneered the importance of vitamin supplements for decades, says, “We know that a safe and effective vaccine may be

Fat facts: are you eating the right type?

Fats play an essential role in the body, helping with vitamin absorption, providing energy and insulating organs. While they’re an important part of a balanced diet, some fats are unhealthy. This is why, according to the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, you should pay close attention to the type of fat you eat.

THE GOOD Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats help regulate cholesterol levels and prevent cardiovascular disease. Sources of these good fats include: • Cold-water fish such as salmon, tuna, mackerel and trout • Olive, canola and peanut oil • Nuts such as almonds, cashews and pecans • Avocados • Seeds such as flax, pumpkin and sunflower • Omega-3 eggs If you eat margarine, be sure to opt for the non-hydrogenated va­riety. Made from vegetable oils, this cholesterol-free margarine is a good source of omega-6 and other unsaturated fats.

THE BAD Saturated fats raise levels of bad choleste-

rol, which increases your risk of heart disease and stroke. Foods that are high in saturated fats include: • Fatty meats • Butter • Whole dairy products • Lard • Palm and coconut oil Additionally, highly processed foods are a major source of saturated fats for many Canadians. This includes cookies, French fries and chips, which also tend to contain a lot of salt and sugar.

While it’s important to eat the right types of fat, you should also balance your diet with sufficient fruits, vegetables, whole grains and proteins. For specific dietary advice, consult a doctor, nutritionist or dietitian.

a long way off. So, it seems madness that in the meantime we do not use all the defences such as vitamin D which is safe and cost effective.” The cost per person would be from $10 to $20 dollars a year.

But how many people are lacking in vitamin D? A survey from Trinity College, Dublin, says one in eight people under fifty years of age are deficient in vitamin D. In North America, it’s estimated that two in five people are deficient in vitamin D particularly in the late winter months, which doubles their risk of flu. And according to the National Institutes of Health in the U.S., 81.1% of black American adults are deficient in vitamin D.

Professor Adrian Martineau, an expert on immunity at Queen Mary University of London, says, “Vitamin D helps the body to fight viral respiratory infections. It boosts the ability of cells to kill viruses and at the same time dampens down harmful inflammation which is one of the big problems of coronavirus.”

Several years ago, this column published an interesting finding. It reported that 80% of elderly mentally ill patients, who had pneumonia, and were treated

with vitamin D survived. Those that did not, died. This scientific proof should have rung a big bell.

So how can we get smart and boost our immunity? It’s a great tragedy that we continue to hear Medical Officers of Health, infectious disease experts and TV anchors promote the use of face masks, hand-washing, and social distancing to decease the risk of developing COVID-19, but none mention that vitamins D and C could help simmer down this pandemic.

Faced with an economic crisis unlike any ever faced before, a global prescription for a combination package of supplements would be prudent. It’s been suggested that 1,000 milligrams of vitamin C, taken in three divided doses has proven to increase immunity. Now its advisable to add 5,000 I.U. (international units) of vitamin D daily for two weeks to quickly establish an effective blood level of D. Then 3,000 IU daily. This is a great insurance package to fight viral infections.

As always, check with your own doctor.

Dilated eye exams: a look at retina damage Do you have severe myopia or diabetes?

Perhaps you’re over the age of 50, have a family history of retinal detachment or previously experienced some type of eye trauma? If so, your optometrist may recommend you undergo a dilated eye exam.

Here’s what you should know about this diagnostic tool.

and you may experience blurry vision.

Therefore, you should wear sunglasses and avoid driving after the exam.

WHAT IT’S FOR The purpose of this test is to give your optometrist a better view of your retina, which is a thin layer of tissue that lines the back of your eyes. A dilated eye exam is used to help prevent vision loss by detecting eye conditions such as a torn or detached retina.

• The sudden appearance of drifting spots in your vision, called floaters • Gradually reduced peripheral vision • Blurry or dim vision

WHAT TO EXPECT Your optometrist will begin the procedure by administering a few drops of medication into each eye. The drops will cause certain eye muscles to relax and your pupils to become dilated. Once the drops take effect, after about 20 to 30 minutes, your optometrist will examine your retinas using specialized equipment.

It usually takes four to six hours for the medication to wear off.

In the meantime, your eyes will be extremely sensitive to light

WHAT TO WATCH FOR Detecting a torn or detached retina early can help prevent vision loss. Common symptoms include:

If you experience any of these symptoms, consult your optometrist immediately.

There are several treatments available to repair a torn or detached retina, including surgery. The best course of care will depend on the severity of the damage.

PAGE 32

COMMUNITY

Toronto Caribbean News | www.TOCaribNews.com | Wednesday, August 19, 2020

Is God, nature, “man,” machine, or the Devil responsible for the world’s chaos? Part 2

ERROL A. GIBBS errol@carib101.com

PHILOSOPHER

Part 1 of 3 introduced such questions as, “Do human beings have “free will?” Does God circumvent the will of human beings when it is convenient to Him? Is free will necessary for human survival? The question of free will is a binary issue. If human beings do not have free will, our inquiry will go down Path Number 1. The world would have to accept that God is responsible for the chaos. The randomness and uncontrolled nature of human behaviour, the chaotic would be attributed to God.

Rendered futile parental discipline, behavioral psychology, and the entire system of justice. Human nurturing and preaching would be a vain pursuit - a woeful proposition. Conversely, if human beings have free will, our inquiry will go down Path Number 2. Human beings would strive to curb our behaviour and be aware of the dire consequences of giving account for our actions, thus acquitting God. The conviction of God as being responsible for the chaos in the world could not stand.

The choice between these two

paths has enormous consequences for human survival because there cannot be a middle ground. Furthermore, the nature of human survival will forever be in the realm of uncertainty unless we are certain which path to take. Moreover, if God granted human beings free will, parental discipline, behavioral psychology, and the criminal justice system would still be necessary, because of our material motivations.

Where do we go from here with the belief that God either causes or allows chaos to occur in the world, placing blame on God? This writer is not making any assumptions. The preponderance of questions rests on the premise that there cannot be any vacillating between yes “free will,” and no “free will” based on circumstances dictated by human reasoning. Moreover, God’s very Spiritual would be in question and would be at the fulcrum of our inquiry.

The answers to these questions lead to a paradox of all paradoxes, and further inquiries that we must pursue, lest some dismiss the inquiry as nonessential to human understanding or human survival. The choice of this writer is to search for knowledge by furthering the inquiry. Human beings are the “intelligence species” - the highest of God’s creation. Biblical literature teaches that we can communicate with God. He enables us to influence the circumstances in which we live.

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Can human beings have intelligence without the “will” to exercise it?

Have human beings been put on the Earth, with a circumvented “intelligent nature,” with no capacity to respond to guidance?” The evidence available over the past 6000 years points to an intelligent “free” thinking being, born with an inherently creative mind, underpinned by “will” and “motivation” - without this nature, human life would be relegated to purposeless existence, in a state of bewilderment, untethered from any form of reasoning.

