1. travel
2. tourist destinations
3. caribbean

2
Wednesday, November 1 2, 20 1 4
Remembering The Barbarity Of Warfare
unquestionably
the
Leader
Reaching over 100,000 readers weekly
PRIDE NEWS
158 Harwood Avenue, South,
Suite 209
Ajax, Ontario
L1S 2H6
Tel: (905) 686-8868
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.pridenews.ca
Established since January, 1983
Wed. November 12, 2014
Volume 32; Number 48
On Pride’s cover: Internet and Instagram sensation,
Majah Hype -- whose real name is Collin Nigel McPherson
and who was raised in East Kingston, Jamaica, Dunkirk,
to be exact -- will be leading the West Indian team of
comedians against Africa’s best at this year’s “Juice Cup
World Cup of Comedy”.
Creating popular characters
like “Grampa James” and “Di
Rass”, Majah’s videos have
been loaded on the screens of
literally millions of cell phones,
tablets, and computers in only
one short year.
For the third year in a row,
in Toronto, the best comedians
from Africa will take on the best
from the West Indies on Friday,
November 14 and Sunday,
November 16 at the Queen
Elizabeth Theatre on the CNE Grounds.
Both shows are over 90% sold out. For information and
tickets visit www.juicecomedytoronto.com or call 1-877700-3130. See page 12 for more on the show.
WORDS OF WISDOM
“Stand-up (comedy) and boxing are very similar. You’re
the only one out there, you’re going into a fight, and
you’re going in with a game plan. -- Russell Peters
“I tell people I’m a stand-up comedian two hours a
week. The rest of the time, I’m somebody’s husband,
I’m somebody’s father. I’m a man.
I take great pride in that.” --- Steve Harvey
“I started out as a stand-up comedian. And that’s
what I’m most comfortable doing.” --- Eddie Murphy
PUBLISHER/EDITOR
Michael Van Cooten
INTERNATIONAL NEWS AGENCIES
Caribbean Media Corp. (CMC)
International Press Service (IPS)
ADMINISTRATION/SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER
Narissa Van Cooten
WEBSITE DESIGN/MARKETING
Yolanda Van Cooten
COPY EDITOR
Sharmon Carrington
ARTISTIC CO-ORDINATOR
Afro Media
COLUMNISTS
Cerise Fairfax
Dr Virginia Nsitem
Rupert Johnson
Sandy Daley
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Beverly Browne
Lincoln Depradine
Neil Armstrong
Pride News, reflecting the ambitions, aspirations, accomplishments
and achievements of the African & Caribbean Canadian community, is
published and distributed every Wednesday.
PRIDE’S MISSION STATEMENT:
To act as a catalyst for the advancement,
empowerment and happiness of peoples of
African and Caribbean heritage.
During the 18th century known as the Period of Enlighten- sters during World War 11 to see egomania with all its demoniac
ment, it was commonly thought that education would make manifestations. There is no need to give a detailed account of
the morbid egotism of Hitler and his circle of demons. The
human beings less irrational.
But from that time forward this noble idea has proven to world is well aware of their diabolical plots and evil deeds.
War is an irrational act of barbarism, and its
be an illusion, for it would appear that the more
knowledge has increased, the more irrational and THE WAKE-UP CALL demonizing effects on those who are forced to
defend themselves have been quite evident.
barbaric are the actions of Homo sapiens.
Once the vortex of war is set in motion, even
There is no greater manifestation of this blatant
benign leaders and their supporters are drawn
act of irrationality and barbarity than the increasing
within its swirling current of barbarism. Thus, very
magnitude of modern warfare. Innumerable wars
often the defenders of liberty are drawn down to
have been fought throughout the centuries, but no
the barbarous level of the aggressors.
century can match the twentieth century in terms of
There is no better example of this type of
the totality of international conflicts.
degenerative behaviour than the dreadful fireThere is no doubt that wars are generally contrived
bombing of civilian targets in the German city of
by a small cadre of overly ambitious zealots imbued
By Rupert Johnson
Dresden during the Second World War. This act of
with imperialistic designs. And there is also no doubt
that these self-centred, irrational egomaniacs are
brutality was in retaliation to the saturation bombmotivated solely by their distorted visions of what
ing of similar targets in Britain by the Germans.
the world should be like.
It is estimated that over one hundred and thirty thousand
One only has to look at Adolf Hitler and his band of gangContinued on page 14.....
3
Wednesday, November 1 2, 20 1 4
Sexual Harassment Allegations Against
Jian Ghomeshi Spark Speaking Out
By Neil Armstrong
Pride Contributing Writer
ONTARIO, Canada – The national
dialogue around sexual harassment at the
workplace and sexual assault against women,
in light of allegations leveled by several women
against a former prominent CBC Radio host,
has resulted in much discussion in the media,
online, on Parliament Hill, at Queen’s Park,
Toronto City Hall and elsewhere.
This is a point of discussion even at the
Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC),
Canada’s first human rights organization.
Barbara Hall, chief commissioner of the
OHRC, says the human rights body has been
thinking a lot about sexual harassment, particularly in the workplace, in light of the case
involving Jian Ghomeshi, a CBC host, and the
many women who are coming forward and
talking about sexual assault which they have
not reported.
Ghomeshi was fired by the CBC on October 26, months after he told the CBC that the
Toronto Star was looking into allegations about
non-consensual «rough sex» and that it might
be embarrassing for the broadcaster.
Nine women have come forward with allegations that he sexually or physically assaulted
them; allegations that Ghomeshi says he will
Jian Ghomeshi hosting a live taping of his then CBC radio show, Q, in Vancouver,
on March 26, 2009. Photo credit: CC BY-SA 3.0 Penmachine -- own work.
Barbara Hall, OCHR chief commissioner
meet directly as he maintains that all his sexual
encounters have been consensual.
Three of the women have spoken to the
police who are carrying out an investigation.
The CBC has hired an employment lawyer as
a third-party investigator of allegations related
to sexual harassment at the workplace.
Ghomeshi has also hired a lawyer and has
filed a $55 million lawsuit against the CBC
alleging defamation and breach of confidence
and there is a grievance filed through his union,
the Canadian Media Guild.
Shortly after Ghomeshi was fired, a CBC
spokesperson said the broadcaster ended its
relationship with the radio host after “information came to our attention recently that in
CBC’s judgment precludes us from continuing
our relationship with Jian.”
The CBC said the decision was made after
viewing “graphic evidence” that the former
radio host had caused injury to a woman.
“Sexual harassment is something that the
Human Rights Code covers and we’re thinking
about, are there ways that we can be working
to support women more when harassment
occurs? And, working more with employers to
put in place the preventative practices that will
proactively eliminate this systemic scourge,”
says Hall, whose tenure, which started in 2005,
was to end this month but has been extended
until February 2015.
“The Code says every person has the right to
be free from unwelcome advances or solicitation in employment. “Employment” includes
applying and interviewing for a job, volunteer
work, internships, etc. It also includes activities or
events that happen outside of normal business
hours or off business premises, but are linked
to the workplace and employment,” notes the
website of the OHRC.
The human rights organization says sexual
harassment is a type of discrimination based
on sex.
“When someone is sexually harassed in
the workplace, it can undermine their sense
of personal dignity. It can prevent them from
earning a living, doing their job effectively, or
reaching their full potential. Sexual harassment
can also poison the environment for everyone
else. If left unchecked, sexual harassment in
the workplace has the potential to escalate to
violent behaviour.”
It notes that both women and men may
experience sexual harassment in employment,
but women tend to be more vulnerable to it
because they often hold lower-paying, lowerauthority and lower-status jobs compared to
men. At the same time, even women in positions
of authority may experience sexual harassment.
The OHRC says employers operating
in Ontario have a legal duty to take steps to
prevent and respond to sexual harassment.
They must make sure they have poison-free
environments that respect human rights. From
a human rights perspective, it is not acceptable
to ignore sexual harassment, whether or not
someone has formally complained or made a
human rights complaint.
Meanwhile, as December 6, the National
Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence
Against Women in Canada, approaches several
organizations are planning events to mark the
occasion.
Status of Women Canada notes that the
day was established in 1991 by the Parliament
of Canada, to mark the anniversary of the
murders in 1989 of 14 young women at l’École
Polytechnique de Montréal. They died because
they were women.
“As well as commemorating the 14 young
women whose lives ended in an act of genderbased violence that shocked the nation, December 6 represents an opportunity for Canadians to
reflect on the phenomenon of violence against
women in our society. It is also an opportunity to
consider the women and girls for whom violence
is a daily reality, and to remember those who
have died as a result of gender-based violence.
And finally, it is a day on which communities
can consider concrete actions to eliminate all
forms of violence against women and girls,”
says the government ministry.
In Toronto, Upfront Theatre @ York will
present Sistahfest, a multi-discipline arts and
culture festival showcasing female artists and
educators through the utilization of workshops,
theatre production, spoken word, dance and
music.
Founder, Masani Montague, says she has
been dealing with gender violence via Sistahfest
since 1996 in Ottawa and later in Toronto, since
2006 onward, at York University and Upfront
Studio Theatre as part of Rastafest.
Her play, “Reasoning with my Sisters,” deals
specifically with gender violence in the Caribbean. This play has been successfully staged
in Toronto on several occasions.
This year her organizations will be staging gender violence workshops/skits with
university groups such as the Ontario Public
Interest Research Group (OPIRG), Sexual Assault Survivors Support Line Hotline (SASSL)
and the Centre for Women and Trans People,
among others.
The festival will be held on November 25, in
the Food Court, at York University with workshops and live entertainment by female artists.
Teacher candidates from the Faculty of
Education and high school schools will gather
for a showcase, consisting of skits on gender
violence, dance and poetry, on November 28
at Upfront Studio Theatre, near the Finch/
Keele intersection.
In the meantime, Women of Excellence
Support and Relief Organization (WESRO),
a registered non-profit charitable organization founded in 2004, will hold a fundraising
event at the Jamaican Canadian Association
on November 16.
The guest speakers are Ojo Tewogbade, a retired Toronto police officer and
women’s advocate, and Norma Nicholson,
educator and youth supporter.
The aim of the event is to raise funds for the
continued operation of the organization, which
helps abused women and children, domestic
violence survivors and people living in poverty.
A part of the proceeds will also go to the
Girls Can Dream Education Scholarship Fund
in Jamaica, started by the founder of WESRO,
Vashti Anderson.
In the past three years, WESRO has
helped over 250 women to change and
rebuild their lives, to escape abuse, and to now
live in safe environs. It has also extended its
services to men as well who needed help.
Speaking in Toronto at the Black and Caribbean Book Affair at the University of Toronto
on November 8, Victoria Elyonda Broussard,
an African American author and attorney from
Texas, shared her story of being a survivor of
childhood sexual abuse.
Broussard is a friend of Richard Williams,
father of tennis champions, Venus and Serena,
who spoke at the event about his book, “Black
and White: The Way I See It.” He praised her
for her determination to survive and achieve.
She said after 35 years of keeping the secret
of abuse to herself, she decided to write a novel,
“i-Comfortable Victim,” which deals with the
true events in her life through fiction. She has
started her non-profit organization, “B’yond
the Unveiling,” to help survivors of childhood
sexual abuse.
4
Wednesday, November 1 2, 20 1 4
Canada Accused Of Failing To Prevent Overseas Mining Abuses
By Carey L. Biron
Washington Correspondent
WASHINGTON, DC (IPS) – The Canadian government
is failing either to investigate or to hold the country’s massive
extractives sector accountable for rights abuses committed in
Latin American countries, according to petitioners, who testified
here two weeks ago before an international tribunal.
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) also heard concerns that the Canadian government is
not making the country’s legal system available to victims of
these abuses.
“Canada has been committed to a voluntary framework
of corporate social responsibility, but this does not provide
any remedy for people who have been harmed by Canadian
mining operations,” Jennifer Moore, the coordinator of the
Latin America program at MiningWatch Canada, a watchdog
group, told IPS.
“We’re looking for access to the courts but also for the
Canadian state to take preventive measures to avoid these
problems in the first place – for instance, an independent office
that would have the power to investigate allegations of abuse
in other countries.”
Moore and others who testified before the commission
formally submitted a report detailing the concerns of almost
30 NGOs. Civil society groups have been pushing the Canadian
government to ensure greater accountability for this activity for
years, Moore says, and that work has been buttressed by similar
recommendations from both a parliamentary commission, in
2005, and the United Nations.
“Nothing new has taken place over the past decade … The
Canadian government has refused to implement the recommendations,” Moore says.
“The state’s response to date has been to firmly reinforce
this voluntary framework that doesn’t work – and that’s what
we heard from them again during this hearing. There was no
substantial response to the fact that there are all sorts of cases
falling through the cracks.”
Canada, which has one of the largest mining sectors in the
world, is estimated to have some 1,500 projects in Latin America
– more than 40 percent of the mining companies operating in
the region. According to the new report, and these overseas
operations receive “a high degree” of active support from the
Canadian government.
“We’re aware of a great deal of conflict,” Shin Imai, a lawyer with the Justice and Corporate Accountability Project, a
Canadian civil society initiative, said Tuesday. “Our preliminary
count shows that at least 50 people have been killed and some
300 wounded in connection with mining conflicts involving
Canadian companies in recent years, for which there has been
little to no accountability.”
These allegations include deaths, injuries, rapes and other
abuses attributed to security personnel working for Canadian
mining companies. They also include policy-related problems
related to long-term environmental damage, illegal community
displacement and subverting democratic processes.
Home state accountability
The Washington-based IACHR, a part of the 35-member
Organisation of American States (OAS), is one of the world’s
oldest multilateral rights bodies, and has looked at concerns
around Canadian mining in Latin America before.
Jennifer Moore
Yet this week’s hearing marked the first time the commission
has waded into the highly contentious issue of “home state”
accountability – that is, whether companies can be prosecuted
at home for their actions abroad.
