social consciousness
to Toronto Carnival
with one of her associates, Robin Blues.
(William Doyle-Marshall pix)
By William Doyle-Marshall
As young individuals enter the business of masquerade in this city during the mammoth Summer Caribbean festival known as Scotiabank Caribbean Carnival Toronto (Caribana for 44 years) there is a sense of social consciousness among them.
Fundraising for charity locally and in the Caribbean Diaspora are surfacing during conversations with these individuals as they prepare for the big occasion that is poised to overwhelm the City of Toronto with the influx of millions of visitors during the last two weeks of the month. Tru Dynasty, Barbados Ambassadors of Canada and Renaissance Mas Productions are among them.
Festival activities are moving into high gear. Junior Carnival parade brightened up the Jane and Finch neighbourhood last Saturday; the Canadian Calypso Monarch takes place Saturday at the Chinese Cultural Center, 5183 Sheppard Avenue East, Scarborough and expectations are high for the colourful Lakeshore Avenue Parade July 30.
Narissa Ali meanwhile, has stepped out of the shadows of Marlon Singh's Callaloo after ten to 15 years as a section leader to be the leader of Blues Carnival Fusion which is presenting "Time After Time" on the Lakeshore. It's Junior Carnival contribution was 'Mirage of Dreams'. It will also field participants in the legendary King and Queen of the Bands contest at Lamport Stadium.
After producing sections with Callaloo for more than a decade, Ali has decided to become a bandleader after being pushed by some of her friends to try it.
"I told them I can't do it without everybody's support and they've been there backing me 110%. I couldn't ask for anything better," she told Indo Caribbean World.
She had actually retired from the scene last year and simply enjoyed the pre-festival parties. "I said I was fed-up with mas," she recalled. Her expectation is to make it to the "A Band" category and definitely make a mark out there to say that Blues Carnival Fusion is one of the top bands. Ali wants to make sure she puts the people (masqueraders) on the road and keep everybody happy.
"A lot of the old masqueraders who played with me in the past are coming back and they are actually supporting me ten times more than when I was just a section leader, which is a really nice feeling that I have that backing and support," she bubbled at her Midland Avenue mas camp.
Thea Jackson whose band Tru Dynasty is portraying "The Roaring Twenties" expects to do better than last year. This year they are giving back to charity so ten dollars from every costume sold will be going to charity. Each costume has a designated charity and the Jacksons and their associates are trying to touch on issues across the board. Cancer, homelessness, domestic abuse, youth problems and Sickle Cell are among the issues for which funds are being committed.
Renaissance Mas Productions headed by Kathleen Hughes and Nataki Christmas are presenting "Just Imagine" in this year's competition. They are first time bandleaders but no stranger to the festival.
The theme allows for flexibility to interpret and create costumes that should satisfy the fancy of would-be masqueraders. "You can just imagine anything but what we have done is we take it for example: Just imagine a cure. Because we say imagine if we had a world that had a cure and not just for breast cancer but for any kind of cancer, any kind of disease," Hughes explains at her mas camp in the west end.
That section is directly dedicated to someone who has been with Kathleen Hughes' dad for a long time in his mas making career. Kathy Christmas was there the day Arnold Hughes first stuck a sequin and she had breast cancer but eventually passed away last year from another type of cancer.
Barbados Ambassadors of Canada are people living here who believe they can do something to help Barbadians back home or Barbadians living here. It was formed as a charitable organization which would raise funds to help under-privileged children within the community and people living in Barbados who need help. Their first initiative was to help the Dialysis Unit at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. They didn't raise enough funds for that but have taken up the responsibility to help with the Anne Hill School in Barbados for the Physically challenged children in Barbados.
One of their members has a sister who went to that school and who has gained so much from the school that they decided to use this as their charity to help the school. They also help some of the kids from the Caribbean community who excel in school and the Flying Angels Athletic Club.
Their main object was to form an organization where they can help Barbadians or people in the Caribbean Diaspora.