Let us examine the most profound statement ever recorded in the history of the world, penned in the book of Luke 23:34. “Father, forgive them for they do not know what they do (the crucifixion of Christ).” This statement raises a perplexing irony because it seems to infer that human beings do not have “free will” - acting out of the darkness of the mind. Where does this supposition put our inquiry?

It leads this writer to three conclusions about the will. (1) There is God’s “will” for human beings that He will never circumvent - His unchanging nature. (2) There is the will of human beings acting out of a state of darkness that reveals “unrighteousness.” (3) There is the will of human beings acting out of a state of light that reveals “righteousness.” The will of humans then is an inherent part of our being that can respond to “darkness” and

“light.”

The question then becomes, “What gives human beings the capacity to respond to darkness or light. Distinct from animals that are limited to instinctive behavior, intelligent human beings can promote good or evil. Spiritual intelligence guides our decision-making concerning the nature and purpose of every human action and endeavor.”

The religious texts provide higher guidance, "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and these things shall be added to you” (Matthew 6:33-34). Therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, present yourselves a living sacrifice to God, holy and acceptable, which is your spiritual act of worship.

And do not be conformed any longer to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God (Romans 12:1-2).

These seemingly difficult choices often cause some human beings to capitulate on making sacrifices and surrendering to the darkness of the mind.

Submitting to the “will” of God is the source of nurturing that imbues the mind to choose light over darkness. God is light, and in Him, there is no darkness” (1 John 1:5). The verdict is in God’s favour.

He confirms it herein (2 Chronicles 7:14) (Continued in Part 3 of 3).

LIFE

Wednesday, August 19, 2020 | www.TOCaribNews.com | Toronto Caribbean News

PAGE 33

The relevance of certain skills and the technological disruption of the job market Fourth Industrial Revolution is birthing.

This report helps to give chief human resources and strategy officers a better perspective on the concept of employability, human capacity development and skill acquisition. An unavoidable important merger is happening, and it is of uttermost importance that the human entity plugs himself into a space where he can be found not just useful, but to an extent, indispensable. Here is the big statement by the WEF; ‘the Fourth Industrial Revolution, which includes developments in previously disjointed fields such as artificial intelligence and machine-learning, robotics, nanotechnology, 3-D printing, and genetics and biotechnology, will cause widespread disruption not only to business models but also to labour markets…”. The sad reality is one-third of skills that are considered important in today’s workforce will change five years from now. In its report, the WEF highlights the following as the top skills that will be in high demand by 2020:

DANIEL COLE

daniel@carib101.com

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

The meaning attached to the word “jobs” is currently undergoing a revolutionary change. The conventional seemingly “top notch” jobs are undergoing massive threats from the influx of what newness has to offer to the human experience.

Aspirations are currently undergoing an absolute disruption, and the conventional day-to-day hustle of the average man needs some re-aligning, to avoid wasting sweat on gaining skills in areas of absolute irrelevancies. One must be careful to not confuse busyness for productivity. There’s a need for strategic pursuit; to pursue that which is necessary in the most competitive space to attain global relevance.

“The question then is, to what degree of relevance is your current job? How truly necessary is the skill you are currently trying so hard to acquire?”

The World Economic Forum in its newest report “The Future of Jobs” makes a detailed attempt at predicting how the typical work space will look like in the coming years, and how employability will have to fit into the new structure that the

• • • • • • • • • •

Complex problem solving Critical thinking Creativity People management Coordinating with others Emotional intelligence Judgment and decision making Service orientation Negotiation Cognitive flexibility

This list when compared to that generated for the year 2005, features significant changes, as certain skills witnessed a drop/rise in rankings, as the case may be. The 2005 top skills, as compared with 2020 can be seen below: • Complex problem solving • Co-ordinating with others (-3) • People management (-1) • Critical thinking (+2) • Negotiation (-4) • Quality control * • Service orientation (-1) • Judgment and decision making (+1) • Active listening* • Creativity (+7) * drop out of Top 10 skills in 2020 Negotiation and flexibility were high on the list of skills for 2015. However, in 2020, machines will replace the decisionmaking process. Active listening will be dropped from the top ten and replaced by emotional intelligence. Technology is replacing human-based jobs at the blink

of an eye. Productivity is now optimally based on the efficiency of machines, and the non-emotionality of robots is fast replacing the decision-making elements of human.

The end game here is not to determine your level of productivity and value-adding ability by the presiding parameters of your locality.

Every step taken must be deliberate, and well-coordinated. Slaving away in the fall walls of a classroom or a training room, trying to acquire skills that would have only mattered ten years ago, is not only a waste of time, but also an absolute waste of mental energy and a drastic reduction in the human impact ability. You determine your employability by being in constant touch with the trends and adapting your human worth to the changes that is consistently happening around you. The guiding question is this, how does your skill align with the newness of age? At the end of it all, you are your own recruiter.

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PAGE 34

LIFE

Toronto Caribbean News | www.TOCaribNews.com | Wednesday, August 19, 2020

There is a reason why I am telling this story!

Reliving my past trauma SIMONE SMITH simone@carib101.com

HUMAN SPECIALIST

Writing gives me a voice!

BY MAKAYLA B. 12 YEARS OLD TC JUNIOR CONTRIBUTOR If I were asked what purpose writing serves in my life, I would be giving them a considerably long list. The main purpose writing serves, is the opportunity to voice my opinion, and getting to learn new things that you may not learn.

Being able to voice my opinion through writing is not a chance many have. Few get to voice their opinion in general.

Having the ability to voice your opinion has a significant weight, and holds a sense of importance. Due to writing, I have been able to learn new things that you wouldn’t be able to learn, if you were doing something like a school assignment. In some countries kids do not have the opportunity to go to school, or the ability to learn things.

The fact that I get to write about what I find important is an amazing thing.

Certain topics that I’ve written about have taught me things like how doing certain social media challenges can injure or possibly kill you, and how dangerous some apps can be.

I write because it’s something I enjoy.

I have a family who motivates me, and push me to do my best. My hope is that I am able to motivate others to do what they love.

EMPOWERING OUR YOUNG MINDS OF TOMORROW TORONTO CARIBBEAN NEWS INC.

It was hard to sleep that night. I had sat on the floor staring at the gate for the rest of that afternoon. I stared at it so long that the lights went out indicating the end of the day. There was no other choice but to lie down, and force myself to go to sleep.

That night I ruminated about everything in my life. I guess it could be what your life flashing before your eyes looks like in slow motion. I relived moments in my life that I had not thought of. The ones that I focused on the most, were the ones that I believe had brought me to this point. Every now and then, I pictured my parents, and it brought tears to my eyes.

My mom and dad are the BEST parents a young woman like me could ask for. Although my actions had been selfish, I had never wanted them to impact my parents. My parents raised me to be a good person, to not hurt others, and to abide by all of the other commandments that ap-

pear in The Bible.