“This hearing was cutting-edge. Although the IACHR has
been one of the most important allies of human rights violations’ victims in Latin America, it’s a little bit prudent when
it faces new topics or new legal challenges,” Katya Salazar,
executive director of the Due Process of Law Foundation, a
Washington-based legal advocacy group, told IPS.
“And talking about the responsibility for the home country of corporations working in Latin America is a very new
challenge. So we’re very happy to see how the commission’s
understanding and concern about these topics have evolved.”
Home state accountability has become progressively more vexed
as industries and supply chains have quickly globalised. Today,
companies based in rich countries, with relatively stronger legal
systems, are increasingly operating in developing countries, often
under weaker regulatory regimes.
The extractives sector has been a key example of this, and
over the past two decades it has experienced one of the highest
levels of conflict with local communities of any industry. For
advocates, part of the problem is a current vagueness around
the issue of the “extraterritorial” reach of domestic law.
“Far too often, extractive companies have double-standards
in how they behave at home versus abroad,” Alex Blair, a press
officer with the extractives programme at Oxfam America, a
humanitarian and advocacy group, told IPS. “They think they can
take advantage of weaknesses in local laws, oversight and institutions to operate however they want in developing countries.”
Blair notes a growing trend of local and indigenous communities going abroad to hold foreign companies accountable.
Yet these efforts remain extraordinarily complex and costly,
even as legal avenues in many Western countries continue to
be constricted.
Transcending the legalistic
At this week’s hearing, the Canadian government maintained
that it was on firm legal ground, stating that it has “one of the
world’s strongest legal and regulatory frameworks towards its
extractives industries”.
In 2009, Canada formulated a voluntary corporate responsibility strategy for the country’s international extractives sector.
The country also has two non-judicial mechanisms that can hear
grievances arising from overseas extractives projects, though
neither of these can investigate allegations, issue rulings or
impose punitive measures.
These actions notwithstanding, the Canadian response
to the petitioners concerns was to argue that local grievances
should be heard in local court and that, in most cases, Canada
is not legally obligated to pursue accountability for companies’
activities overseas.
“With respect to these corporations’ activities outside
Canada, the fact of their incorporation within Canada is clearly
not a sufficient connection to Canada to engage Canada’s obligations under the American Declaration,” Dana Cryderman,
Canada’s alternate permanent representative to the OAS, told
the commission, referring to the American Declaration of the
Rights and Duties of Man, the document that underpins the
IACHR’s work.
Cryderman continued: “[H]ost countries in Latin America
offer domestic legal and regulatory avenues through which
the claims being referenced by the requesters can and should
be addressed.”
Yet this rationale clearly frustrated some of the IACHR’s
commissioners, including the body’s current president, RoseMarie Antoine.
“Despite the assurances of Canada there’s good policy, we
at the commission continue to see a number of very, very serious human rights violations occurring in the region as a result
of certain countries, and Canada being one of the main ones
… so we’re seeing the deficiencies of those policies,” Antoine
said following the Canadian delegation’s presentation.
“On the one hand, Canada says, ‘Yes, we are responsible
and wish to promote human rights.’ But on the other hand, it’s
a hands-off approach … We have to move beyond the legalistic
if we’re really concerned about human rights.”
Antoine noted the commission was currently working on a
report on the impact of natural resources extraction on indigenous communities. She announced, for the first time, that the
report would include a chapter on what she referred to as the
“very ticklish issue of extraterritoriality”.
5
Wednesday, November 1 2, 20 1 4
Gwyneth Chapman: Future Political Star?
Community political organizer, Gwyneth Chapman, second from left, shares a joyous moment with, (from L to R): Sygnus Matthew,
Joe Halstead, Toronto Mayor-elect, John Tory, and Alonzo Starling. Photo credit: Nigerian Canadian News.
By Lincoln Depradine
Pride Contributing Writer
TORONTO, Ontario – Mayor-elect, John
Tory, envisions a future in politics for AfricanCanadian Gwyneth Chapman, who volunteered
on his mayoral campaign team.
“I hope she’ll run for political office one day.
She has the heart to do it,’’ Tory told Pride News
Magazine in an exclusive interview, on Monday.
“She’s able to reach out and bring people
together, not just in the Black community.
She’s committed and understands the things
that need to be done.’’
Tory won 40 percent of the votes in the
October 27 municipal elections, defeating a
field of 64 others. His closest rivals were former councillor Doug Ford and former NDP
MP Olivia Chow.
The former Ontario Progress Conservative leader will take over as Toronto Mayor
December 1.
He has held no public events since October
27, saying it’s “an awkward period where you
are not the mayor yet, but just the mayor-elect’’.
But, according to Tory, he has been keeping
busy “doing a lot of reading’’ on a range of
things including budgeting and transit.
A series of briefing sessions and meetings,
begun last week and held with agencies such as
the TTC, Police Services Board and Toronto
Community Housing Corporation, is continuing this week, Tory said.
Tory has appointed former journalist, Chris
Eby, as his chief of staff and long-time public
servant, Vic Gupta, as deputy chief of staff.
He says he soon will be filling out the rest of
his staff.
He has also included two high-profile and
respected African Canadians on his transition
team, former Toronto City Economic Development, Culture and Tourism Commissioner,
Joe Halstead, who is currently the Chairman
of Ontario Place Corporation, and veteran
Liberal politician, Hon. Alvin Curling, a former
Ontario MPP, Cabinet Minister and Speaker of
the Ontario Leglislature.
Tory says, among his priorities on taking
office next month, will be making traffic in
Toronto “much better’’.
“I’m going to move fairly quickly on traffic,’’
he reiterated in the Pride interview. “Everybody
is affected by it.’’
Tory admitted that he can’t fix everything
overnight. But, he promised to also move immediately on uniting Toronto and to “do some
things to bring the city together,’’ as well as “end
the isolation that some people feel’’.
Tory, 60, met Chapman during his first run
for mayor in 2003, when he lost to David Miller.
“What John Tory did after he lost was incredibly moving and inspiring. He took on our
community as if it were his family he was fighting for and supporting,’’ Chapman told Pride.
“Our issues and concerns became his. He
threw his time, body, energy, money and support at us. For the first time in a long time we
felt that we had someone of integrity on our
side,’’ she remarked.
“John has never turned his back on us and
has given so much that he was recognized by getting these awards: Planet Africa, Harry Jerome,
Future Aces, African Canadian Achievement,
and Sickle Cell Miracle Network,’ she added.’
Chapman – a television host, producer,
motivational speaker, and community advocate
and organizer – has gone from supporter to
“super supporter,’’ Tory said.
“She was, and is, hugely important to me.
It was a lucky day when I met her 11 years
ago,’’ the mayor-elect said. “She is the most
enthusiastic and consistent supporter; totally
committed every day and full of energy.’’
Tom Allison, Tory’s campaign manager,
was impressed with Chapman’s efforts, saying
she “has a great talent for communications and
for working with people’’.
“She made an enormous contribution to
John’s campaign and we benefited greatly from
her work,’’ Allison said.
“She organized events, led teams of volunteers, worked with community media and made
speeches on behalf of our campaign. I vividly
remember her speaking for John at the special
First Friday meeting in the final months of the
campaign. She was passionate, articulate and
convincing. I hope I get the chance to work
with Gwyn again in the future.’’
Chapman, in commenting on her relationship with the mayor-elect over the past decade,
said they share “many similar characteristics
in terms of our commitment to do whatever
we can to make life better for others. Those
principles and passions are very real to us both,
and I think that’s why we work well together’’.
She described Tory as “a real soldier in the
trenches’’, adding that “people like that are a
rarity; so, he would always get my support.
Anyone who supports and helps my community
to the degree he has, and at times in opposition
to what the norm would advise, is a friend of
ours. He’s not afraid to go against the grain to
stand for what is right, fair and just’’.
Chapman’s main role in Tory’s triumphant
mayoral campaign was, as she puts it, “to create momentum, excitement and to promote
the heck out of Mr Tory; to let everyone who
would listen understand just how lucky we are
to have him run this race and to win them over.
I think I achieved that goal’’.
Her most memorable campaign moment
was an event hosted by African-Canadian supporters of Tory.
“You could have seen the love and appreciation that they all had for John,’’ recalled
Chapman, who is also president of the Canadian
Black Caucus.
“These were some of our leaders and
elders in the community. The things that they
had to say about him were sincere, moving and
demonstrated a man’s commitment to wanting
to help those who have been left behind – the
invisible people with a mountain of potential
that others are too busy to recognize.’’
Volunteering isn’t new to Chapman. She
volunteered as teenager living in the nation’s
capital. Chapman was also raised in St. Lucia
and the United States.
“Somehow, I took after my father who was
always concerned about the welfare of people
in general but, in particular, taught us that we
have to look out for each other,’’ Chapman said.
“Growing up in Ottawa I noticed a lot of
young people like myself just hanging out in the
malls and so on. I was curious to find out what
was going on with them and how I can help.’’
After moving to Toronto, “my eyes were
opened to the fact that we had a lot of people
in neighbourhoods who were in trouble. My
community needed help,’’ Chapman said.
“I felt we had very little representation in
politics and leadership, and I was not satisfied
with that. My father always said if you want
change, it had better start with you. I wanted
better for my community and I knew that I
had to get mainstream attention and support.
I went looking for help for my community and
I found John Tory,’ she added.’
Chapman, who has received Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for her community service to Canada, has not disclosed
whether she definitely will make a run at politics
in the future. But, her faith has been renewed
in politicians because of Tory.
“Seeing – and actually knowing – someone
like John gave me the confidence in politicians
again. I realize that if more good and decent
people got involved in the process, we would
have more decent and good people running
our city,’’ she said.
“Politics has had a negative effect on people
and has kept good people away. That has to
change if we want better for our children and
city.’’
6
Wednesday, November 1 2, 20 1 4
OAS Comments
Guyana President Briefs
On Decision To
Prorogue Guyana
Diplomatic Community On
Decision To Prorogue Parliament Parliament
GEORGETOWN, Guyana, CMC – President, Donald
Ramotar, on Monday, briefed members of the local diplomatic
community, following the announcement of his decision to
prorogue Parliament.
The President updated the officials on the current state of
Parliamentary affairs, and clarified the Government’s position and
the way forward, within the country’s constitutional framework.
He said his administration will use the time during the period of prorogation to continue to engage the Parliamentary
Opposition in constructive ways.
The stance taken by the president has been described by the
main opposition grouping, A Partnership for National Unity
(APNU), as “the darkest day for democracy in Guyana.”
The APNU said that it is resolved to resist the President’s
‘Proclamation’ and was calling “on all the good people of
Guyana everywhere to join in a civil movement for the restoration of parliamentary democracy, by peacefully resisting the
PPPC’s resort to dictatorship and to call for the revocation of
this ‘Proclamation’.
The APNU said that it is “enraged” that Ramotar’s decision to
prorogue Parliament “has effectively paralyzed the parliamentary
process, and smothered the voices of the people’s legitimate
representatives in the National Assembly.
“It is an affront to the Guyanese people, who three years
ago, in November 2011, voted for A Partnership for National
Unity and the Alliance for Change (AFC) to have the majority
of seats in the National Assembly.”
The APNU, which together with the AFC controlled 33 seats
in the outgoing 65-member Parliament, said President Ramotar
“has now single-handedly engineered a constitutional crisis.”
In his statement, Ramotar justified the decision to prorogue
Parliament, saying he had earlier indicated a desire for the
National Assembly, in its post-recess sittings, to deliberate and
Guyana President Donald Ramotar
give priority to important matters relating to the development
of the country.
US Warns Of Continued
Progression Of Chikungunya
Outbreak In The Caribbean
ATLANTA, Georgia, CMC – The United States Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has warned that
the chikungunya outbreak in Caribbean and Central and South
American countries continues to spread with no sign of slowing down.
According to the CDC, “the painful mosquito-borne disease
will likely continue to infect travellers to the region during the
rest of this year and beyond”.
The outbreak, which began last December, has caused an
estimated 795,000 chikungunya cases in 37 countries and territories in the Western Hemisphere, as of the end of October,
said CDC in its latest update.
It said more than 1,600 travelers returning to the United
States with chikungunya have been reported, as of November 4.
Before this outbreak, CDC said an average of 28 travellers
with chikungunya fever returned to the United States each year.
CDC estimates that about 9 million people travel between
the United States and Caribbean each year.
“During fall and winter, people in the United States might
not be thinking about mosquitoes as a risk for diseases. So those
who will be visiting the Caribbean or Central or South America
should be aware of the risk of chikungunya in these areas this
fall and winter, and remember their insect repellent and other
tips for staying safe,” it said in a statement.
Dr. Roger S. Nasci, chief of CDC’s Arboviral Diseases
Branch, said the beginning of fall means that mosquito problems
in the continental United States will be decreasing.
“However, travellers to areas where the chikungunya outbreak continues, are at risk of becoming infected,” he cautioned.
“It is important that travellers understand these risks, and take
appropriate actions to prevent being bitten by mosquitoes.”
The CDC said preventing mosquito bites is the best way to
avoid chikungunya and other mosquito-borne illnesses, adding
that the mosquitoes that spread chikungunya bite mostly during
the daytime. CDC has advised travellers in high-risk groups to
discuss their travel plans with their health care provider before
leaving.
Grow your
business;
advertise it in
PRIDE
WASHINGTON, DC, CMC – The Organization of
American States (OAS) says it hopes parliamentary debate
would resume in Guyana “in the shortest possible period of
time” as it has taken note of the decision of President, Donald
Ramotar, to prorogue the National Assembly.
Ramotar has sought to justify the decision taken on Monday, to prorogue Parliament, saying he had earlier indicated a
desire for the National Assembly, in its post-recess sittings, to
deliberate and give priority to important matters relating to the
development of the country.