By Sandra Chouthi
Special to Indo Caribbean World
Port-of-Spain - Despite opinion surveys showing he is Trinidad and Tobago's most popular minister, Jack Warner, having had his portfolio slashed by 80 percent, is determined to be the hardest working member of the People's Partnership government.
Warner's portfolio was downsized when Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar reshuffled her Cabinet in June. In so doing, she removed the transport element from his ministry, adding that of infrastructure, and reassigning that responsibility to Devant Maharaj.
Maharaj, former president of the Global Organisation of People of Indian Origin, was previously chairman of the Public Transport Service Corporation.
In his new position, Maharaj now has responsibility for 14 boards, including Caribbean Airlines, the Airports Authority, Air Transport Licensing Authority, PTSC, Trinidad and Tobago Civil Aviation Authority, air services agreements, traffic management and shipping.
Under the new schedule,Warner has responsibility for nine areas: bridges, coastal erosion, drainage, heritage buildings, maintenance, and roads and highways. The schedule also lists the Programme for Upgrading Roads Efficiency.
Warner has been left with National Infrastructure Development Company and the National Maintenance Training and Security Company Ltd.
Commentators are saying a possible explanation for the dramatic whittling down of Warner's ministerial portfolio may be related to bribery allegations against him in what was his former position as vice-president of FIFA.
The allegations surrounding Warner have been fuelled by a Guardian report out of the UK that a secret FIFA report found overwhelming evidence of bribery. Warner has since resigned all positions with FIFA.
Responding to the drastic reduction to his workload with the government of Trinidad and Tobago, Warner has vowed to work even harder and retain his title as the most popular minister. He is also chairman of the United National Congress, a lead party in the PP coalition.
Asked about a recent poll that put him as the most popular minister, he said: "I win the poll and I will win the poll again and again, anytime."
Warner said he was uncertain about the Prime Minister's logic for the split. He did not think it had anything to do with the FIFA allegations of corruption.
Warner said: "I am sure the Prime Minister is the best judge of what she does for the country and I have to abide by whatever I am asked to do. I will do it to the best of my ability. Based on the collective effort of all of us, you will see us performing as never before."
On July 10 the Sunday Guardian reported Warner's "overwhelming popularity" had a part to play in him being cut down to size in the Cabinet reshuffle. It said a plan was hatched to frustrate Warner out of Persad-Bissessar government mere weeks after he resigned as vice president of FIFA. Too, rumours were circulating more than six months ago that the Prime Minister had plans to split Warner's ministry. However, he was unaware of this.
High ranking party sources told the Sunday Guardian that certain senior Cabinet colleagues took issue with Warner's performance and growing popularity, especially among the grassroot supporters.
Warner's popularity had also begun to overshadow the Prime Minister. His popularity was working against the image of the Prime Minister and decisive action had to be taken.
Agreeing with Opposition MP Colm Imbert that ideally Works and Transport needed to be together, Warner recalled the split in the portfolio was done under the Basdeo Panday-led government, but it did not work.
"At the end of the day, if it doesn't work, as it did not in the past, then we will have to review it. I am ever the optimist," he said. Warner did not foresee any difficulty in working with Maharaj whom he had worked with previously at PTSC and the ministry.
Speaking to reporters following a tour of Sea Lots, Port-of-Spain, on July 11, Warner gave vent to what some observers might say are his true feelings over the slashing of his portfolio.
Warner, who has always lavished praise on Persad-Bissessar throughout the election campaign trail and in the last year of the PP being in office, said he was aware that when a Prime Minister embraces you, "it is normally a kiss of death."
However, in what can be described as a retraction of sorts, Warner said the next day that his statement about Prime Minister Persad-Bissessar's embrace being "a kiss of death" should not be misconstrued.
Speaking with reporters following a tour of several areas in the constituencies of Moruga/Tableland and Naparima, Warner said one has to be guarded.
"If the Prime Minister embraces you, there are people who are envious and want to watch you bad eye," Warner said.
"That's what I meant. Anybody has to be careful because anytime a Prime Minister embraces you, people may tend to be envious and jealous and she might do that in good faith. I didn't mean much more than that. Don't put too much into that, either. You guys read too much into some things," Warner said.