They had been strict, but also knew how to have a lot of fun. I have great memories being raised by my parents, and I know that it hurt them that I was sitting in a jail cell halfway across the world.

I pictured my mom, sitting there with her eyes large because she was worried. My mom’s eyes getting bigger when she is sad. Her hand on her forehead, she would probably be at her computer, typing furiously, trying to figure out what to do next.

My dad, the more calm, and cool out of the two, was probably hidden away somewhere, processing things slowly. I am sure that he had not said much since the phone call. I later learned that they were at my auntie’s house in New York, and for the rest of their trip, they had to force themselves to act normal. I know that was hard for my mom. She is not great at hiding her feelings at all.

As I write this, tears come to my eyes. Rehashing this story every couple weeks has been difficult. There are the worries of judgment that I may receive. There is the fact that people will read this and use it against me in the future. With the recent stance that I have taken against false truths, and the madness of media, I am sure that people will dig up information on this

case, and attempt to slander my name.

THAT IS EXACTLY WHY I AM TELLING MY STORY! Those who choose to rise up against me will not use my trauma to disarm me. My story is no longer mine. This story is for a young woman who may find herself in a worst situation then mine. I want to help prepare her mind for this. To show her that even though you make mistakes, you can rise above.

As I lay there, my thoughts wandered. I opened my eyes and stared into the darkness. The young lady who had been taken to prison earlier in the day had been lying on a thin mattress. When she left, I claimed the mattress, and for the first time in about three days, my body was not screaming in pain.

I flipped over to stare at the wall. It was so dark that regardless of where I was looking, it still looked like a sea of black. Today had shaken me. There was that chance that I would be sent to a prison in Panama.

I had watched movies like this, but to think that I would have to navigate the actual experience rocked me to the core.

I squeezed my eyes tight, and begged my brain to shut off. As I drifted into the darkness, I thanked my brain for listening to me.

A look within to our inner child; The New Moon in August GARCIA AKUA

garcia@carib101.com

COSMIC CORNER

Greetings family! Sending you all love and light as we can never have too much love and light!

August was action packed with cosmic movements. The energy was direct and intense in many cases. As the Sun went to it’s home sign of Leo, we definitely felt the cosmic heat. Leo is a fire sign with masculine energy. It is regal, noble, brave and creative. Leo rules the heart chakra, bringing life to the heart’s desires, pleasures and creative energy. As Leo also influences the inner child, this energy is usually light and playful. It’s fitting that the energy lines up with the middle of summer, when many love being outdoors having fun with our friends and family. We have had to get quite creative this summer in how we gather with our loved ones. As each city reopens at various stages, we have had to find ways of complying with the ever-changing laws and safety measures while desperately reconnecting with our families and the activities we love.

The New Moon on August 18th gives us an opportunity to look within to our inner child, our true hearts desires

and set goals to set your inner child free.

What truly makes you happy? Despite all the changes of 2020, what does happiness and pleasure look like to you? How can you take the steps to create that happiness you are looking for? Looking to your inner child may give you some insight and clarity.

Our inner child is still alive within us. For some, revisiting the inner child is not as playful and joyful as it sounds. Where we find our inner child, we usually find our inner fears, insecurities, unresolved trauma and pain. However, it is by facing these fears we find the strength and the freedom to be who we truly are.

The Full Moon in Aquarius on August 3rd highlighted our unique talents, gifts and ideas in correlation to the greater cause of humanity. Aquarius is the opposite sign of Leo. Under the Leo New Moon, we focus on developing our unique gifts and talents. We ensure we are truly loving ourselves, inner child fears and all to truly appreciate and honour all of who we are.

I often say, healing isn’t always love and light. Sometimes it’s walking through the dark room until you find the light switch.

Sometimes it’s growing pains and fear of facing what happens when the pain stops.

Sometimes healing the wound is more painful then the initial wound especially when you didn’t cause it but it is your responsibility to now heal it.

Uranus, the planet of change and originality is now retrograde until January 2021. It stations retrograde on August 15th, we will feel some of this Uranian energy during this New Moon phase. Retro-

grades are times to reflect in whatever area of life is ruled by the planet in such retrograde. In this case, Uranus is asking us to reflect around our ideas of freedom, liberation, our future. Uranus is the planet of sudden change, electricity and revolution. It is innovative and outside the box approach to things. It also helps us to unlock our inner will and secret powers. We can use this energy to support our inner child, with our inner strength and will to come out into the Leo royal and regal light. This New Moon gives us the opportunity to take the good, bad and ugly about our lives and create a brand new story for ourselves. We can crown ourselves with our struggles, or we can turn the struggle to our success story and wear a crown of true victory. We can use the combination of this energy to make shocking discoveries about ourselves and those around us and then choose how we would like to show up with this newfound knowledge.

I also quite often say the Universe is always conspiring on our behalf.

We can use the natural elements within and around us to change our story whenever we choose to. We can choose to use this New Moon in Leo to honour our inner child, to free him/her, or her to teach you all you missed out because of fear, judgement and trauma. Uranus is asking what is freedom for you? How can you use your unique energy to create and support your most inner desires for yourself and loved ones? How can we choose to show up for ourselves more? The choice is yours. Are you truly conspiring on your own behalf?

LIFE

Wednesday, August 19, 2020 | www.TOCaribNews.com | Toronto Caribbean News

PAGE 35

Spoken to by the God’s; the reign of Tuthmosis the 4th DAVE RANKIN dave@carib101.com

AFRICAN HISTORY

After the passing of his father Amenhotep 2nd, his young son Thutmosis 4th ascended to the throne. It was once believed that his reign lasted around thirtyfive years. However, this is not true. The high priest Manetho attributed the reign to nine years and eight months beginning around 1401 BCE. Upon researching the 8th nesew or king of the 18th Dynasty, I found that there were very sparse records kept. Nevertheless, we will do our very best to deliver the information that I have located thus far.

Although he was born of royal blood, he was not a direct successor. This only happened due to the passing of his

older brother. When he had come to the throne, Tuthmosis 4th had minor campaigns in the Palestine/Syria region and Nubia. As mentioned before, we have seen where there has been a transition on the throne; a rebellion would arise from some of the colonies that belonged to the empire. This was no different. Once word was received, he quickly led a company of soldiers to quell each of the uprisings.

So far, I have not located any records on what transpired during the battles. It seems that the first campaign happened early in his reign, while the campaign in Nubia occurred around the 8th year. We only know that he was successful, and both areas fell in line to resume the order of things. Other than that, Thutmosis 4th had inherited a quiet peaceful empire. This of course was due to the efforts of his predecessors, his father Amenhotep 2nd and grandfather Thutmosis 3rd.

Once of the most significant accomplishments made during the reign of Thutmosis 4th was the peace treaty

signed with the Mitanni Empire of northern Syria. They both sensed the growing influence of the Hittite Empire of then Asia Minor and found it to be prudent to join forces to keep their mutual enemy at bay. This treaty would last in place for well over a hundred years until it fell to the aforementioned foes sometime during the late 1300’s. A trove of gifts presented by both sides cemented the peace treaty.