But the main opposition grouping, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), has described the decision by the head
of state as “the darkest day for democracy in Guyana.”
In a statement, OAS Secretary General, Jose Miguel Insulza,
said he had taken note of the proclamation, in which President
Ramotar prorogued the parliament of Guyana with immediate
effect for a maximum period of six months.
Insulza observed that the prorogation occurred within the
framework of the country’s constitution.
“The head of the hemispheric Organization stated that, in a
democracy, an efficient functioning of the Parliament allows for
checks and balances and for the voice of the people to be heard.
“Since the last elections in November 2011, Guyana has
had a split governance system with the executive controlled by
one party, and the combined opposition having the majority in
Parliament,” the OAS said.
“This situation presents both challenges and opportunities
for all parties in Guyana to work together for the greater good
of the country. In light of this reality, the Secretary General
of the OAS urges both the governing and opposition political
parties to redouble their efforts to reach an understanding and
compromise on the major political and socio-economic issues
facing the country,” the statement added.
Insulza also said he hoped that parliamentary debate “could
be resumed in the …shortest possible period of time.”
Husband Chops
Wife To Death In
Bitter Divorce Battle
PARAMARIBO, Suriname, CMC – Police say a
42-year-old woman was “chopped all over her body” and
killed while her husband attempted suicide following a
bitter divorce battle.
Police said that Sardha Goeptar-Soekhoe died while
undergoing treatment at the hospital and her 58-year-old
husband, B. Goeptar, remains warded after drinking a
poisonous substance after committing the crime.
They said that the woman had left the house in Jarikaba,
in District Wanica, on Wednesday, and was staying with
one of her children when the attack occurred.
According to the police, the 58-year-old man rode his
motorbike to Santo Dorp with the intention of killing
his estranged wife, whom he had seen walking down the
street with her niece.
The police said he cornered his wife and started hacking into her with the machete.
“He chopped her all over her body; everywhere he
could,” police said.
Goeptar then rode off, but was found a short while
later in Latour, lying on the ground next to his motorbike.
He had swallowed poison and police said they took him
to the hospital where he remains listed in stable condition.
He is expected to be charged with murder.
7
Wednesday, November 1 2, 20 1 4
Union Warns Of Job Losses, Higher Prices In T&T
Following Cable And Wireless Announcement
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – The Communications Workers Union (CWU) last week Friday,
questioned the intention of the British telecommunications giant, Cable & Wireless Communications
(CWC), to pay US$1.85 billion for the privately owned
Columbus International, a fibre-based telecoms
company serving the Caribbean, Central America
and Andean regions.
CWU, which represents workers at the Telecommunication Company of Trinidad and Tobago
(TSTT), said that the move to acquire Columbus was
tantamount to corporate raiding. Cable and Wireless
owns 49 percent of TSTT.
“Cable and Wireless threatened the government
that if it did not get the additional two percent shareholding in TSTT, they are going to apply for a third
mobile license,” said CWU president, Joseph Remy.
“That to us was an ominous signal of their intent
of corporate raiding…and they did not care anything
about conflict of interest because you have 49 percent
shareholding in TSTT but you apply for a third
mobile license to be an operator to compete with the
same person that you have 49 percent shareholding in.
“That, to us signals a particular style of re-entry
into the market and signals to the government and
to the Telecommunication Authority of Trinidad and
Tobago (TATT)…that they went to sleep and now
TATT is raising objections after Cable and Wireless
has done its dirty work,” he added.
Remy said that with the new agreement, cable
and wireless will now monopolise a “particular part
of the telecom sector which is crucial.
“They are going to get into broadband, cable
television, land line operations…competing with
the same company (TSTT) that are providing the
same things,” Remy said.
CWC is funding the deal by paying US$707.5
million in cash, issuing 1.5 billion new shares to the
vendors, and placing shares worth nearly 10 percent
of the company to help fund the cash element.
CWC said the deal would help expand its presence
in the region, adding Columbus’ 700,000 residential
customers.
“This is a transaction that transforms CWC,
providing a step change in growth and returns,” said
CWC chief executive, Phil Bentley. “Columbus offers
complementary TV, broadband and B2B capabilities
in complementary markets.”
CWC also said first half revenues rose one percent
to US$848 million and core earnings climbed five
Heavy Rains Lash
St. Lucia
CASTRIES, St. Lucia, CMC – Heavy rains caused
widespread flooding in St. Lucia on Saturday, resulting in
several fallen trees, blocked roads and landslides.
Infrastructure Minister, Phillip J. Pierre, said low lying
communities along the northern and eastern sections of
the island were among the hardest hit by the rains that
started on Friday, and residents in these areas were urged
to move to higher grounds.
Phillip also reported that some areas, north of the
capital, were without electricity as a result of a fallen pole.
“We are aware that sections of the capital have also
been affected by flood waters. The government continues
to monitor the situation and encourages all to report any
concerns or damage in their area,” Phillip said, adding
“while an improvement in weather conditions is expected
later today, we wish to advise those in flood and landslide
prone areas to remain vigilant.
“Please adhere to the caution against sea bathing until
the weather improves,” Pierre said.
A government statement said that response teams
have been mobilized and are attending to blocked roads
and bridges, fallen trees and landslides.
Last December, at least three people were killed after
Grow your
business;
advertise it in
PRIDE
A section of the capital under flood waters. CMC photo.
a low lying trough pounded the island, causing damage
estimated at millions of dollars (One EC dollar =US$0.37
cents).
Joseph Remy
percent to US$277 million.
Through its wholly owned subsidiary, Columbus
Networks, Columbus provides connectivity to 42
countries in the region, as well as capacity and IT
services, corporate data solutions and data centre
services throughout the Caribbean, Central America
and the Andean region.
Remy said in Trinidad and Tobago, TSTT is the
only company offering five different services “and
what you see happening now is that, if there is this
notion that you could merge the operations, you
will have serious fallout for jobs with the attendant
increase in costs for service to the customers.
“We are going to go full circle and the price of
telecommunication services is going to increase,”
Remy warned, adding “we are going to take them on,
we see their intent...and they have done absolutely
nothing towards the development of the telecom
sector in Trinidad and Tobago.”
8
Wednesday, November 1 2, 20 1 4
US Underwater Archaeologists Discover
300-Year-Old Dutch Warship In Tobago
NEW YORK, United States, CMC – United States
underwater archeologists say they have discovered a lost
Dutch warship that sank 337 years ago in Tobago.
The team, led by Dr. Kroum Batchvarov of the
University of Connecticut, after years of searching, has
identified the remains of what may be the Huis te Kruiningen, the largest Dutch ship involved in a 1677 battle
that influenced the course of history in the Caribbean.
The Rockley Bay Research Project is a joint initiative of
the University of Connecticut and the Institute of Nautical
Archaeology at Texas A&M, with the participation of the
Lampeter Dendrochonological Laboratory of Professor
Nigel Nayling from the University of Wales Trinity St.
David, working in cooperation with the Tobago House
of Assembly (THA) and Tobago Ministry of Tourism.
Dr. Batchvarov made it clear that all of the discoveries
of artifacts remain the property of Trinidad and Tobago.
“It is our hope that once artifacts have been properly
conserved in the state of the art THA conservation facility,
they will be displayed at the Fort King George Museum,
or another appropriate venue for the benefit of interested
locals, as well as tourists visiting the island,” he added.
The U.S. Embassy in Trinidad said “it is very happy to
support this worthy project, a true partnership with the
local government to preserve important cultural heritage,
and we want to emphasize that all artifacts recovered
during the archeological work will remain property of
the people of Trinidad and Tobago.”
The team said the wreck will provide archaeologists
with important information about this pivotal conflict
and life aboard 17th century ships.
The Rockley Bay Research Project is using cutting-
Jamaica To Export
Bananas To United
Kingdom And T&T
KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – Jamaica will be
supplying bananas to the United Kingdom (UK), while
Trinidad and Tobago has given clearance for the produce
to enter its territory, Agriculture Minister, Derrick Kellier, has said.
He said that a contract was signed with a UK entity
last month for the supply of one container of bananas
per week, which is expected to increase to 10 containers
over time.
Kellier also announced that “the authorities in Trinidad and Tobago gave Jamaica phyto-sanitary clearance to
export our bananas to their country.”
In June, Jamaica resumed banana shipments to the
UK after a six-year absence from that market, due to the
devastating effects of several hurricanes on the sector
and changes in the preferential agreement with the UK.
The weekly shipments of the fruit, weighing 2,000
pounds, continued up to the end of August, and the
Ministry had informed that a UK buyer would arrive in
Jamaica, to negotiate long-term contracts for importing
Jamaican bananas into Britain.
Kellier, addressing the launch of the ‘Eat Jamaican
Month’ Campaign, said the Ministry continues to seek
new export markets for local produce through the Fresh
Produce Consortium.
Earlier this year, a team from the Ministry, along with
farmers and exporters, attended the London Produce
Show as guests of the Fresh Produce Consortium, resulting in transactions to supply sweet potatoes, yams, Julie
mangoes, ginger, Moringa, castor oil, a variety of herbs
and spices and a range of fruits to that market.
“As we increase opportunities through the export
platform, we continue to develop marketing arrangements
with our partners in the USA (United States of America),
and those in the UK,” Kellier said.
He noted that the agro parks program is aimed at
boosting production for exports, and that the program
is being expanded, with some 8,000 hectares of “good
agricultural lands” in western Jamaica earmarked for
large-scale production.
“These agro parks will be located in …Enfield, Westmoreland; Shettlewood, Mafoota; and Sunderland in St.
James. Given the enormous opportunities that exist in
the export market, the agro parks will provide us with
large-scale production at the level of consistency, which
will make us competitive on the world market,” Kellier
pointed out.
He urged the private sector to help in building the
“growth momentum” by using more local raw material,
and to partner with farmers to achieve the levels of efficiencies required.
He also called on the population to support the Eat
Jamaican initiative, by consuming more local produce.
Grow your
business;
advertise it in
PRIDE
edge technology, including super-computer powered 3D
photogrammetry to record the site.
Program Director of the U.S. State Department’s
Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP),
Dr. Martin Perschler, is expected to announce the first
AFCP grant awarded for a project in Trinidad and Tobago.
The prestigious award will help finance the conservation
of the artifacts discovered by the expedition so that they
can be displayed for the people of Trinidad and Tobago.
On March 3, 1677, Dutch and French squadrons fought
a pitched battle that would help transform the balance of
power in the Caribbean. The location was Rockley Bay,
Tobago, a strategically located Caribbean island, a little
over 70 miles off the coast of South America.
The Battle of Rockley Bay was one of the largest naval
engagements fought outside of Europe in the 17th century.
In all, about 2,000 people, including 250 Dutch women
and children, and 300 African slaves, lost their lives.
While up to 14 ships were destroyed in the battle, the
team may have found the final resting place of one or
more of the Dutch ships, including Huis de Kreuningen,
a 56-gun warship assigned to hold the centre of the Dutch
line of battle.
The team said the wreck site, known as TRB-5, is a
45 meter long pile of jumbled, encrusted bricks, ballast
stones, and artifacts. Seven cannons lie on top the ballast
pile – and they tell an important story. Only three of the
Dutch vessels were large enough to carry the massive
cannons found on the wreck site: Bescherming, Huis de
Kruiningen, and possibly, Middelburgh. Bescherming
survived the battle.
Throughout the months of May and June, this year,
RBRP archaeologists uncovered cannons, fragments of
small arms, 17th century cutlery, dozens of smoking pipes,
and extraordinary, intact pieces of pottery. One of the most
stunning finds was an elaborately decorated Westerwald jug
with three escutcheons depicting the three great generals
of history – Joshua, David, and Alexander of Macedonia.
“Artifacts recovered from underwater are extremely
fragile. If they are not properly conserved, they will rapidly
degrade. For their protection, all artifacts discovered by
the team were reburied on the site, after documentation.
“The RBRP has been working with the Tobago House
of Assembly and the Tobago Ministry of Tourism to build
a new state-of-the-art conservation and education facility
at the Port of Scarborough,” a statement from the team
added.
9
Wednesday, November 1 2, 20 1 4
Jamaica Economy Showing Signs of Improvement
KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC –
Revenues from taxes increased by
three billion dollars (One Jamaica
dollar =US$0.004 cents) rather than
the target of J$166 million given by the
International Monetary Fund (IMF),
the Economic Program Oversight Committee (EPOC) has said.
But EPOC noted that the revenue
collected for the quarter ending September, fell short of the government’s
own target of $176.4 billion.
“As far as the IMF targets are
concerned, we met them, but the
Government’s targets are a little more
aggressive than the IMF’s,” said EPCO
co- chairman, Richard Byles.
He said the shortfall was due to an
underperformance in corporate taxes
and General Consumption Tax (GCT).
Figures released by EPOC showed
that corporate taxes were J$4.7 billion
less than expected, and collections
from GCT were three billion less than
targeted.
“The Government compensated
Grenadian Legislator Dies
ST. GEORGE’S, Grenada, CMC –
Prime Minister, Dr. Keith Mitchell, last
Friday, led the tributes for a 45-year-old
government legislator, who died in hospital
last Thursday night.
Senator Jester Emmons, the Parliamentary Secretary for Carriacou and Petite
Martinique Affairs, was described “as a
bright young star in the Senate”.
The cause of death was not given, but
it is understood that he felt ill last week,
and was transported to the St. Augustine
Hospital on the mainland.
A government statement quoted Prime
Minister, Mitchell, and his deputy, Elvin
Nimrod, who is also the Minister responsible for Carriacou and Petite Martinique
Affairs, as expressing “our deepest sympa-
Senator Jester Emmons
thies” to the family of the late legislator.
The former school teacher is survived
by his wife and children.
for this shortfall by cutting back on
expenditure; $6.3 billion on the capital
side and $5.6 billion on the recurrent
side,” Byles said.
