On Thursday, May 24, the City of Markham, in partnership with Calian Group Ltd., will host the Emergency Management for Community Events Forum. This is the first event of its kind in Ontario focusing on emergency planning for community events.
The forum will address issues concerning the changing landscape of security considerations for community events and community safety, and will also provide networking opportunities for GTHA event planners, emergency management personnel, and public safety professionals.
The forum will run from 8am to 4:30pm at the Cornell Community Centre & Library - Rehearsal Hall, 3201 Bur Oak Avenue, Markham.
Speakers will include: Dr. Christine Van Winkle, University of Manitoba; Ron Bianchi, Senior Associate and Director of Strategic Development, Weather and Climate, Wood's Met-Ocean Services; Becky Hester, Manager, Health Protection Division, York Region Public Health; Sergeant Lisa Boon, York Regional Police; Doug Grant, Calian Group and Alain Normand, Manager, Brampton Emergency Management Office.

What has been our journey?
Guyanese have not done badly in building nationhood, given our diversity. Unlike nations where one race or faith predominates, Guyana’s many races and faiths have been forging a new multi cultural dynamic. In the process of nation building, our young nation of a small population, is having to battle with issues political, ethnic, and economic, without any respite, which challenge even the large powerful and developed countries.
Yet, I as a Guyanese living in UK, take pride in the fact that many non Guyanese do have nice things to say about us Guyanese, regardless of our race or religion. We mix well and get on with people irrespective of where they come from. Indeed, I find we invariably find ourselves in leading roles in our respective communities.
The nation’s journey started in the Guyana soil thousands of years ago with our Amerindian ancestors. Colonisers came and brought African slaves to work for them. Sugar plantations prospered. With the abolition of slavery and labour shortage, sugar planters brought indentured labourers from Madeira, India and Hongkong.
Our people endured untold suffering during the early colonial period. The colonialists stamped on demands for justice with the weight of the law - imprisonment and death penalty, some incredibly barbaric. The breath of nationhood was stifled.
Post war freedom fighters infused Guyanese with greater awareness of nationhood.
Charismatic leaders from every race, faith and background joined together to wrest power from the colonial rulers to deliver independence to our country.
From four corners of the globe, we have come to live and work in one country – a microcosm of the world.
We are a thriving nation of great achievement. Guyanese make their mark at the world’s top tables. We have evolved, a distinct Guyanese cultural umbrella of live and let live, enjoyably.

What can we become?
We owe it to our forbears and those who fought for independence to realise their dreams for Guyana to be a model nation of freedom, justice, equality, safety, security.
Our model nation would enjoy the highest standards compared to those of the developed countries of the North. It would boast a free enterprise business environment to invest in, and a high quality health service free to all.
Today being healthy is a basic necessity equal to having a job and a home. Any disparity in access to highest quality healthcare, fosters the us and them thinking. It undermines the sense of equality, and the feeling of one nation. In a family a sick member is not left to fend for themselves. In today’s democracy, we cannot ignore the sick, we together help them back to health and fitness to live with dignity.
Denying people the high standards available in the developed North is unacceptable today, given our abundance of wealth, high technology, intelligence and ingenuity. We have no right to plaudits if we cannot harness the resources available to better our lives.
We should reverse the trend of people wanting to go and live in UK, Canada or the USA. People from there should queue up to come to live in Guyana.

How do we get there?
Booker prize-winning Nigerian writer Ben Okri said that what we needed was people with great dreams, they work really hard to make it possible. We have to make the dreams of our forbears reality.
I am no expert but I make these suggestions:
(1) Commit to two pillars of our democracy – a Free Enterprise Economy to generate wealth, and Free Healthcare. These to be buttressed by robust law and order.
(1.1) Free enterprise is the quickest way to generate wealth and provide jobs. Businesses, entrepreneurs, and self employed Guyanese are the country’s economic engine. They need freedom subject to the law. Government’s role is to ‘oil the wheels’ so this engine works efficiently. Encourage wealth and job creaters.
(1.2) In return, like wage earners who provide for the sick and the elderly in the family, wealth creators provide support for the nation’s sick and elderly, via a special contribution to ‘Healthcare’
(1.3) Free Healthcare would be the best quality and available to every Guyanese.
(2) Encourage foreign multinational companies to set up in Guyana. They would provide jobs, which feed government’s revenue. Guard against the downsides.
(3) Encourage people to retire in Guyana. They will bring their income to spend in Guyana.
(4) Rain Forest. This is Guyana’s niche in the global marketplace. Well managed, it can promote conservation, be a lucrative tourist attraction and foreign exchange earner.
(5) Ecocity. A model high tech city built near to Georgetown to generate foreign investment, boost morale, a place to visit, self financing, using latest technology, robotics, solar energy, etc.
(6) Education. Our high standards can be a model of innovation in scientific research. Civics – role and responsibility in society, and physical fitness would be compulsory subjects at school.
(7) Transport. Consider overhead trams to address traffic congestion and accident levels in and around Georgetown.
(8) Buildings. Coolers and the ‘bottom house’ as in the old buildings and modern designs to cool and ventilate buildings using solar energy.
These suggestions are aimed at lifting living standards and making our society more caring as befits today.
We Guyanese are second to none in terms of educational and professional achievements. There is no reason why Guyana with all its natural resources and human intellectual resources should be second best compared to any country in the developed north, be it USA, Canada or UK. Rebuilding Guyana to be a model nation in the new world is a challenge for our young.