The ancient city of Alalakh, present day Açana of Turkey was ceded to the Mitanni and the union between a Mitanni princess and Thutmosis 4th took place.

There is a legend that is associated with Tuthmosis 4th that took place prior to his ascension. It speaks of the pharaoh as a young prince who was riding on his chariot during one of his favorite pastimes, hunting. It begins with the prince driving ‘His chariot whose horses were swifter that the wind.’ After the hunt, ‘when the sun had reached its highest point’ Thutmosis 4th fell asleep and ‘beheld the majesty of the August God’ who then spoke to him as a ‘Father speaks to

his son.’

‘O my son… I am your father Harmachis-Khepri-Ra-Atum. I shall give you my reign upon earth over the living and you shall wear its crown…’

Just to provide some background to this legend. The god Heru/Horus in the form of Harmachis or the Great Sphinx of Kemet spoke to the young Thutmosis 4th that day. The deity promised to grant rule of Kemet in return that he takes care of the statue. The legend continues ‘Behold, my state is like one who is pain, and my entire body is out joint. For the sand of the desert, presses upon me. I have waiting to have you do what is in my heart; for… you are my son and my champion.’

Thutmosis 4th took these words to heart. For he began the excavation of Harmachis right away and was later granted the throne. He later erected a stele, which sits in between the paws of this great statue to this day. This stele recants this very story of how the young prince recovered Harmachis from the clenches of the desert sand.

Preparing young kids for new Grade 9 math course PAUL JUNOR

paul@carib101.com

YOUTH EDUCATION

The Ministry of Education released the new elementary mathematics curriculum for Grades 1-8 on June 23rd, 2020.

This document will lay the foundations for how students are prepared for high school math. The areas of emphasis in this document are numbers, algebra, data, spatial sense and financial literacy.

This back-to-basics approach to learning mathematics will focus on rote memorization and mastery of fundamental skills.

This new curriculum is the first update since 2005 and will commence in September 2020.

The Ministry of Education announced on July 9th, 2020 that Grade 9 will be de-streamed in all Ontario’s publicly funded high schools. This means that students will no longer be in an applied or academic class, but they will all

be grouped as one. The Toronto District School Board (TDSB) has de-streamed all Grade 9 classes starting September 2020. There will be a new foundational Grade 9 math course starting in September 2021.The Ministry is in the process of developing the content of this course, by consulting varied stakeholders. Currently, the strands in Grade 9 Math are: measurement, analytic geometry, relations and geometric ideas.

The Ontario Association of Mathematics Association (OAME) whose mission is to “promote excellence in mathematics education throughout the province of Ontario,” (www.oame.on.ca) outlined eleven beliefs and principles that learning of mathematics should be based on: • Learning is structured around the joy concepts of mathematics.

• Learners build a prior knowledge and understanding, and work at a developmentally appropriate level to achieve meaning.

• Learners are better able to transfer and use knowledge when new ideas within rich and meaningful learning contexts.

• The learning process is enhanced when new ideas are presented in a variety of ways and when all learners

•

•

•

•

•

have access to “hands-on” and “mindon” activities and opportunities.

Learning is enhanced when students experience a variety of instructional approaches, ranging from direct instruction to inquiry-based learning.

Learners require opportunities to interact with each other during the learning process, to teach others, to explain and justify the processes of mathematics. Learning is enhanced when the learners are encouraged to communicate their understanding.

Effective mathematics education is required to engage and motivate learners, to help students develop positive attitudes about themselves and to encourage learners to make positive contributions to the learning environment.

Learning is enhanced when students and teachers understand learning expectations and assessments standards and participate actively in assessing and evaluating their personal growth.

Learning is enhanced when: teaching, coaching, assisting, supporting and feedback is planned and designed to improve specific learning and mental processing skills safe to accommodate different learning styles and

• •

needs.

Learning is enhanced when teachers plan and reflect together.

Learning is enhanced when all participants in the process are active partners within a community of learners (parents, educators, students and the community).

It is important in the new Grade 9 math program that students “Do, see, hear, and touch mathematics in a profound and meaningful way.” (www.oame.on.ca)

The units that they will have to cover are number sense and algebra, linear relations, analytic geometry, measurement and geometry. Discovery approach, where students are exposed to open-ending questions through logical thinking, small-group discussions and investigations will be deemphasized. They will have to build on fundamental skills involving number operations, mastering math facts and math skills with and without technology as well as developing mathematical fluency. The development of social-emotional skills will be key to helping students overcome math anxiety.

They will develop global competencies with a focus on STEM education using real-life examples.

PAGE 36

LIFE

Toronto Caribbean News | www.TOCaribNews.com | Wednesday, August 19, 2020

The Ontario Human Rights Commission Interim Report on racial profiling by the Toronto Police Service NANA ADJEI-POKU nana@carib101.com

LEGAL SPECIALIST

In 2017, the Ontario Human Rights Commission launched an inquiry into racial profiling and discrimination of blacks, and in November of 2018 released “A Collective Impact”, an interim report on the inquiry into racial profiling and racial discrimination of the black community by the Toronto Police Service (TPS).

In that report, the key years focussed on were from 2013 and 2017. During that time, it was shown that a black person in Toronto was twenty times more likely to be fatally shot by a Toronto police officer. Of note, black people only made up 8.8% of Toronto’s population but were over-represented in use of force cases (28.8%), shootings (36%), deadly encounters (61.5%) and fatal shootings (70%).

The SIU Director prepared a report, and it revealed that there was no legal basis for police who stopped or detained a black civilian in the first place; unjustified searches and unnecessary charges or arrests. The Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) took the initiative to speak to approximately 130 individuals in the black community, and heard first-hand experiences about fear, trauma and mistrust members of the community had against the TPS. The OHRC then analyzed all the information collected, and expressed concerns about officer misconduct, transparency and accountability.

Courts even found that TPS officers provided biased and untrustworthy testimonies in some instances and were unwilling to cooperate with SIU investigations.

The purpose of the Collective Impact Report was to pinpoint the problems and make recommendations. The report recognized that blacks were less likely to cooperate with police investigations due to their negative perceptions of police. Approximately ten years ago, former Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair acknowledged that racial bias did exist within the TPS and made efforts to address the issues of the profiling at individual and systemic levels and also publicly support the OHRC inquiry. In summary of that report, the OHRC called on the TPS and TPSB to acknowledge: • • •

The experiences and racial disparities raise serious concerns; Their continued support of the OHRC’s inquiry into racial profiling and discrimination of black people; and The collection of race-based data on all stops, searches and use of force incidents

OHRC also called on the City of Toronto to implement recommendations to deal with anti-black racism.

Fast forward to 2020. In the past week, the OHRC released the second interim report entitled, “A Disparate Impact” as a follow up. This research was conducted by: Dr. Scot Wortley, Dr. Ayobami Laniyonu, Dr. Maria Jung and Erick Laming. They analyzed the

TPS data in relation to charges, arrest, release and use of force data. The issues of systemic racism and anti-black racial bias were also looked at by the group. Here is a brief summary of the findings contained in the report.