But the figures provided by EPOC
showed that the island’s primary surplus balance stood at J$43.6 billion,
which is J$5.8 billion better than the
target of J$37.8 billion, leading to
speculation that Jamaica has successfully met and surpassed all targets for
September, under its Extended Fund
Facility (EFF) with the IMF.
The figures also show a better
than expected performance in the Net
International Reserves (NIR), which
stood at US$2.2 billion at the end of
September, exceeding the US$968.3
million that was targeted.
NIR represents contingency funds,
which can enable the country to survive
severe external shocks and cope with
shifts in investor confidence and natural disasters. It also acts as a measure of
foreign goods and services that can be
purchased over a period of time.
But EPOC also to an increase in the
inflation rate, which stood at 2.1 percent
in June and attributed the increases to
transportation costs, tuition fees and
food prices.
But EPOC said that it remains
“hopeful that going forward, if the
drought is over and food supplies come
back, prices can fall and cost of living
retreat somewhat.”
EPOC said it remains “cautiously
optimistic” about the outlook of the
Jamaican economy, despite the challenges the country faces, with meeting
tax revenue targets and achieving a
wage bill of no more than nine percent
of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
10
NDTC Continues To Explore And Experiment
By Neil Armstrong
Pride Contributing Writer
A Review
TORONTO, Ontario -- The National
Dance Theatre Company (NDTC) of Jamaica
returned to Toronto after 15 years with a delightful showcase of its repertoire – some old,
some new to us in Canada – but all steeped in
the excellence of the premier dance company.
Artistic director, Barry Moncrieffe, notes
that the connection with Canada dates back to
the year after the NDTC’s inception in 1962
when the company had appearances at the
Shakespearean Festival in Stratford, Ontario.
The next visit to Canada was to Montreal at
Expo ’67 and in the 70s, the NDTC performed
at the O’Keefe Centre (now the Sony Centre
for the Performing Arts) where the company
performed on November 4.
The company also performed at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa and at the Ryerson
Theatre and the Theatre in New College in Toronto in the ‘80s. There were also performances
in Edmonton before the company returned
and performed in Toronto and Ottawa in 1999,
fifteen years ago.
“We see Canada, then, as providing some
life-blood to the growth and development of
the NDTC in our ceaseless quest for excellence
and cultural certitude through exploration
and experimentation,” says Moncrieffe in the
programme.
Under the theme of “renewal and continuity,” the NDTC showcased three of its seasoned
and seminal works – “Dialogue For Three”
(1963), “Sulkari” (1980) and “Gerrehbenta”
(1983) – and three choreographed post-1999,
-- “Urban Fissure” (2004), “Dimensions (excerpt)” (2004) and “…minutes and seconds”
(2010). The NDTC Singers and Orchestra also
provided a romp down memory lane with “Play
Time,” expressions of “the reality of the various dimensions of playtime with its triumps,
disappointments, joys and pain.”
Opening with “Urban Fissure,” choreographed by Chris Walker to the music of Bob
Marley’s “No More Trouble” featuring Eryka
Badu and Marley’s “Rastaman Chant” featuring
Busta Rhymes Dexter Pottinger, the five dancers
evoked the dexterity of movement needed and
the lived experiences in urban centres.
After the NDTC Singers and Orchestra
performed a medley of songs that reminded
many of their childhood with songs like “Go
Down a Manuel Road” and “Evening Time,”
there was “…minutes and seconds.”
Choreographed by Kerry-Ann Henry and
Momo Sanno, and performed by Marlon Simms
and Kerry-Ann Henry, it is an interpretation of
Joyce Meyer’s quotation, “Life is sometimes very
complicated…Lets purposely learn to enjoy the
simple yet powerful things God has created!”
Henry and Simms demonstrate this through
modern and classical ballet – in essence they
are being playful and enjoying life.
The seminal work, “Súlkari,” is “a dance
of exaltation in fecundity and fertility, so that
through the man-woman relationship the life
of man will continue.”
Choreographed by Eduardo Rivero-Walker,
Jamaica’s National Dancers Deliver
A Stunning Performance
By Victor Carrington
Pride Guest Writer
A review by an audience member
In celebration of Jamaica’s 52nd anniversary
of Independence, the National Dance Theatre
Company (NDTC) of Jamaica delivered a stunning presentation of dance and music, at the
Sony Centre of Performing Arts, last Tuesday
night in Toronto.
The renowned dance group presented “A
Tribute To Rex”, a collection of music and
choreography, paying homage to the company’s
co-founder, Ralston Milton “Rex” Nettleford.
It was a fabulously entertaining evening of
‘relationship in motion’. The performances
were gripping and enticing, from the moment
the curtains were raised to the time the show
ended. The stories they told through dance
were relevant and familiar, while being full of
heart, spirit and passion.
Warm welcoming remarks were presented
by Jamaican Consul General, Seth George
Ramocan. The show commenced with ‘Urban
Fissure’ (2004) – Music of Bob Marley’s “No
more trouble”, featuring Eryka Badhu; and
Bob Marley’s “Rastaman Chant”, featuring
Busta Rhymes as the dancers moved to the
Choreography of Chris Walker.
This was followed by “Playtime”, a depiction of urban life in Jamaica with its pleasures,
challenges and triumphs, all expressed through
a confluence of interpretive dance, ballet and
Continued on page 12 ...
it featured Marlon Simms, Keita-Marie Chamberlain, Jillian Samms, Tamara Noel, Kevin
Moore, Allatunje Connell and Mark Phinn.
“The forms of the dance were inspired
by, and originate from the sculpture, carvings,
headdresses, masks, stools and other elements
and details of African sculpture, as well as the
movement of the Yoruba peoples of Arara
(Dahomey),” notes a description of the work.
The elaborate dance starts includes three
female dancers who are soon joined by three
male dancers, carrying sticks, who elevate the
women on their shoulders, to traditional AfroCuban (Yoruba) music collected and arranged
by Rivero-Walker.
The strength and endurance of the dancers
are evidenced in their ceremonial dance, as if
in honour of the Yoruba goddess, Oshun (who
reigns over love, intimacy, beauty).
The much-lauded Nettleford masterpiece,
“Dialogue For Three” (1963), a true feminist
libretto and a tense tale of three, is a classic
tutorial in male struggle and helplessness “in
the face of female force.”
With music by Joaquin Rodrigo, Marisa
Benain as the wife; Maia Pereira as the other
woman; and Kevin Moore as the man are
caught up in what is described as the “eternal
struggle” and it is “the woman who decides.”
Indeed, the dialogue continued beyond the
Sony Centre’s stage with private discussions of
many in the audience about how things turned
out in the love triangle.
An excerpt of “Dimensions” choreographed by Arsenio Andrade-Calderon with
dancers, Kerry-Ann Henry and Mark Phinn,
showcased their dexterity and the precision
required in the dance movements.
Henry and Phinn demonstrate this through
their vibrant and acrobatic movements, contortion of body – they present a prism of what’s
possible for the human body with much training.
The performance ended with “Gerrehbenta,” the dance takes its name from two of
the major traditional rites practised in Jamaica
– “gerreh” in Hanover and “dinky-mini” which
uses the musical instrument, the benta, in St.
Mary.
Choreographed by the late co-founder with
traditional music arranged by Marjorie Whylie,
with NDTC Singers, musicians and drummers,
and involving the whole company, as dancers,
it was this piece that most poignantly reminded
patrons of Nettleford.
Tapping into the folklore of Jamaica, this
piece was well chosen to end the event which
was entitled Tribute to Rex, in honour of the late
Rex Nettleford, co-founder of the NDTC, a
public intellectual, an activist and a global citizen
who died in 2010. The company was founded
with Eddy Thomas in 1962 to mark Jamaica’s
independence.
“Gerreh” and “dinky-mini” are dances of
African origin of the wake tradition usually
performed after the death of a person, and
up until the ninth night after the death. These
sessions are usually held to cheer the bereaved.
“Dinkies are celebratory occasions. Although associated with death, the music is
lively, joyous and exciting, intending to cheer
the family and friends of the dead person…
The Dinki Mini dance focuses on the pelvic
region as it is performed in defiance of the
death that has occurred,” notes the online
source, Chat-bou.net.
Seth George Ramocan, Jamaica’s consul
general at Toronto and honorary chair of
Group Arts Jam, the planning committee of
the event said the idea to bring the NDTC to
Toronto was his wife, Dr. Lola Ramocan’s idea.
He thanked her, Camille Hines, committee
chair; Jerrold Johnson, chief representative
officer of Jamaica ational Denise Jones of
Jones & Jones Productions Ltd., and all those
involved in making the event a reality.
Ramocan, whose tenure ends this month,
said he was glad that he was able to bring the
DTC to Toronto while in office. Johnson
said Jamaica National was committed to make
it happen.
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
Friday, November 14
Love & Dancehall presents
live in Canada Alkaline Return
Tour on Nov. 14th inside Luxy,
60 Interchange Way, Vaughan.
For info, VIP booths and tickets
contact: 289-600-2919 or 647654-1204.
Love & Hip Hop: Hollywood
& MMG R&B Star ‘Omarion’ Live
for the Scorpio Season - Red Carpet Birthday Soiree w/ Specials
Guests on Friday, November 14th
at Ryze Toronto, 423 College St.
@ Bathurst w/ Music by DJ Ritz,
Lindo P + More. Hosted by Andre
Blenman. For info & tickets call
647-222-7178 or andreblenman@
gmail.com.
Grand Hustle Recording Artist, Hip Hop Icon, Songwriter,
Producer, Actor, Entrepreneur &
Atlanta’s Own ‘King of the South’
T.I. known for his distinct flow and
lyrical skills with a string of hits
with a combination of trap music
and infectious pop hooks lands in
Toronto, Canada on Friday, November 14th for ‘The Paperwork
Tour’ inside the Kool Haus, 132
Queens Quay E., @ Jarvis. For
info & tickets call 647-222-7178
or [email protected].
Friday, November 14 &
Sunday, November 16
Ritz Caribbean Food presents
The 2014 Juice Cup: World Cup
of Comedy featuring Africa vs.
West Indies to be held inside
Queen Elizabeth Theatre, 190
Princes’ Blvd, (CNE Grounds)
Toronto. Dates/Times: Nov. 14th
– Doors: 8 pm, Show: 9 pm; Nov.
16th – Doors: 7 pm, Show: 8 pm.
To purchase tickets online visit:
juicecomedytoronto.com or by
phone: 1-877-700-3130. For more
info call: 647-985-8423.
November 14, 15 & 16
Come celebrate all things that
encompass a TRUE Gentlemen
at “The Gentlemen’s Expo”.
The Event: Friday, Nov 14 from
6pm-12am (19+); Saturday, Nov
15 from 12pm-12am (19+); &
Sunday, Nov 16 from 12pm-12am
(All Ages). Tickets: Use coupon
code DPR10 to get 10% off your
ticket(s)! To purchase tickets visit:
http://www.gentlemensexpo.
com/tickets or Metro Toronto
Convention Centre – http://
www.mtccc.com/attendees/
events.aspx - South Building: 255
Front St. West. The Gentlemen’s
Expo caters to the male shopper
by offering a variety of products
& lessons in manliness. “Although
the focus is educating men -- we
love women & expect that they’ll
enjoy most of the content just as
much as men!” More info visit:
https://www.facebook.com/
GentlemensExpo.
Saturday, November 15
11
The Antigua and Barbuda
Association of Toronto, under
the patronage of the Consulate
General of Antigua and Barbuda,
will host a 33rd Independence Anniversary Banquet on Saturday,
November 15, 2014 starting at
7:00 p.m. The venue will be the
Claireport Place Banquet and
Convention Centre, 65 Claireport
Crescent, Etobicoke, Ontario
(West of HWY 27, off Albion—
close to Steeles). Admission to the
event is $75.00 each. For tickets,
please contact: Carlton 416-7492944, Eric D. 416-570-5002,
Yvonne 416-609-9618, Andrea
905-683-6275, Fridtjof 905-7957888, Roderic 289-892-4393, Eric
W. 905-389-6317, or the Consulate
General Office at 4 6 6 -3 43.
The Congress of Black
Women of Canada - Oshawa
Whitby Chapter in partnership
with Durham Children’s Aid
Society (DCAS) presents a Workshop - Demystifying the Role
of the CAS Part II on Saturday,
November 15, 2014, from 10 am
to 2 pm inside the Children’s Aid
Society – Boardroom at 1320
Airport Blvd in Oshawa. Please
join the discussion with a panel
of Durham CAS experts and let’s
change the outcome. This is a free
event and lunch will be provided.
For info and registration call:
1-866-986-CBWC (2292) ext. 205.
Sunday, November 16
La Petite Musicale of Toronto
under the direction of Lindy
Burgess presents a Christmas
Production – celebrating 45 years
– on Nov. 16th at 50 Hallcrown
Place, North York (Victoria Park
& Consumers Rd). Doors open:
4:30 pm. Time: 5:00 pm. Tickets:
$35 advance, $40 at the door, $25
children 12 and under. For more
info contact: Jean – 416-609-3903;
Barbara – 416-388-5771; or Sherry
– 905-607-4315.
Changing Lives Fundraising
Dinner will be held on Sunday,
November 16, 2014 inside Jamaican Canadian Centre, 995 Arrow
Road, Toronto. Start Time: 4:00
pm. End Time: 10:00 pm. The
purpose of the event is to raise
much needed funds for continued
operation of WESRO in helping
abused women and children,
domestic violence survivors and
people living in poverty. For more
info contact: Vashti Anderson:
Telephone: (647) 351-8551;
Mobile: (416) 713-8340; E-Mail:
[email protected]; or Website: www.
wesro.ca.