Over the last 20 years, Gary Batasar has achieved a great deal of success as a prominent criminal lawyer in Canada. The Trinidadian-born lawyer was educated at the University of Toronto and following that, completed his law degree at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario. Upon the completion of his studies, he essentially hit the ground running and developed what turned out to be a most successful law practice in Peel Region. Over the years, Mr. Batasar has handled some of the most prominent and high profile cases in Canada. He has appeared in numerous publications, newspapers, online, and on international news media. Mr. Batasar is often called upon by news outlets, both in Canada and abroad for his opinion on legal matters.
Mr. Batasar has a family consisting of his wife and three beautiful daughters who make their home in Peel Region. His practice is located on 27 John Street in Brampton, where he has had from time to time, a full stable of lawyers who either worked for him or in association with him as a group. His office over the years has become one of the busiest criminal law practices in Canada. In addition to his professional work, Mr. Batasar has dedicated his time and resources to various charitable endeavours such as donating money to Food Banks, providing clothing to the needy and the homeless, assisting in the educational pursuits of high school students who participate in a yearly mock trial tournament at the Peel Courthouse. He has also been engaged as a speaker at various high schools and universities both in Canada and abroad. Further, Mr. Batasar has spearheaded a scholarship at Queen's University in the Faculty of Law where a reciprocal scholarship is given to a student from the Caribbean every year. He was the founder and co-chair of this scholarship which continues to this day.
Mr. Batasar was a pioneer in his field, paving the way for many South Asian and West Indian lawyers. When he started his practice over 20 years ago, with his advertisement in this newspaper, Mr. Batasar was arguably the first West Indian lawyer practising strictly criminal law locally. There were other West Indian lawyers practising various areas of law, including criminal law. In this regard, Mr. Batasar paved the way for many new lawyers of South Asian origin.
Mr. Batasar expresses his deep gratitude and appreciation to the Indo Caribbean Community in particular, as well as all members of the Caribbean Community who have supported him over the years. Asked about this, the lawyer responded: "I feel quite gratified and am thankful to all members of our community who have supported me over the years. I'm also quite thankful to Indo Caribbean World for being one of my first supporters when I was a young lawyer, and in particular, I want to express my thanks to Harry [publisher] for allowing me to be a guest columnist in his paper. When I reflect back on the last 20 years, it has been a fantastic privilege and honor to serve the community, and I have always tried my best to make sure that all of my clients, no matter what circumstance they found themselves in, were better off after they had dealt with me. I am grateful, and I will continue to strive to do the best I can for members of the community, both as a lawyer and as a mentor."
Of the memorable cases that Mr. Batasar has been involved in, some that stand out are:
The Toronto 18, when Terrorism landed on Canada's front steps – Mr. Batasar was the face of the legal team that addressed the federal governments allegations against his client. Also the case of the September 11th, 2001, the highjacker was also dealt with by Mr. Batasar, as well as the unfortunate murder of a TD bank teller.
Mr. Batasar had also acted on numerous cases involving homicides. Over the years, he has been known as the go-to-guy to get things done in Peel. Having built up a strong reputation with the Courts, Prosecutor's Office, and the Police, Mr. Batasar is the person that other lawyers as well as the accuseds turn to when they need to get matters resolved in Peel Region and the Brampton court. Indo Caribbean World congratulates Mr. Batasar on 20+ years of excellence in serving our community wishes him the best.

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