It was noted that there is a serious impact on an accused person’s life once charges are laid, he/she has been arrested, put in jail and later found not guilty. This leads to a non-conviction record which can affect many things in a person’s life after the fact. The criminal offences the research group focussed on for this report were: 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

Failure to comply; Obstruct justice; Assault police; Uttering threats against police; Possession of Cannabis; Other illegal drug possession; Out-of-sight driving offences (including driving without a valid licence, driving without valid insurance, driving while suspended); 8. Disturbing the peace; and 9. Trespassing.

The top three offences that were over-represented in relation to the black community were: obstruct justice (42.5%), out-of-site driving (35.2%) and cannabis possession (37.6%). For those who are unaware of what out-of-sight driving offences are, they are when an officer checks a vehicle license plate and stops the driver before becoming aware that the driver has committed an offence. This fact is reminiscent to the “driving while black” reference many have made in the past when they have complained that an officer pulled them over because of their colour and then in that stop, it was discovered that they possessed a suspended license or non-valid insurance. This report just confirms what many have consistently complained about over the years.

Where a black person has been charged, there was noted to be a disproportionately higher rate where the charges were less likely to result in any convictions for the black individual versus their white counter part.

More up-to-date findings between 2016 and 2017 showed that black people were grossly over-represented in lower level use of force incidents (38.9%), whereas white people and other racialized groups were under-represented. Black males accounted for 34% for all lower level use of force cases, while black females were under-represented, but were still 3.6 times more likely to be involved in the lower level use of force cases than white females, and twenty-five more times greater than women in any other racialized group.

The research group tried to pinpoint whether the reasons above occurred due to the fact that a lot of black people tend to live in high-crime patrol zones and come from single-mother households. What could not be explained is why the black community was grossly over-represented.

The OHRC is asking for action.

Let’s hope the final report is released within the next couple of years. This has been a call that has fallen on too many deaf ears and only involves the Toronto Police Service at this point in time. The next time a black person says they have been discriminated against or racially profiled, it is my hope that something gets done about it.

Wednesday, August 19, 2020 | www.TOCaribNews.com | Toronto Caribbean News

Personal care products: give your body the best While many consumers pay close attention to the food they put in their bodies, there has been a slower shift toward watching what they put on their bodies. If you want personal care products made with natural ingredients, buying them from an independent cosmetic brand in your region is often the way to go.

So the next time you’re browsing the aisles at your local pharmacy, be sure to ask the cos­ metic counter clerk about the local brands they carry.

PLENTY OF OPTIONS Whether handmade by artisans or pro­ duced by small-scale businesses, there are locally made personal care products to suit all ages, skin types and cosmetic needs. Here’s a sample of what you mi­ ght find in stores: • • • • •

Micellar water and cleansers Scrubs and exfoliants Lip balms and face masks Butters and serums Body, face and eye creams

Additionally, many indepen­dent cos­ metic brands offer a range of vegan, organic and paraben-free products that are gentle on your skin and the environ­ ment.

Why local designers are the next big thing Did you know that the fashion industry pro­ duces 10 per cent of global carbon emissions?

That’s more than international flights and mari­ time shipping combined. Fortunately, there are steps you can take to help reduce this pollution.

These include: • Shopping at thrift stores and garage sales • Hosting a clothing swap in your neighbour­ hood • Opting to repair or repurpose old clothing These are all fun and eco-friendly ways to reple­ nish your wardrobe. However, you won’t always find your size or style, and eventually clothes get worn beyond repair. When this happens, the most sustainable source for new clothing is of­ ten from local designers.

CHIC, ETHICAL OPTIONS Many local and small-scale fashion labels priori­ tize green, sustainable practices. This means they’re careful about the materials they select and the way they make and package their collec­ tions. They also tend to favour collaborations with local vendors and manufacturers who gua­ rantee safe and respon­sible working conditions.

Plus, you often get to enjoy more personalized customer service.

PRIORITIZING QUALITY When you purchase pie­ces from a local desi­ gner, you can count on the clothing to be wellmade and durable. This stands in sharp contrast to the fast fashion collections of mass-market retailers, which are often characterized by low-quality clothing that easily falls apart.

Additionally, while the designer option is inevi­ tably more expensive, you’ll be incentivized to purchase fewer pieces and take better care of your clothes to en­ sure they last longer. These habits are better for the envi­ ronment and save you money in the long run.

So, if you want to contribute to your regional economy while sporting beautiful out­ fits, visit a local designer’s boutique for your next shop­ ping spree.

LIFE

PAGE 37

PAGE 38

HOW TO

Toronto Caribbean News | www.TOCaribNews.com | Wednesday, August 19, 2020

Stock vs. custom cabinets: which to choose for your kitchen?

If you’re renovating your kitchen, one of the main decisions you’ll need to make is whether to opt for stock or custom cabinetry. To help you make a choice, here are the advantages of each option.

STOCK CABINETS Many home improvement stores offer a wide selection of prefabricated cabinets.

You can choose from various materials, colours and finishes to match your design style. The best part about ready-made cabinets is you can take them home immediately or get them delivered within a few days.

If you have a strict renovation timeline, a simple kitchen layout and a limited budget, stock cabinets are likely the right choice for you.

Whether it’s a vintage radio purchased from a local collector or an armoire that’s been in your family for generations, antique pieces can add charm and character to a home when properly showcased. Here are some tips to help you stylishly integrate vintage and antique furnishings with the rest of your decor.

CUSTOM CABINETS Cabinets that are made-to-measure and built by a tradesperson are guaranteed to optimize the available space in your kitchen and meet your exact style preferences. You get to decide on the size, material, colour, finish, hardware and more. Nothing is left to chance.

REMEMBER THAT LESS IS MORE A space filled with antiques can easily look outdated rather than stylish. Ideally, you should limit yourself to two or three compelling pieces per room. This will allow you to highlight the unique furnishings and create an eclectic space that’s still pulled together.

If you have a flexible timeline and a fairly generous budget, custom cabinets are the superior option as long as they’re built and installed by experienced professionals.

DID YOU KNOW? The return on investment for a renovated kitchen is typically between 75 and 100 per cent. Given the potential effect on the resale value of your home, it’s worth investing in quality cabinets, regardless of whether they’re prefabricated or custom-made.

What’s the best material to frame your windows?

If it’s time to replace the windows in your home, you’ll need to choose a material for the frames. Here are the most common options and what you should know about them.

VINYL Made of PVC and often supported with a metal interior, this material is easy to maintain, an effective insulator and resistant to moisture and corrosion. It’s also the most affordable window frame option. Over time, however, fluctuating temperatures can cause the corner seams to fail.

ALUMINUM This durable material requires little maintenance and is extremely weather-resistant, although exposure to sunlight can affect its appearance. Though more expensive than vinyl, these sturdy frames can be built thin

How to incorporate antiques into your decor

to increase the surface area of glass in your windows.