Wednesday, November 19
Asap Ferg & YG Live in
Concert for the Great Coast Connection Tour on Wednesday, November 19th at Sound Academy, 11
Polson St. For info & tickets call
647-222-7178 or andreblenman@
gmail.com.
Friday, November 21
DLP Barbados (Canada) invites all Barbadian organizations/
social groups and friends to a fundraising evening of friendly competition of dominoes, scrabble,
karaoke, DJ, etc. on Nov. 21st at 7
pm inside Royal Canadian Legion,
81 Peard Rd. Toronto (1 block
north of Victoria Park & St. Clair
Ave). Tickets: $25 (includes dinner). The evening will include cash
bar and 50/50 draw. For tickets
call: Joseph Knight – 905-8314764; Gordon – 416-277-0034;
Jamilia – 289-878-7936; or email:
[email protected].
Saturday, November 22
Phylani Music presents Tony
Anthony “Live to the Fullest”
Album Launch on Nov. 22nd
inside Ace of Hearts Restaurant,
4000 Steeles Ave. West, Unit #22.
Admission: $20. Show time: 10:30
pm. For tickets and more info call:
647-991-6586 or 647-229-9940.
Pierspective Entraide Humanitaire will host its Fifth Annual
Fundraising Gala on Saturday,
November 22, 2014 as part of
its ongoing fundraising efforts
to complete the Ecole St. Paul
de Corail Cesselesse, a school
in Corail Cesselesse, Haiti. The
gala will be held at the Toronto
Don Valley Hotel & Suites, 175
Wynford Drive, starting at 6:30
p.m. Tickets are $100 each and
may be purchased by calling
416-222-1074 or 416-221-9197.
Entertainment for the evening
will include dancers, musical
renditions and dancing. For further information, please contact:
Andrea – 416-222-1074 or Helen
416-221-9197 or visit the website
at www.haitiaide.ca.
Sunday, November 23
Come shop at Lady Boss
Holiday Bazaar where you will
find quality unique gifts at inexpensive prices. Your ONE stop
shop for ALL your HOLIDAY
needs. Holiday shopping with
ease. Lady Boss Holiday Bazaar
will be held on Sunday, November
23, 2014 from Noon - 7:00 p.m.
at Sheraton Hamilton Hotel,
116 King Street East, 2nd Floor.
Free admission with a canned
food donation for The Hamilton Dream Center. Free family
portraits with Santa Claus. RSVP
@ [email protected] or
call 289-698-2644. Event Page:
https://www.facebook.com/
events/657605117670750/.
Tuesday, November 25
Don’t miss Sistahfest in
recognition of International
Day for the Elimination of
Violence Against Women and
hosted by Upfront Theatre @
York. Sistahfest will be held on
Nov. 25th from 10:00 am to 5:00
pm inside the Student Centre
– Food Court, York University,
4700 Keele Street. Join us in our
celebration and empowerment
of women through workshops,
theatre production, dance and
music. For more information call:
647-341-9031.
Thursday, November 27
The Congress of Black
Women of Canada, Scarborough
Chapter’s Monthly Meeting will
be held on Thursday, November
27, 2014 at Holy Spirit Catholic
School, 3530 Sheppard Avenue,
East, Scarborough (Major intersection: Sheppard & Birchmount).
For information: Phone: (416)
299-3837; (416) 292-0362; or
(416) 292-0362.
Saturday, November 29
Browning presents A Touch
of Elegance and Class 2nd Annual Classic Dinner & Dance
inside Palace Banquet Hall, 4120
Steeles Ave., West (Behind the
Wendys). Tickets: Dinner Ticket
$35; Without Dinner $15. Dinner
starts at 7:30 pm; Stop serving at
10:30 pm. Dress code: Formal.
Our Love Is Reckless presents
Raw. Poetry. Soul: The Queens
Edition – a night of powerful
spoken word art, soulful singing,
and soul pleasing music – to be
held on Nov. 29th inside KnuFerno
Creative Arts & Fitness Studio, 20
Automatic Rd. Unit 1, Brampton.
Hosted by Lamoi. Music provided
by DJ Afroditee. Doors open at
7 pm. Admission: $10 advance;
$15 at the door. For tickets visit:
Eventbrite.ca/e/raw-poetry-soul.
For more info: Lamoi.s@outlook.
com or 647-881-0564.
Saturday, December 6
The Guyana Ex-Soldiers
Association (Canada) presents
the Annual Christmas Dinner &
Dance on Dec. 6th at the elegant
elite Banquet Hall, 1850 Albion
Road, Rexdale. Cocktails: 7 pm – 8
pm. Dinner: 8 pm – 9:30 pm. Cost:
$55. For more info call: David
Allen – 905-567-4464; Ingrid
King – 416-431-0273; Michael
Narain – 905-472-0405; George
Blair – 1-519-660-4314.
Curtis Eustace & WINHD
Caribbean presents the annual
Christmas Classic on Dec. 6th
inside Armenian Centre, 50
Hallcrown Place (Victoria Park
and 401). Doors open at 6 pm.
Show starts at 8 pm. Food on sale.
Admission: $35, more at the door.
Hotline: 416-728-6504.
St. Timothy’s Anglican
Church Agincourt presents An
Evening of Acappella Music with
Cruisin’, one of Ontario’s Premier
Acappella Quartets, to be held
on Saturday, December 6, 2014
@ 8:00 pm inside St. Timothy’s
Anglican Church Agincourt, 4125
Sheppard Avenue, East. Get ready
for an entertaining evening of
fun and music, featuring great
songs from the 1950s, 1960s and
beyond, as well as gospel tunes and
Christmas favourites. Tickets: $25
each (includes wine and cheese).
Contact: 416-293-5711 or email
office sttims.ca. See and hear
Cruisin’s music at: www.cruisinmusic.com.
It’s that time again, Christmas
is just on the doorstep and we at
Sickle Cell Association of Ontario
would like to invite all children
with sickle cell anemia and their
siblings under the age of 16 to our
annual Christmas party on Dec. 6
from 12 noon – 4 pm at Hospital
for Sick Kids (HSK), 555 University Avenue, Elizabeth Street
entrance, Black Wing – Room
1248 & 1250. Please contact the
Sickle Cell office to register your
family. Registrations will close
on Monday, November 24, 2014.
Registrations can be accepted by
email at [email protected] or sicklecell@look.
ca. Our telephone number is (416)
789-2855. We look forward to
seeing you on the day.
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
12
Majah Hype Hopes To Lead West Indian Comedians
To A Repeat Victory Against Africa’s Best
TORONTO, Ontario – For the third year
in a row, in Toronto, the best comedians from
Africa will take on the best from the West Indies.
From Trinidad to Tanzania, Ghana to Grenada, Ritz Caribbean Foods’ “The Juice Cup:
World Cup of Comedy” attracts the expatriates
of many cities, towns, villages and parishes.
Back in 2012, Michael Blackson, best known
for his appearances on BET Comic View, Shaquille
O’Neil’s All-star Comedy Tour, and his appearance in the hit movie, Next Friday; along with
teammates Trixx and Eddy King were able to
overcome their West Indian opponents.
In 2013, Much Music’s T-Rexx stepped
down as the coach of the team and was replaced
by CHRY’s Dr. Jay. He and his comedic team of
Jay Martin, Jean Paul, and Sterling Scott battled
back to secure the win for the West Indian team.
After two sold out shows, Torontonians
have been anticipating this rubber match all
year long and will get it on Friday, November
14 and Sunday, November 16 at the Queen
Elizabeth Theatre on the CNE Grounds.
With what the organizer is calling “The
Social Network Tour” Juice Comedy Toronto
had no holds barred when it recruited this
year’s team.
Blackson, who publicly released a very humorously entertaining video claiming that the
West Indian team must have cheated last year,
has returned. Both he and coach, MC Bonde,
have vowed to bring the cup back to Africa.
However, this will be no easy task since
internet and Instagram sensation, Majah Hype
-- whose real name is Collin Nigel McPherson
and who was raised in East Kingston, Jamaica,
Dunkirk, to be exact -- will be leading the team
from the islands this year.
Creating popular characters like “Grampa
James” and “Di Rass”, Majah’s videos have
been loaded on the screens of literally millions
of cell phones, tablets, and computers in only
one short year.
Although it is known that he resides in New
York City, the fact that he has been able to
keep his background a huge mystery, has been
accredited to his ability to imitate a variety of
accents with impeccable accuracy.
Hype has a following of over 150,000 via
his Instagram page @majahhype, and has been
spotted with many popular artists and celebrities world-wide.
There have even been rumours of Hype
being awarded his own show on the BET network for 2015, although like his heritage, when
asked he never confirms or denies.
Price Harry, aka White Yardie, and Dami,
aka Aphrican Ape, both internet superstars in
their own rights, and Toronto’s most popular
Trixx and Jay Martin, will all grace the stage
for both shows.
Representatives from the show’s organized,
Juice Comedy Toronto, have confirmed that,
following a familiar trend, both shows are over
90% sold out. For additional information and
tickets visit www.juicecomedytoronto.com or
call 1-877-700-3130.
Jamaica’s National Dancers Deliver
A Stunning Performance
...Continued from page 10
acrobatic moves. The dancers painted a picture
of art in its highest form, as they performed
beautifully choreographed pieces that told the
stories.
A chorus of singers with orchestral accompaniment delivered nostalgic Jamaican folk
songs, which inspired the audience to burst into
a sing- along with bodies moving in time with
the performers.
The audience was introduced to “SULKARI”
(1980) – a dance of exaltation in fertility, which
was originated from, and inspired by the
movements of the Yoruba peoples of Arara,
as well as diverse elements of African art and
culture. The choreographers craftily designed
the presentation which captured the spirit and
the moment.
During the intermission, the aromatic
scents of Jamaican and West Indian foods
authenticated the Caribbean atmosphere, much
to the delight of the audience who participated
without hesitation.
The piece that followed was “Dialogue For
Three” (1963) demonstrating the reality of a
male in his helplessness, and the force of two
females struggling in a triangular relationship.
This performance unfolded with grace and
continuity, and the performers maintained a
level of intensity and professionalism that was
second to none.
The final arrangement, “Gerrehbenta”(1983) whose name was derived from two
major traditional rites practised in Jamaica –
‘gerreh’ in Hanover, and ‘dinky mini’ which
uses ‘the benta’ (a musical instrument). The
costumes, the performers and the music were
indeed beholding to the eyes and ears of the
audience.
The choreography of Rex Nettleford,
Chris Walker, Kerry-Ann Henry, Momo Sanno,
Eduardo Rivero-Walker, and Arsenio AndradeCalderon was at the highest standard that could
have been expected – World Class.
Overall this was a first class program, well
executed and masterfully presented. It was a
brilliant showcasing of Jamaican talent. The
performers were young, beautiful, muscular,
flexible and extremely talented. The delivery
of the performances was vibrant, enthusiastic
and zestfully exhibited.
In addition, some of the proceeds of the
evening would help two students of schools
in Jamaica, to attend The Jamaica School of
Dance.
Majah Hype portrays one of his many popular, hilarious characters, Di Rass.
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
13
Selling Your House – DIY Or Use A Realtor?
You’ve decided to sell your house and
aren’t keen on handing over a hefty commission to a realtor. Should you try to sell
the house on your own?
“The major plus in selling your house
yourself is that you do save the cost of commission,” says Maureen Peacock, a CPA, CA
in Kitchener. “However, that savings will
be reduced by any expenses you incur, such
as obtaining an appraisal of your home’s
value, advertising and having someone
review the sale agreement.”
Realtors’ commissions in Ontario range
from four to five percent, split between
the realtor representing the seller and the
realtor representing the buyer. “If you sell
yourself, a realtor representing a potential
buyer will likely want some sort of commission,” adds Peacock. “So selling your house
yourself will not necessarily mean saving
the entire amount of the commission.”
“Realtors know market trends in your
neighbourhood, and know the value of
comparable properties, so they can help
you price your property to sell,” says Aaron
Goldstein, CPA, CA, Manager, Audit &
Advisory with Crowe Soberman LLP in
Toronto. “They are also going to stage your
home better, as they know how to present
it to look attractive. And if you get into a
negotiation or bidding war, you will benefit
from their experience.”
Using a realtor also means your house
will be listed on Canada’s Multiple Listing Service (MLS). “Being on MLS means
other real estate agents are updated right
away when you list,” says Peacock. “Realtors also look after your advertising and
have contacts with professionals in other
cities.”
Selling your house on your own can be
stressful and time-consuming. “It can be
tough to come up with the right value of
your house, and it takes time to take calls
and schedule showings,” says Peacock.
“Putting the deal together can be stressful, and if issues come up after the home
inspection, you won’t have the benefit of
a realtor’s advice.”
While selling your house yourself means
you won’t have to leave during showings,
Peacock cautions that it can be awkward
and uncomfortable to hear what potential
buyers say about your home.
If you do decide to handle the sale
yourself, do your research and maximize the
value of your house. “Analyze the current
market so you get the best price,” advises
Goldstein. “Get rid of your clutter and stage
your house properly.”
You may want to get an appraisal of your
home’s value to help with pricing, adds
Peacock. “Consider finding a realtor who,
for a fee, will write the offer and handle the
deposit,” she says. It may also be wise to
have a lawyer or other professional review
the sale agreement.
If you decide to hire a realtor, talk to
more than one.
“Walk through some of the realtors’
listed houses so you can see how they work
and how they present,” says Goldstein. “Get
a sense of their personality and determine
whether you feel comfortable working
with that agent. Ask for a list of homes
© Can Stock Photo Inc. - Feverpitched
they have recently sold and get references
from former clients.”
It’s also wise to select a realtor who
knows your market. “Get referrals and
look at houses in your neighbourhood with
“sold” signs,” says Peacock. “Talk to several
realtors and don’t necessarily sign with the
one who suggests the highest price for your
house. It’s important to select a realtor who
is honest, has integrity and will keep your
information confidential.”