WOOD This timeless, warm and recyclable material is both an eco-friendly and esthetically pleasing option. However, it requires meticulous care to protect it from water damage and rot. Alternatively, hybrid window frames include a layer of aluminum or fibreglass to shield the wood from the elements.

FIBREGLASS While not as affordable as vinyl, this lowcost option offers the strongest window frame structure. It’s also resistant to temperature fluctuations and moisture. Fibreglass tends to discolour in the sun, but it can easily be repainted. Plus, the material won’t deteriorate.

All of these window frame varieties have an average lifespan of 20 to 30 years.

However, if properly cared for, wood frames can last much longer.

FIND CREATIVE WAYS TO REPURPOSE You can easily add intrigue to a room by giving new life to historical pieces. Rather than simply put these items on display, set up your great-grandmother’s sewing machine table as a desk or use an antique spinning wheel to support a climbing plant.

DON’T BE AFRAID TO DIP INTO DIFFERENT ERAS If you respect the interior design principles of scale and proportion, you can mix and match pieces from different periods and achieve beautiful results. In fact, the striking contrast between modern, antique and vintage items can help bring a sense of balance to a space.

Ultimately, the key is to choose pieces you love and that reflect your personality.

Flooring options to spruce up your garage If your concrete garage floor has seen better days or you want to protect it from stains and damage, a coating or covering can help. Here are some of the available options.

COATINGS Before applying any type of coating to your concrete floor, it needs to be rigorously cleaned. This option is better suited for heated garages as the coating won’t stick to damp concrete. The most common ones are: • Concrete paint. This inexpensive product can be applied like regular paint. Regardless of whether you opt for a latex or oil-based version, annual touch-ups are a must.

• Epoxy resin. This durable material is resistant to chipping, corrosive chemicals and damage from frequent use. It’s also easy to maintain, available in a variety of colours and contains no VOCs. Whereas concrete paint is easy to apply, epoxy is tricky to work with and requires extensive preparation. For best results, hire a professional to install this coating.

COVERINGS Typically, a covering is quick and easy to install. Simply give the concrete floor a thorough sweep in preparation. Although

more expensive than coatings, this flooring option is immune to moisture. The two types of coverings are: • Interlocking tiles. These come in a wide variety of patterns and colours, making it easy to create a custom design. You can also choose between flexible tiles that are comfortable to walk on and rigid, perforated tiles that allow snowmelt and spills to drain away.

• Rollout mats. Available in various sizes, colours and patterns, these thick rubber carpets are an affordable covering option.

However, their soft texture makes them susceptible to damage from chemical stains and gravel imprints.

If your garage floor is substantially damaged, a covering is the most effective way to give it a fresh, blemish-free surface.

FUN

Wednesday, August 19, 2020 | www.TOCaribNews.com | Toronto Caribbean News

PAGE 39

WEEK OF AUGUST 16 TO AUGUST 23, 2020

ARIES

The luckiest signs this week: LIBRA, SCORPIO AND SAGITTARIUS

It only takes a few small victories to boost your self-esteem. These successes will earn you the cred-ibility you need to kick-start a project that’s close to your heart.

TAURUS

You’ll set up a workspace at home. Once you let go of your insecurities, your leadership traits will allow you to successfully develop your own business.

PUZZLE NO. 716 ANSWER TO PUZZLE NO. 716

HOW TO PLAY :

GEMINI

Your thoughts will be consumed by affairs of the heart this week.

Subtle gestures and words of affection will make you realize the extent of your feelings for your partner.

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

CANCER

You may consider selling or pur-chasing a property. You’ll find a way to reduce your expenses so you can improve your family’s quality of life.

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

You’ll have the chance to treat yourself, and you might even consider buying a new car. A few people will ask for your help, and you’ll do so willingly, even if it requires a lot of running around.

PUZZLE NO. 5 41. Married man 45. Kind of complex 47. Unhappiness 48. Past due 49. Final exam, sometimes 50. Timespan 51. Ran away 52. Prescription information 53. Earth’s upper atmosphere

ACROSS 1. Confession topic 4. On the briny 8. Naked 12. Tilling tool 13. Fellow 14. Ancient 15. Finished lunch 16. Petting

18. Pillages 20. Clever 21. Hire 22. Travel endorsement 23. Although 26. Rock’s Pearl ____ 27. Margarine container 30. Five cards,

in poker 31. Submit, as a question 32. Contend 33. Not even 34. Haze 35. Hex 36. Chilled 38. Blacktop 39. Winter drink

DOWN 1. Fraud 2. Particle 3. ____-do-well 4. Level charges against 5. Sun blocker 6. Lobes’ locations 7. Monkey 8. Foundation 9. Provoker 10. Monthly payment 11. Anxious 17. Do the breaststroke 19. “____ Lang Syne” 22. Dyer’s tank 23. Reporter’s query 24. Once owned

25. Show 26. Earthenware container 28. Times of good fortune 29. Hive builder 31. Pea holder 32. Restrict 34. Noteworthy act 35. Palace 37. Removed the center of 38. Albacores

39. Newborn cow 40. October stone 41. Sub 42. Fills with wonder 43. ____ and cranny 44. Withhold 46. Stylish

ANSWER TO PUZZLE NO. 5

VIRGO

A careful assessment of your budget will reveal that you have the means to pursue your goals. You’ll have the money to ac-complish one of your wildest dreams, and you’ll find the cour-age to go for it.

LIBRA

You’ll find yourself discouraged by all the tasks on your plate. Luckily, you’ll realize you have what it takes to be successful. Afterwards, nothing will stand in your way.

SCORPIO

Sometimes you need to take a step back in order to gain a clearer perspective of what lies ahead. You’ll set your sights on a career goal that matches your ambitions, but you’ll need to climb the ladder one rung at a time.

SAGITTARIUS

Even though your vacation just ended, you’ll start planning a trip with a group of friends. At work, you’ll organize a meeting that’ll turn out to be very important.

CAPRICORN

You’re filled with a desire to el-evate yourself intellectually and spiritually.

You decide to follow a new career path or adopt a more enriching lifestyle. Don’t be afraid of change.

AQUARIUS

You won’t need much time to reflect before making significant decisions about your personal and professional future. During an important negotiation, you’ll need to carefully weight the pros and cons.

PISCES

The perefect compromise doesn’t always exist, especially when a lot of people are involved. You’ll need to use your imagination to create harmony and resolve conflicts.

CROSSWORD PUZZLE ANSWERS USE AMERICAN SPELLING

ICHF BabyHeart Trip to Guyana TCCF works with three international partners to treat poor and critically ill Caribbean children at four treatment centres. At Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto, it works with the Herbie Fund to treat children su ering from most major ailments. In Austin Texas, it works with SpineHope to treat children su ering from spinal problems such as scoliosis.