Brought to you by the Chartered Professional
Accountants of Ontario.
Before You Rent, Do Your Homework
By Carla Hindman
D irec tor of F ina nc ia l E d uc a tion, V isa Ca na d a
Maybe you’re a college or university
student looking to rent your first apartment
or a downsizing homeowner re-entering the
rental market for the first time in decades.
Whatever your situation, there are many
precautions you should take before renting
any property. The last thing you want is to
be saddled with a 12-month lease you can’t
afford or to be stuck in a neighborhood
you’ve come to dislike.
As one who’s been there, let me share
a few tips for renting a home:
Before you even start looking, know how
much you can afford to spend. Housing
is the biggest monthly expense for most
people so if you miscalculate what rent is
affordable, your budget will suffer from
the get-go. Besides rent, don’t forget such
additional expenses as a security deposit,
utilities, cable/satellite, Internet access,
renters insurance, parking and laundry
facilities and one-time move-in expenses
like window treatments, appliances or rugs.
Scope out the neighborhood. Determine
how safe you feel walking around, especially
if you’ll be parking on the street. Come
back to see if the neighborhood’s character changes at night or on the weekend.
Also note the proximity to parks, schools,
grocery stores, public transportation and
busy commuter routes.
Thoroughly inspect each potential
rental:
• Consider total useable space – sometimes a smaller unit with a welldesigned floor plan is more desirable
than a larger space with a poor layout.
• Use a tape measure to measure each
room to determine whether your furniture will fit. Ensure there’s sufficient
closet, cupboard and storage space.
• Look for safety features like deadbolts
and peepholes on exterior doors, welllit corridors, stairwells and parking
•
•
•
•
•
•
structures, smoke detectors, fire extinguishers and bars or other security
features on first-floor windows.
In multi-unit buildings, note the
condition of common areas – that’s a
clue how attentive the owner/manager
is regarding upkeep.
Note the condition of appliances,
plumbing fixtures, floors/carpeting,
electrical outlets and switches, light
fixtures, walls and windows. If you spot
damaged or worn items, ask whether
they’ll be replaced. If not, make sure
they’re noted in the rental agreement.
Check the water pressure and hot
water quality.
Check seals around doors, windows
and vents; if leaky, they can boost
utility bills.
Look for evidence of previous water
leaks and mold.
Check for soundproofing, especially if
there are adjoining apartments.
Once you find a suitable place, read the
rental agreement carefully. Don’t hesitate
to ask a lawyer or more experienced friend
to review it. If not spelled out in the lease
you may want to ask the landlord the following questions:
• How much is the security deposit and
what are the requirements for getting
a full refund?
• If not provincially regulated, how are
rent increases determined?
• What happens after the lease term
ends? Often, it’ll convert to a monthto-month rental agreement where you
can leave anytime with proper notice
(usually 30 days).
• How many tenants are allowed?
• What are building policies for things
like houseguests, noise curfews,
maintenance and repairs, pest control,
smoking, lost keys and pets?
• Can you sublet the unit before your
lease expires?
And finally, be aware that many landlords check credit reports of potential tenants. Before you start looking, check your
own credit report so there are no surprises.
You can ask for a free copy of your credit
file by mail to one of two national credit
bureaus in Canada: Equifax Canada and
TransUnion Canada.
This article is intended to provide general information and should not be considered legal,
tax or financial advice. It’s always a good idea
to consult a tax or financial advisor for specific
© Can Stock Photo Inc. - richmaj99
information on how certain laws apply to your
situation and about your individual financial
situation.
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
14
OPINION
Why Jian Ghomeshi’s Prosecution
May Be A Wrongful Conviction
In The Making
By Ernest Guest
Pride Col um nist
As the authorities investigate and
deliberate on whether
or not to charge Jian
Gomeshi under the
Criminal Code, they ought to take a serious
read of the Executive Summary and Recommendations of The Commission on Proceedings Involving Guy Paul Morin.
Readers will recall that Guy Paul Morin
was charged with the murder of his next door
neighbor, Christine Jessop. He was tried not
once but twice. Mr. Morin was acquitted at
his first trial in
6. A new trial was ordered
by the Court of Appeal for Ontario (affirmed
by the Supreme Court of Canada). Mr. Morin
was tried a second time and found guilty of
first degree murder.
Mr. Morin appealed and on the basis of
fresh evidence tendered by the Crown and
defence he was acquitted of the charge on January 3rd,
5. D A evidence established that
Mr. Morin was not the donor of semen stains
found on the deceased’s body. The authorities
acknowledged that Mr. Morin was innocent,
apologized and compensated him.
As a result of Mr. Morin’s wrongful conviction, we in Ontario were the beneficiaries of
the Hon. Fred Kaufman’s insightful report to
the Government of Ontario into, among other
things, the conduct of the criminal investigation
in Mr. Morin’s case.
Two investigative flaws identified in the
Morin Inquiry and other similar inquiries as
significant contributors to wrongful convictions, “Tunnel Vision” and “Noble Cause
Corruption”, may likely present a challenge
to the authorities in any prosecution of Mr.
Ghomeshi.
Tunnel ision was defined by the Morin
Iquiry as “the single minded overly narrow
focus on an investigation or prosecutorial
theory, as to unreasonably colour the evaluation
of information received, and one’s conduct in
response to the information.”
Noble Cause Corruption refers to the practice where police officers violate legal or ethical
standards in pursuit of what they perceive to
be the benefit of society at large.
Tunnel Vision
The Jian Ghomeshi allegations are a perfect
case-study for the phenomenon of tunnel vision
in a criminal investigation - dated complaints
of sexual and violent crimes against women by
a man who can be described as a public figure
or celebrity in an era of political-correctness
where there exists “mainstream guilt” for
historical wrongs perpetrated against women
under the colour of law.
The complainants all know the subject of
the criminal investigation. The subject of the
investigation knows the complainants. The
key issue is one of consent at the time of the
alleged conduct -- except for acts which the
complainant cannot at law consent to (bodily
harm for example). The complainants allege
a lack of consent. Mr. Ghomeshi, as I understand it, has publicly asserted that he acted
with consent.
Consent a state of mind
A key question for investigators in a case
such as this, is an explanation for the delay in
advancing the criminal complaint. Delay on
its own will not always impair the credibility
or reliability of a complaint, but it must be
carefully investigated.
The rationale for this can be found once
one appreciates that consent is a state of mind
at the time of the offence which unlike D A
evidence is not fixed and is subject to change
by the complainant either intentionally or
Remembering The
Barbarity Of Warfare
...Continued from page 2
German civilians perished in a single night of
relentless RAF bombing.
The Second World War is replete with
scores of similar retaliatory acts of barbarism
directed primarily at civilians. It is estimated
that of the fifty-five million people who lost
their lives during World War 11, more than
fifty per cent were civilians including millions
of innocent little children.
Never before had the world experienced
such a total disregard for human lives. But
in all probability, this unprecedented act of
barbarism could be surpassed if the nations
and terrorists of the world continue along
their present course of mindless irrationality.
If recent trends in the Middle East, Eastern
Europe, and Africa are any indication, I am
afraid that the world may be in for an unprecedented bloodbath of the greatest magnitude.
It is clear that in a war everyone suffers. At
this time when we remember our brave soldiers
who fought heroically, and gave up their lives
in the wars of the 20th and 21st centuries, let
us not forget the civilians, especially young innocent babies and children who died and are still
dying, as a result of the barbaric machinations
of self-centred, irrational national leaders and
also terrorists of the world.
Rupert Johnson can be reached at:
[email protected].
unintentionally.
Objective and Subjective Requirement
A complainant can objectively consent
to an act, thereby inviting an action, only to
then later assert a lack of consent depending
on their objective. I raised this legal point in
Webb v. Waterloo Region Police Services
Board et al 00 Canli 4 3 (Ont. C.A. - a case
in which the defendant, a gay man was cruising
in an area known for consensual cruising activity between men, encountered an undercover
police officer who accepted an invitation to
go into the woods with the plaintiff, only to
arrest and charge him for sexual assault when
contact occurred.
My use of the word objective above, is not
to imply that I have any knowledge that the
complainants in the Ghomeshi case, actually
possess any improper objective, as I do not
know that. I use it because in the Webb case, I
was successful in obtaining an admission from
the officer that he concealed his identity from
Mr. Webb, and accepted his invitation to go
into the woods knowing what goes on there,
because he was playing a role, and Webb would
not have committed the offence had he known.
Publicity with respect to legal proceedings
involving the alleged perpetrator may be a key
element which may lead a complainant to effectively re-evaluate their consent to a dated
occurrence.
What may have been consensual because
the complainant accepted the conduct at the
time, can be subsequently deemed “inappropriate conduct” following widespread publicity
of sexual misconduct, or criminal allegations
against the alleged perpetrator.
A complainant may reason that on receipt
of the “new information” from the publicity,
they now feel naive and violated where they
did not at the material time.
The publicity may provide a new perspective, for the complainant to evaluate the historical conduct, to which she may have consented in
the past, and bring forward her “true opinion”
on the question.
Nobel Cause Corruption
The current wave of political correctness
fuelled by the intense public coverage, in this
case make it susceptible to Noble Cause Corruption. Political correctness on the issues of
sexual harassment and sexual assault by men
against women, has reached a point where, if left
unchecked, the issues of consent, credibility and
reliability are secondary to the allegation itself.
The so called victim’s narrative, and the acceptance of this narrative holus bolus, appears
on the verge of creating a strict liability offence,
and dispensing with established legal principles
like the presumption of innocence. This is the
climate in which these allegations are received.
o one -- especially the police, prosecutors
and even the judiciary -- want to be called out
as “condoning” the allegations and “impeding”
the victim’s right to “vindication”. Vindication
under this regime of political-correctness is
a finding of guilt. Reports are already being
attributed to at least one of the complainants
on the “positive reception” she has received
from the police.
Police, for their part, have already announced that they want to make available all
of the resources available -- such as counselling
etc. to persons who come forward. In light
of these reports, one wonders to what extent
investigators may be reluctant to ask hard questions of the complainants.
What may often happen in such circumstances, is the phenomenon where police adopt
the “tell your story to the judge approach”. In
employing this approach police officers simply
take the information at face value, and leave the
unanswered questions to either the prosecutor
or the trial judge.
Challenge for investigators
Investigators tasked with investigating
a case like Mr. Ghomeshi’s, must start with
a recognition of the nature and potential
frailties associated with the legal concept of
consent. Unless there is evidence of bodily
harm, consent would be a defence to the subject
allegations. Police must be objective, impartial
and thorough in their investigations. Police
must not be afraid to ask the hard and perhaps
embarrassing questions. Police are not legally
obligated to lay criminal charges at the whim or
direction of anyone. Police may lay a criminal
charge where they have formulated reasonable
grounds for believing that an offence has been
committed. Political-correctness and publicity
ought to have no role in the execution of this
police function. The forum for victims to
seek vindication is the civil forum and not the
criminal law forum.
Ernest Guiste is a Toronto lawyer.
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
15
Japan To Assist Caribbean Countries Despite
Graduation By International Financial Institutions
By Peter Richards
CMC Caribbean Correspondent
TOKYO, Japan, CMC – Japan has
pledged to assist the Caribbean Community
(CARICOM) countries with financial and
technical assistance despite the regional
countries being graduated to middle income
countries, and therefore, no longer eligible
for concessionary loans on the basis of mere
per capita income.
The Director of the Caribbean Division,
Latin American and Caribbean Affairs at
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs here, Maki
Kobayashi-Terada, told regional journalists
that Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, during
the first ever Japan-CARICOM summit in
Trinidad and Tobago in July, had indicated
that Tokyo was aware of the situation facing
the regional countries and was prepared to
assist them in that regard.
“We promised that we are going to extend
cooperation and we have already increased
six fold compared to the past few years. We
are going to work together in order in order
to have meaningful cooperation…even
though…some of the Caribbean countries
have higher standard of living in terms of
per capita income.
“As Caribbean countries argued it
doesn’t reflect precisely the situation of
Caribbean countries. We understand, so
that’s why our Prime Minister said that
we recognise the importance of assisting
Caribbean countries other than those based
on per capita income.
“So that is why we are having the field
research because you might not need the
assistance or you might need the assistance
in certain areas,” she said, adding that “for
some countries, definitely without any
reason you need some assistance but in that
case we usually have field research.”
Kobayashi-Terada said for those countries that have already graduated “we are
going to have them studied, find out what
are the necessities, what are the priorities
and we are going to discuss within our
government what we can do”.
CARICOM foreign ministers are expected to meet with their Japanese counterpart on Saturday and Kobayashi-Terada
said it provides an opportunity for Tokyo
to cooperate more with the regional bloc
countries on a global level.
According to a joint statement issued
here on Monday, the November 15 meeting
is a follow-up to the first Japan-CARICOM
Summit held in July “and are expected to
enhance collaboration on various global
agenda, including environment issues and
climate change”.
PAHO Wants Wider Access To
Breast Imaging Services To Save
Lives In The Caribbean
WASHINGTON, DC, CMC – The Pan
American Health Organization (PAHO)
says better access to mammography and
other breast imaging services could help
improve outcomes for more than 152,000
women diagnosed with breast cancer each
year in Latin America and the Caribbean.
“Early detection, accurate diagnosis,
and appropriate and timely treatment are
the keys to better outcomes for women
with breast cancer,” said PAHO Director,
Dr. Carissa F. Etienne, on World Radiology
Day, on Saturday.
“Mammography has a critical role to play
in this process, but due to its health system
and resource requirements, its full potential
has yet to be realized in our region,” said
the Dominica-born PAHO Director.
“On World Radiology Day, we are highlighting the importance of strengthening
health systems and making breast imaging
services more widely accessible to help save
women’s lives,” Dr. Etienne said.