In Guyana and the Dominican Republic, it works with ICHF/BabyHeart Foundation to treat children su ering from congenital heart disease. The modus operandi at the two Caribbean centres is that TCCF assists with sending medical mission teams consisting of cardiac surgeons, anaesthetists and paediatric intensive care unit nurses to deliver treatment and also train local sta in post-operative care.

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PAGE 42

REAL ESTATE

Toronto Caribbean News | www.TOCaribNews.com | Wednesday, August 19, 2020

History repeats itself!

JAY BRIJPAUL brijpaul@carib101.com

REAL ESTATE PRO

In 1988, I ventured into an unknown world of real estate. Things were different then. I sold my first home in October that year; a townhome in North York for $89,000. The prices were low then. Wages were less. Interest rates were at 11.75%. The market heated up and by 1989, there were multiple offers on properties. Home prices leaped skywards.

There were long line-ups at every new home site. Speculation was rampant. Interest rates went up to 13.25% and the market began to retract.

Many investors, developers, builders and speculators filed for bankruptcy.

There were thousands of bank sales in the GTA. Buyers were few. The tide had turned.

An average home took about two months to sell after many price reductions. After a certain point, sellers were just happy to be rid of their homes. A few profited but many lost everything.

One investor understood the mar-

ket and sold off his entire portfolio by mid1989. He went against the trend; when everyone was buying, he sold. I recall back in 1992 when I represented Royal Bank to sell a home in Etobicoke. A smart investor paid $215,000 for a detached bungalow on a premium 70 feet by 150 feet lot. Last year, he built two homes on the lot, each selling for about 1.3 million dollars. Both of these investors worked smart. They went against the trend.

By 1995, the market picked up and prices started to climb slowly. Interest rates were at 7.5% and the average home price was around $203,000. There were new home constructions everywhere and builders were competing for the business. I recall a builder who sold an entire sub-division of homes. The buyers invested only five thousand dollars of their own money and the builder financed the rest at a lower mortgage rate. With all the newly built homes, homeowners began to upgrade. By opening up more vacant land and giving developers and builders permits to build, an upward pull was created. Real estate is the engine of the economy and with all the newly built homes, more people bought and sold, and in the process, they paid more taxes. It created more jobs and more people working led to more prosperity.

In 2000, there were 58,343 homes sold compared to 39,273 in 1995. The aver-

age home price was around $243,000. Interest rates went up slightly to 7.75%. Many experts who were following the economic cycle predicted a recession, but home prices kept climbing. By 2010, over 85,000 homes changed hands and the average price shot up to around $431,000. The five-year mortgage rate dropped to 5.19%. With price escalation, many investors and speculators took a leap. New condo projects emerged with five-year closings. A small down payment was required to lock in at pre- construction prices.

In 2015, over 101,000 homes changed hands and the average price rose to around $622,000. By 2019, the average home price reached $820,000. Builders became smarter and began to build in phases, limiting their supply. Prices continued to progress. Bidding wars became the norm.

With COVID-19, the five-year fixed mortgage rate dived to 2.14%. What is driving the market?

In July this year, home prices shot up by 17%. With such high unemployment rate, why is the market still perking? AirbNbis on the verge of going B. The number of condos up for lease has surged. Buyers are lining up to buy and builders are having a feast.

This reminds me of 1989. The only difference is, then, the market crashed overnight. With COVID-19, many sellers have held off on putting their homes up for sale. As a result, the

supply is depleted. With a limited supply of homes on the market and low interest rate, prices will continue to climb. Is this sustainable?

Homeowners who were affected by the pandemic took mortgage deferrals and must resume payment by September.

Novice speculators are sponging up the supply and the crumbs are becoming gold dust.

No one really knows where we are heading.

Things have changed since 1989. Immigration is on the rise and money is pouring in from other countries. Many sellers are using the equity in their homes to renovate and stay. There is a proliferation of basement apartments. The average rent from such apartments is sufficient to assist in paying a four hundred-thousand-dollar mortgage.

It is time to go against the trend.

The tide will change. The best time to sell is when everyone wants to buy. First time buyers should save and sit tight. Investors should off load some of their inventory. Let’s learn from 1989. Don’t get caught by following the crowd like a flock of sheep. Let’s be smart like the two investors, one who sold everything off in 1989 and the other who bought premium property in the recession.

We know that a price retraction is coming, but we do not know when. Like the virus, if we are careless, we will get infected.

PAGE 44

FINANCE

Toronto Caribbean News | www.TOCaribNews.com | Wednesday, August 19, 2020

Five ways to use home equity to build your family’s wealth CLEVE DeSOUZA cleve@carib101.com

WEALTH MANAGEMENT

You’ve always heard that buying a home is a better financial move than renting one. But do you know how to make your investment in your home, work for you? Today, I’ll unlock that mystery.

First, you need to understand home equity. Equity is the difference between the value of your home and how much you owe on your mortgage. So, let’s say your home is worth $500,000 and your mortgage is $300,000. That gives you $200,000 in home equity.

There are more than nine million homeowners in Canada, and nearly 30% do not have a mortgage. Another 30% have built substantial equity by paying down their mortgages while their home’s value rises. That means more than five million people could access the equity in their homes.

If you’re one of them, here are five ways to use that money to build your family’s wealth.

Invest in your high interest debt Many homeowners are house rich and cash poor. They ignore the thousands they have in home equity while struggling to pay 20% interest rates on a mountain of credit card debt. Tap the equity and pay off those highinterest credit cards to reduce your debt.

Then, invest the money you were using every month to pay off credit cards.

Renovate for profit The value of your home appreciates naturally or forcefully with renovation strategies.

Let me share with you a story to illustrate how renovations build wealth. I worked with a client to develop a strategic plan for leveraging her home equity to provide monthly income and increase the value of her home. We spent $100,000 (including interest) to convert her naked basement into a rental unit. Renting the basement generates $30,000 per year perpetually. The value of her home raised $200,000. This forceful strategy appreciates the property value and creates positive cash flow at the same time.

Invest in a second property Adding a second property to your portfolio can be a smart move. Say you put 20% down on a home where the upstairs and downstairs can be separately rented. The equity in your home is now working in a new property. Both your net worth and your income increased. Moving the equity from one property to the other is relatively cost neutral.

Depending on how much of a sweetheart

deal you get, the cost to buy, refinance, and buy can be offset by the cash flow and equity building up over time.

Invest in mortgages Private lending is an increasing trend in real estate and lenders make a lot of money. While this area is heavily regulated, you can educate yourself and get legally set up to lend money and secure properties with mortgages. Let’s say you take out equity at 4% upon refinancing and you lend a private mortgage at 15%, the spread is 11% net.

Your equity will be working much harder than it is sitting still under your roof.

Start up a business Many business ideas are dead on arrival because there is no seed capital. Furthermore, a business loan is likely to carry higher interest than your mortgage rate. If you have equity in your home and a viable business plan, you can self fund your new business.