Each year in the Americas, including
the Caribbean, PAHO said about 408,000
women are diagnosed with breast cancer,
and 92,000 women die from the disease.
PAHO said some 47 percent of these
deaths occur in Latin America and the
Caribbean.
A recent PAHO survey found that only
19 of 33 countries in Latin American and
the Caribbean report having mammography
services available in the public health sector.
“Increasing access to quality breast
imaging services is essential,” said Dr.
Pablo Jimenez, PAHO Regional Advisor
on Radiological Health Program.
“But it’s also important that it be
adequately performed, and that requires
guidelines, well trained professionals, and
effective quality assurance and quality
control programs to ensure radiation safety,
valid results, and accurate diagnosis.”
Increasing the effectiveness and quality
of breast imaging services is one of the goals
of PAHO’s technical cooperation, aimed at
strengthening public health and regulatory
capacity in its member countries.
PAHO said it will celebrate World Radiology Day on November 19 with an interactive panel discussion on access, regulation,
quality, effectiveness, and proper delivery
of breast imaging services in the context of
current health technologies, cancer control
and universal health coverage.
The event will also provide health workers and health authorities in the Americas
with information on how to improve access
to these health technologies.
The statement said that CARICOM
countries “frequently taking a common
position in the international arena, hold
a certain presence in the international
community.
“It is expected that they will deepen
their understanding and support towards
Japan’s position on various global issues
through this conference”.
The statement said that it is expected
that the relationship between Japan and the
regional community bloc “will be further
strengthened through this conference on
the occasion of Japan-CARICOM Friendship Year 2014”.
Kobayashi-Terada said that the meeting here will discuss “international issues because next year is going to be the
70th anniversary of the United Nations so
we would like to focus a lot on the issues
of the United Nations, climate change…
“We would like to listen carefully to
what the Caribbean countries concerns
are, as well as positions in order to be able
to better represent them in other international forum, where we are participating
and Caribbean countries are not”.
She said at the same time, Tokyo
“would also like to find a way on how to
cooperate more closely…we would also like
to advance the Security Council reform
issues and also post 2015 agenda.
“Next year we have many issues to be
discussed, so we would like to prepare in
order to build on each other. This is November and we’re getting to the end of the
Friendship Year. We would like to confirm
what has been happening throughout this
year and what we are going to do in coming years in order to have much closer
relationships,” she said.
Japan will, next March, host the
Third World Conference on Disaster Risk
Reduction (WCDRR) and according to
Katsunobu Takada, the principal deputy
director, Global Issues Cooperation Division, Caribbean countries should ensure
that they are represented at the talks.
Maki Kobayashi-Terada (CMC Photo).
“Generally speaking, many experts say
if we are prepared well we can minimise
the economic loss,” he said, adding that his
advice would also be that regional countries should seek to allocate a percentage
of their national budget towards disaster
risk reduction.
The March 14-18 meeting is a UNconference to discuss international
strategy on risk reduction. Japan hosted the
first two meetings. The meeting in Sendai
is aimed at completing the assessment and
review of the implementation of the Hyogo
Framework for Action.
It will also consider the experience
gained through the regional and national
strategies and institutions and plans for
disaster risk reduction and to adopt a post
2015 framework for disaster risk reduction.
The five-day meeting will also identify modalities of cooperation based on
commitments to implement a post 2015
framework for disaster risk reduction, as
well as to determine modalities for periodic
review of the implementation of a post
2015 framework.
Earlier, regional journalists were told
that Japan had provided US$11.65 million to Caribbean countries during the
period 2010-12 to deal with the impact of
climate change.
The figures also show that form June
2013 to the June 2014, Tokyo had provided
US$7.35 million.
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
16
Women And The Power
In Their Continual Violation
By L. Ardor
Pride Col um nist
First, Canadian media personality Jian Ghomeshi, then
the Hollaback street harassment awareness campaign video
that went viral, and sparked conversations all around the
world, and now “pick up artist” Julien Blanc; for women,
these past few weeks can be adequately described as a revolving door of violation, and to some it can be summed
up in two words, “nothing new.” For women everywhere
these past few weeks have been a confirmation of what we
already knew to be true: women do not matter.
A strong statement—Yes! This is the kind of statement
that prickles under your skin, and incites a small army
of itches, for which the only remedy is change. For some
with more sensitive skin, this statement can hurt. The
truth hurts, so I will say it again; the acts of those with
whom we share this earthly walk will continue to remind
us that women do not matter.
We want to believe that women matter. We want
to believe that nature overrides nurture, and that our
marches, our voices, and the exuberant rise in strong
women everywhere, are stomping away at the superiority
complex of the patriarchal foundation one footstep at a
time. Yet, we keep hearing about the Jian Ghomeshis, of
the world, defending their right to sexually assault and
harass women, by claiming consensually rough bedroom
preferences.
There still remains a need to make, watch, and share
street harassment awareness campaigns, like the one
spearheaded by Hollaback, a movement to end street harassment fuelled by local activists around the world. Ten
hours of footage documenting the continual harassment
experienced by a woman in New York City, encouraged
an innumerable amount of women to take to social media,
and declare it to be a true depiction of daily life. Although
facing its own critique of adding to the Black and Latino
male stereotype, the message of the video remains clear.
A woman cannot walk down the street in her own neighbourhood, without being placed on the same level as an
animal being called to come back home.
As Steve Santagati, author of Code of Honor and The
Manual said when interviewed by CNN regarding Hollaback, “....there is nothing more than a woman loves to
hear, is that how pretty she is.” You hear that women? Be
thankful that men are verbally, and at times physically
caressing and fondling you in the street; it’s a compliment,
so get used to it, because deep down inside you like it.
We keep coming into contact with men like Julien
Blanc, a consultant for Real Social Dynamics, and a selfdescribed pick up artist. He has made a living from teaching
men how to sexually abuse and manipulate women into
having sex with them. His methods of “wooing” include
grabbing the heads of strange women and thrusting them
into his crotch, along with putting women in choke-holds
while encouraging them, in an albeit sexy way to “shhhh.”
Women like power, we have been told this.
Julien has been quoted as saying, “[At least in Tokyo….]
if you’re a white male, you can do what you want. I’m just
romping through the streets, just grabbing girls’ heads,
just like, head, pfft on [groin/stuffed into crotch].” If
that is not scary and disgusting enough, I will put it into
perspective for you. The men with whom you interact in
your daily life are paying up to $3,000 to be taught how
to violate you where you live, where you stand, where you
walk; and where you feel the safest, in a world that does
not offer you safety.
There exists the cultural norm that is the violation of
our space, violation of our physical bodies, violation of
our mental, emotional, and spiritual beings. Women live
in a constant state of violation. As a woman, I understand
© Ca n S toc k P h oto I nc . - 4 7 7 4 3 4 4 sea n
the lack of compassion, and the lack of logic in this type
of male mindset.
Since the beginning of our history, women have been
as valued as the property that can be won, traded and
discarded for more property. Our bodies and sexuality
have been consecrated, sold, and dismembered for the
pleasure and entertainment of men. Our religions and
teachings of faith uphold our standings as a little lower
than the angels, yet, well below the heels of the ones who
teach us what and how to believe.
When the majority of social structures, and human
thought processes applied into action, are founded on the
female being in a constant state of less than, how else are
we supposed to be treated? When we are taught to respect
and honour those on equal footing or held in higher esteem,
how dare we be surprised that women are shot dead in the
street, for denying to hand over that which is inherently
hers to control? Herself, her body, her smile, her response,
and her phone number.
We have been taught to dishonour and mistreat the
givers of life because ultimately that which gives life holds
power. Ding! Ding! Ding! That is how those in perceived
power, control the ball in their court: by teaching those
who should be their partner, that they indeed are opponents—by reinforcing that men are bigger, stronger, and
more valuable. Control is maintained by teaching that the
only place for women is in the wallets, beds, and weaker
sex module, and by destroying that which supports the
uplifting of women. If there is no shift, power will always
remain in the fear-filled clutches of the sons birthed from
the very women they oppress.
Have we forgotten a history in which revolt, rebellion and anger has changed the course of a community,
and more beautifully a nation. When freedom is desired,
nothing stands in the way of attaining that freedom; and
though the fight might take generations, we women want
our freedom.
I could encourage us all with 5 steps on how to free
women: listen to us; validate and do not negate our
experiences; understand why feminism is necessary; do
not violate our personal spaces; and do not sabotage our
narrative of oppression, with excuses followed by inaction.
But doing that would ensure the power stays in the hands
of the oppressors, as a master freeing his slaves.
I could also give you a warm mushy feeling, by throwing a tangible object of our constant objectification into
the bonfire of protest and revolution; but the only ‘object’
would be a woman’s body, my body, and I am not ready
to lay my life down for a fight, I still have energy to combat. What I will do is leave you with these words by an
anonymous source, “Destroy the idea that men should
respect women because we are their daughters, mothers,
and sisters. Reinforce the idea that men should respect
women because we are people.”
In this system we so comfortably call home, the winners are white and they are male. In this system the ‘Just
be glad you aren’t dead’ consolation prize are Men of
Colour. Below both these systems, and still maintaining
their respective order in the colour barrier, are women. As
we leave the revolving door of violation that was the past
few weeks, I can promise you the next woman you meet
is bracing herself for what is to come.
L. Ardor is a writer who believes that everything in life stems
from love. Her mission is to spread her philosophy to all
brave enough to embrace. ou can find s. rdor on twitter
@LaLaArdor.
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
17
All Things Work Together For Good!
How difficult is it to ‘start
over’? Can you actually forget
all your past mistakes, roll
up your sleeves and dive into
the unknown once again? I
believe that we can; especially
us ladies. With experience
and pain, character is built,
and with that being said, life
certainly has no guarantees,
it doesn’t matter how rich,
beautiful or successful we are.
The only thing that we
have on which to rely,is our inner strength,
and as time passes we will undoubtably be
tested by many challenges. It doesn’t matter
how painful these trials and tribulations
are, we all have many things upon which
to draw, as long as we do not throw in the
towel in total despair.
Take my friend, Marsha for example.
She was 45 years old and still single. She
lights up a room when she enters.Yes, her
temper is too short; skirt too tight; lipstick
too bright; and she is a few pounds overweight, but her personality is intoxicating.
She still knows how to turn heads!
Her divorce from Peter was now final,
and she was beginning to feel as if she could
not cope. She had not thought about her
own future while she had been married.
Her only child, Zachery was
the light of her life, but with
him living miles away while
at college, Marsha was often
left all alone, preferring not
to indulge too much in the
party scene.
Her job as a manager for a
clothing company was secure,
although her financial portfolio could have been a little
healthier. Although she had
never filed for bankruptcy,
she was beginning to consider it. The
situation was getting to be a little stressful
because of all the years of raising a son by
herself,and taking care of the bills. Her dating life was nonexistent. However, over the
last few years, she had seriously attempted
to find Mr. Right, but had failed miserably
and given up.
Despite the failures, Marsha continued
to work, pay her bills, and work out at
the gym, while silently praying that Mr.
Right would come waltzing through her
door.“You are never going to get that,” said
her friend Malcolm. “Just find a man who
likes you, and even if you don’t like him
that much, you’ll learn to love him. You
will see how good it can be.”
Maybe Malcolm was right. “What the
heck is going to happen to me now that I
am all alone and Zachery is at school?” she
asked herself. Marsha wished that she had
listened to her inner voice and put something away for herself while she had been
married to Peter. “I wonder if the Lord can
send me a man now,” she wondered. She
needed help with the bills! Desperation
was surely setting in!
The very first thing that Marsha has to
do is to truly ‘give herself a break’! Often,
we forget that we are doing the very best
that we can, and that a man or anyone else
is not supposed to ‘save us’. We need to rely
upon ourselves, regardless of how hard the
road may be or seem to be. We must trust
that ‘all things work together for good’.
Finding any man to ‘help you with your
problems’ is certainly the wrong way to go,
as that solves nothing, since you might be
biting off a lot more than you can chew.
There is nothing wrong with finding
a mate with whom to spend your life, but
doing so under false pretences will eventually result in hurt for both parties. Wait,
be patient and the one that is right for you
will appear at the right time.
Also, one thing that I have come to
realize is that everything that has happened
to me, whether it be positive or negative,
has worked for my benefit. I may not have
© Ca n S toc k P h oto I nc . - stua rtm il es
understood it at the time, but in time the
true reason of why things happened will
manifest itself, and allow me to breathe
a sigh of relief and say, “ Tank Yu Jesus.”
So to all the Marsha’s of the world, I
say, “hang in there girl. Life is tough but,
what doesn’t kill you, only makes you
stronger.”
Sandy Daley is a columnist, radio and television
personality and actress. She is also the author
of “Whose Vagina Is It, Really?” She can be
contacted at ebsite www.sandydaley.com
aceboo womanincontrol faceboo .com
Twitter https twitter.com whosevaginaisit
and or Email thesinglegirlspot gmail.com.
How To Improve And Maintain Good Posture
By Virginia Nsitem
Pride H ea l th Col um nist
Do you slouch when
you stand? Do you have
difficulty “sitting up
straight”? This article
will discuss the best ways
to improve and maintain
good posture.
The Spine
The spine is divided into three major
parts – the cervical spine, the thoracic
spine,and the lumbar spine. These parts
of the spine have natural curves. There
are powerful muscles in the back that attach to the spine and provide support and
balance, with the help of the abdominal
muscles. Tight, weak, or injured muscles
can alter the natural curves in the spine.
The altered curves may also be noticeable
in your appearance as slouched shoulders,
a sway back,or uneven hips.
Scoliosis
Scoliosis is a term used to describe
an abnormal curvature in the spine. It
occurs in young children, and is often
noticeable when they are going through
a growth spurt. Mild cases of scoliosis are
monitored by a physician or specialist and
often require no treatment. Moderate cases
of scoliosis may require a brace to help slow
down the progression of the curve. Severe
cases of scoliosis may be treated surgically
to correct the curve.