Equity-Take-Out is the term used when you increase your mortgage and reduce your equity position. The trick is to ensure that the money you take out will work harder than it would have it you left it stagnant under your roof. We strongly recommend you do your homework and have strategy before pulling equity out of your home and losing it. We know that every dollar matters and what we imagine for you is to make that dollar work hard, as opposed to you working hard for it.

How to retire with $500,000 and $1 Million of insurance starting at forty ANDREW STEWART andrew@carib101.com

FAMILY ADVISOR

A vast majority of people invest truly little and wait to purchase insurance until the age of forty. So, if you have not saved much or have insurance, you are not alone. Fortunately, you have twenty years or more to save and compound. The length of time that your savings can compound generally has a greater impact than the actual savings. Let’s say you just turned forty. Obviously, forty is just a number, but in many ways, it’s a milestone. Though people are living longer these days into the eighties and nineties, still age forty is considered the halfway mark. On the brighter side, you are mature, stable, financially savvy, and likely well settled in your career.

More than likely, you are making much more money than when you just started. But then your living expenses have gone up at an even faster rate. Sav-

ing is always a tough challenge. It’s quite probable that you have experimented with mutual funds and purchased a term insurance. Nonetheless, if you have not saved much until you got to forty and prefer to have permanent insurance, there’s no need to panic or stress about it. You just need a strategy and the will to implement it. In the early stage of your working career, the thought of retirement and death appeared to be so distant, that so many people fail to accord any priority to savings and having insurance. Saving and purchasing insurance at a younger age goes a long way in meeting retirement goals without stress or much sacrifice. If only we all could get this wisdom in our twenties or thirties, but it does not happen to a vast majority of us.

Just for the sake of illustration two friends, Beyonce and Rhianna start their careers at the age of twenty-five. Beyonce purchased a participating whole life insurance policy the first year and contributed $5,000 a year until the age of forty-five. At the age of forty-five, she could stop her contributions and have over $500,000 and over 1 million dollars of permanent life insurance at the age of sixty-five. Option number two, Beyonce could continue to contribute $3,600 a year until the age of sixty-five and have over $650,000 and over

1.3 million dollars of permanent life insurance.

Her friend Rhianna does not see the importance of saving and having insurance at twenty-five and does not have this sense of urgency until she gets to forty years of age. Let’s see how much Rhianna will need to contribute every year (starting at forty) to get to the goal of $500,000 and 1 million dollars of permanent life insurance by the age of sixty-five. Rhianna would need to contribute $11,000 a year for twenty years until the age of sixty and then stop contributing. She would then meet the target of over $500,000 and over 1 million dollars of permanent life insurance.

This is over two times larger amount every year compared to Beyonce, who started at age twenty-five.

This article is centered around folks who are in their early or mid-forties or nearing forty but haven’t given much thought about the retirement savings and insurance. If you turned forty already, it’s time to be serious about saving for retirement. You cannot afford to wait any longer.

The longer you wait, the harder it will be to qualify for insurance and be able to achieve your retirement goals. Compounding can do wonders for your savings, but it needs time.

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SPORTS

PAGE 46

Toronto Caribbean News | www.TOCaribNews.com | Wednesday, August 19, 2020

The trilogy comes to an end The final showdown between Stipe Miocic and Daniel Cormier MARCEL MARIAK marcel@carib101.com

TC JUNIOR REPORTER

In the world of professional fighting, it’s commonplace for conflict to appear between two fighters who are competing for the same belt; but few rivalries in combat sports are as prolific as the one between Daniel “DC” Cormier and Stipe Miocic.

In the summer of 2018, DC and Miocic met in the UFC octagon for the first time and faced off for the Heavyweight Championship title. Cormier used his impressive grappling arsenal to clinch up with his much taller adversary and deliver a powerful knockout punch late in the first round to capture the title.

The two fighters met again a year later with Miocic seeking revenge for his previous defeat. This time, the tables turned and Miocic used his superior reach and stamina to exhaust his opponent and knock DC out in the fourth round; stripping of his title and becoming the new Heavyweight Champion.

Finally, the bitter rivalry came to

an action-packed end on August 15th, 2020; where the trilogy was settled by the heat of battle.

The Final Fight The final showdown took place in the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada. While the fight took place behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 epidemic, the tension was still thick in the air as the two formidable warriors took to the Octagon. While making the walk towards the cage, the champion, Miocic, looked much calmer and more composed than his opponent who seemed extremely stressed and jittery while entering the arena. Nevertheless, both fighters looked strong, and it was impossible to predict the winner of their final encounter. The fighters were so closely matched, in fact, that even the Las Vegas betting odds had trouble choosing the favourite for the fight (although DC was the favourite to win by a slight margin).

The fight started with both warriors engaging in a powerful striking exchange that left fans at the edge of their seats. Neither fighter was willing to give an inch as they traded kicks and punches for the first two rounds of the fight. In the final seconds of the second round, the odds tipped in favour of Miocic when he caught the retreating Cormier with multiple right hooks, dropping his opponent. With DC on the mat, Miocic began

an aggressive ground-and-pound attack which likely would have finished his opponent had he not been saved by the round ending bell.

Although Cormier promptly got up and headed to his corner at the end of the second round, he looked to be in bad shape. He was blinking hard, breathing heavy, and dragging his feet.

His opponent’s brutal last-minute attack had clearly done a number on the dazed Cormier; unfortunately, he would never fully recover from the assault. The third, fourth, and fifth round consisted largely of Miocic using his superior size and DC’s exhaustion to pin his opponent against the cage and harass him with small tight strikes. A questionable third round eye poke by Miocic left Cormier in even worse shape, with DC barely having any fight left in him for the remainder of the battle.

While the fight did go the distance, the winner was clear after the final bell. While the fighters waited for the official judge’s decision, the beaten and injured Cormier shook his head in frustration and defeat. In the end, Miocic proved himself to be the true undisputed Champion of the Heavyweights, and the era of Daniel Cormier came to an end.

The Aftermath After the fight, the defeated Daniel Cormier showed tremendous heart by agree-

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With Simone J. Smith & Dave Rankin

ing to be interviewed by UFC commentator, Joe Rogan. During the interview, DC was his usual humble self; admitting that his opponent had bested him and won the fight fairly, “He did a good job.

He was able to clinch me and hold me against the side of the octagon for long periods of time, and I believe that separated those close rounds”.

While Daniel Cormier is a resilient and legendary fighter, this defeat may spell the end of his career as a professional fighter, “Being on the losing side of a trilogy is a very sad and tough position to be in,” said Cormier, “I’m not interested in fighting for anything but titles, and I don’t imagine there’s going to be a title in the future so this will be it for me”.

Whether Cormier was serious about his retirement, or simply made his comments about retirement in a moment of frustration; DC is a phenomenal warrior. Both fighters fought with heart and honour and delivered a fight trilogy which will undoubtedly go down in combat sports history. Miocic proved once and for all that he is the true king of the Heavyweights; and Cormier cemented his legacy as a legendary warrior with stunning combative skills and an even greater fighting spirit.