Signs of scoliosis include uneven
shoulders, one shoulder blade that appears
more prominent than the other, ribs on one
side of the body that stick out farther than
on the other side, uneven waist level, one
hip higher than the other, and difficulty
Continued on next page ...
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
18
Leo
(July 23- August 22)
Scorpio
(Oct. 23 - Nov. 21)
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!
condemned. Remember to
be corrective as opposed to
punitive!
Your emotions will feel a
little tender around the ones
you love most. Perhaps they
will reprimand you for something you have done, or make
you feel badly for something
you did not do, either way
this will pass and you will
feel better within three days.
Aquarius
(Jan. 20 - Feb. 18)
Sagittarius
(Nov. 22 - Dec. 21)
Take care of your appearance. You certainly are a unique
looking individual. Eat what
is healthy and be certain to
get some exercise in. Many
admirers are looking at you.
If you are active on the social
networks, do not be surprised
how many admirers are checking out your profile.
Capricorn
(Dec. 22 - Jan. 19)
Condemning others for
their actions will do nothing but tell the universe that
you too do not mind being
Save money. Save money.
Save money. It is the best
thing to do right now before
the holiday season coming up.
Pisces
(Feb 19 - March 20)
You do not have to be loud
to get your point across. Being
calm, cool and collected will
have more of an impact.
Aries
(March 21- April 19)
Give it all you got. Do not
make excuses for procrastination. Just get it done and you
will prevent any unpredictable
issues later. Mush, mush,
mush!!!
Taurus
(April 20 - May 20)
Worry, my dear Taurus,
is truly just a stretch of your
Maintain Good Posture
...Continued from previous page
breathing (in severe cases, due to reduced chest space).
10 tips to improve your posture:
1. Practice good posture techniques in the mirror
to help your body and mind remember what it feels like
to have proper posture.
2. Pay attention to how your clothes fit on your
body. Check to see if the hem lines of your skirt or dress
look even across the bottom. Check to see if the waist of
your pants sits evenly across your hips and the zipper is
centred. If you notice uneven levels, that may be a clue
that you have some imbalances in you posture.
3. Check the wear on your shoes. Poor posture can
also affect the way you walk and how your shoes wear out
at the toes and heels.
4. Stretch your muscles…not only spine muscles,
but your shoulders and leg muscles too!
5. Strengthen your muscles. It is important to
strengthen your neck muscles, mid back muscles, low
back muscles, and stomach (abdominal) muscles.
6. Practice good posture habits when you sleep….
avoid sleeping on your stomach. Instead, lie on your side
or back.
7. Avoid maintaining one position for a long period of
time, or performing the same activity for too long without
changing your posture. Take a stretch break from static
or repetitive activities. Stretch your arms up, roll your
shoulders back, and stretch your hips, knees, and back.
8. When carrying heavy bags, groceries, or shopping
items, try to balance the weight between both hands.
9. Avoid carrying a heavy handbag or knapsack over
one shoulder.
10. If you have suffered an injury to your spine or
other joints, see your chiropractor or primary physician
for an evaluation and treatment options.
Dr. Virginia Nsitem is a chiropractor specializing in laser therapy
for muscle, joint and nerve injuries, and is a Fellow of the Royal
College of Chiropractic Sports Sciences in Canada. She may be
reached at (905) 275-4993, or by email at [email protected].
imagination. If there is clear
and present danger, then
of course, it may be normal
for you to have some fear.
However, if there is no reason
for you to fear, then do the
opposite and free your mind.
Meditation is good for that.
Visit this link for a detailed
meditation video to help guide
you through it http://youtu.be/
wMgdFnK18K0.
Gemini
(May 21- June 20)
Do not take it personally
when someone from out of the
blue tries to give you unsolic-
ited advice. You know you are
quite capable of getting things
done, but some people may
think you are struggling and
they need to help. Do not get
upset at them. They are just
trying to help.
Cancer
(June 21- July 22)
Do not allow love to get
you down. Relationships will
come and they may go. It is a
part of life. It is a part of life as
well, to replace the one thing
that was taken. Look forward
to something new coming on
the horizon.
You do not have to prove
yourself to anyone. You should
be the one who is the most happiest with you.
Virgo
(Aug. 23 - Sept. 22)
A secret will be told to you
about a co-worker. Do not
repeat what you hear. If you
do you will be disrespected
from the people who oversee
you. Why? Because they will
hear that you are starting
gossip and they will disrespect that type of immaturity
happening in the workplace.
Libra
(Sept. 23 - Oct. 22)
If you are contemplating
your future and wondering
where you fit in life, try not
to worry or over think your
circumstances. Just ponder
what you are best at, and work
on your talents. It is your
natural ability that will take
you farther. You have the gift
for gab, so try and implement
that somehow in your career,
and you will benefit indeed.
Cerise F airfax is a Life
Coach and can be reached
at: (41 6) 722-5233 and
cerisefairfax @ gmail.com.
V isit www.cerisefairfax .
com for life coaching advice and daily inspiration.
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
19
Unsure About The Flu Shot? Your Questions Answered
NC – According to Ontario’s Associate Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Robin Williams, some Ontario
parents still have questions about getting the flu shot for
their children.
When deciding whether you and your children should
be vaccinated, it’s the facts that count. We sat down with
Dr. Williams to get answers to the most frequently asked
flu shot questions.
Is the flu shot safe?
In Canada, there are very strict guidelines for making
vaccines and safety is a priority. The flu vaccine is safe in
healthy children and adults. Serious reactions from the
vaccine are rare. Most common reactions include soreness,
redness or swelling where the shot has been given, lasting
up to two days. Vaccine components rarely cause allergic
reactions. Talk to your health care provider regarding the
risks and benefits of flu vaccination.
Does the flu shot work?
Yes, a recent study by the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention shows that the flu shot reduced children’s
risk of influenza-related admissions by 74 per cent during
the 2010-2012 flu seasons.
Is living a healthy and active lifestyle enough to stop
you from getting the flu?
While eating well, exercising and washing your hands
are certainly important to living a healthy lifestyle. These
practices alone can’t prevent you from getting the flu.
The flu shot is the best way to avoid getting the flu and
becoming seriously ill.
© Ca n S toc k P h oto I nc . - B V D C
How does the flu shot work?
Vaccination helps strengthen your body’s natural immune response against the flu. The flu shot stimulates
your immune system to build antibodies against the virus,
making it stronger and ready to fight off the flu.
Can the flu shot cause autism or Guillain-Barré
Syndrome?
Some parents express concern that vaccines can cause
health issues, such as Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) or
autism. GBS may be associated with the influenza vaccine
(1 per million recipients), but is more likely to occur after
you get infected with the flu (1 per 60,000). The National
Advisory Committee on Immunization indicates that
alleged health effects from vaccines do not cause autism.
How does the flu virus spread?
The virus spreads mainly from person-to-person
coughing or sneezing, but also by touching objects or
surfaces with flu viruses on them and then by touching
your eyes, mouth or nose. Studies show that flu viruses
can survive on surfaces up to 48 hours. Sharing personal
items like cell phones, eating utensils, pens and drinks
also contribute to the spread of the flu.
What are the most common symptoms of the
flu?
Symptoms can vary from person-to-person, but usually includes fever, chills, cough, runny eyes, stuffy nose,
sore throat, headache, muscle aches, extreme weakness,
and fatigue. Most people will recover within a week to
10 days, but some individuals, including children, are at
increased risk of severe complications.
What is the difference between the cold and the flu?
Common cold and flu symptoms are often similar,
however, the flu is not a cold. It has potentially serious
consequences, such as hospitalization or even death for
the most vulnerable, including young children. Last year
in Ontario, there were more than 700 children under 10
with confirmed influenza that were hospitalized, and
eight deaths were reported. Symptoms accompanying the
flu often include: fever or chills, body and muscle aches
and extreme fatigue.
For more information about the flu, or to locate the
nearest flu shot clinic to you, visit www.ontario.ca/flu.
Don’t Feel Alone With Bladder Control Issues
NC – Canadians don’t like to talk about incontinence,
reserving it for only those who experience it. Some would
think that means only a small group of people need be
concerned, but you might be surprised to know that 3.3
million Canadians experience some form of bladder leakage. According to a survey conducted amongst members of
the Angus Reid Forum, nearly half of those who experience
slight urine loss when laughing, coughing, or exercising,
are under the age of 55.
Take a look at some of the facts of incontinence that
you might not be aware of:
1. Incontinence isn’t just a symptom of old age. Bladder leakage is caused by a variety of things, including weak
bladder muscles, pregnancy and childbirth in women,
as well as complications from surgery, stroke or chronic
diseases like multiple sclerosis (MS) and Parkinson’s
disease. Other diseases that affect bladder nerves or the
spinal cord, like diabetes, can also cause bladder leakage.
In men, serious conditions like prostate cancer can also
play a role in the development of the condition.
2. Women are significantly more likely than men to
say they experience urine loss, while men are significantly
more likely than women to say they are open to talking
about their incontinence.
3. Bladder leakage products do not have to be embar-
© Ca n S toc k P h oto I nc . - T iba nna 7 9
rassing or uncomfortable. These days, you can discreetly
wear adult undergarments, like Depend, without adding
bulk or discomfort.
More information is available at www.underwareness.
com.
and the remaining ½ teaspoon salt and cook, stirring, for
1 minute more. Stir the garlic mixture and mangoes into
the lentils. Return to a simmer; cook, stirring occasionally,
until the lentils are falling apart, 10 to 15 minutes more.
Stir in cilantro. Serves: 6.
1 ¼ cups
1 ½ cups
1 ounce
¾ cup
2 tbsp.
12 ounces
1 cup
4 cups
1 tsp.
½ tsp.
1 tbsp.
½ tsp.
1
4 cloves
1 tbsp.
½ tsp.
¼ tsp.
2
½ cup
Indian Mango Dal
yellow lentils
water
salt, divided
ground turmeric
canola oil
cumin seeds
medium onion, chopped
garlic, minced
minced fresh ginger
ground coriander
cayenne pepper
mangoes, peeled and diced
chopped fresh cilantro
Preparation:
Place lentils in a colander and rinse until the water runs
clear. Combine lentils, 4 cups water, ½ teaspoon salt, and
turmeric in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat
to a simmer, partially cover, and cook, stirring occasionally,
for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, heat oil in a large non-stick
skillet over medium heat. Add cumin seeds and cook until
fragrant and starting to brown, about 30 seconds. Add
onion; cook, stirring, until soft and beginning to brown,
4 to 6 minutes. Add garlic, ginger, coriander, cayenne,
Cheesy Baked Ravioli
fresh baby spinach
marinara sauce
sun-dried tomatoes (not in oil), diced
(about ¼ cup)
shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
grated Parmesan cheese
(large) cheese ravioli
Preparation:
Heat oven to 425ºF.
Put spinach in a colander in the sink. Mix
marinara sauce and sundried tomatoes together
© Ca n S toc k P h oto I nc . - A z urita
in a large bowl. In a
smaller bowl, combine mozzarella and Parmesan.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add ravioli
and cook just until they float to the surface, 1 to 2 minutes. Drain ravioli over spinach to wilt. Add ravioli and
spinach to marinara mixture. Lay down enough ravioli
to cover the bottom of a 9- by 1 ½-inch gratin dish (or
bake in individual 4 ½- to 5-inch gratin dishes). Sprinkle
1/3 of the cheese mixture on top. Repeat with remaining
ravioli and cheese mixtures, finishing with the cheese
on top. Bake until hot and bubbly throughout, 10 to 12
minutes. Serves: 4.
¼ cup
1 cup
1 tbsp.
5
Lemon-Coconut Tart
butter, softened
granulated sugar, divided
lemon zest
large eggs, divided
¼ cup
1 package
3 tbsp.
¼ tsp.
1 tbsp.
1/8 tsp.
½ cup
1 tsp.
1 ¼ cups
fresh lemon juice
(14.1-ounce) refrigerated piecrusts
orange marmalade
fresh rosemary, minced
all-purpose flour
salt
heavy cream
vanilla extract
sweetened flaked coconut
Shaved coconut, for topping
© Ca n S toc k P h oto I nc . - rj gra nt
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
20
Preparation:
Whisk together butter, ½
cup sugar, and lemon zest in
a medium microwave-safe
bowl until blended. Add 2
eggs, one at a time, whisking until
blended. Gradually whisk in lemon juice until blended
(mixture will look curdled). Microwave at high 2 minutes,
whisking at 1 minute intervals. Microwave, stirring at 30
second intervals, 1 to 2 minutes more or until mixture
thickens. Place plastic wrap directly on warm curd (to prevent a film from forming), and chill 4 hours or until firm.
Heat oven to 425ºF. Unroll piecrusts; stack on a lightly
floured surface. Roll stacked piecrusts into a 13-inch
circle. Fit piecrusts into a 10-inch deep-dish tart pan with
removable bottom; press into fluted edges, and trim along
edges. Line piecrust with parchment paper, and fill with
pie weights or dried beans; place pan on baking sheet.
Bake 12 minutes. Remove weights and parchment paper,
and bake 8 more minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack
(about 15 minutes). Reduce oven temperature to 350ºF.
Brush marmalade on bottom of piecrust; sprinkle with
rosemary. Spoon chilled lemon mixture over marmalade.
Whisk together flour, salt, and remaining ½ cup sugar in
a large bowl. Add cream, vanilla, and remaining 3 eggs
and whisk until blended. Stir in coconut; carefully pour
over lemon mixture in tart shell. Bake at 350ºF for 45 to
50 minutes or until center is set. Remove from oven and
cool completely on a wire rack (about 1 hour). Top with
coconut. Serves: 8-10.