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TIME TO VOTE Which one of these parties is actually looking out for our community’s interests?

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BY SIMONE J. SMITH & PAUL JUNOR

“A brand is not action. A brand is just a brand.” Electoral Candidate Knia Singh

June 2nd, 2022, is not a day to be ignored.

We as a community have become apathetic when it comes to voting, and it is something that continues to bite us in the ass.

I have taken the time to speak with people in the community from all walks of life, and what I am hearing is disheartening. I am not sure if it is the effects of the pandemic, but people don’t seem to care anymore. People are either defaulting to a party that their parents have always voted for, voting for a brand without really understanding the policies, or have actually said that they are not going to bother voting.

I find that interesting because I also hear people complaining about the state of their communities, and it is usually by the people who have not taken the time, or done their due diligence to select a leader that suits their needs.

I have always felt strongly about the Caribbean community having their own party, separate from what is offered to us, but I don’t think we are there yet, so in the meantime we have some choices to make.

I wanted to get some perspective from someone who has delved into politics, so I gave Knia Singh a call. He is running as an independent in this election, and I thought he would be able to give us some perspective.

”What we have to realize,” Knia began,  “Is that your vote is like a dollar in your pocket. If you don’t use it, it is gone on voting day.

We know the system is against us, and this is why we have to have agency. We have to think about the future of our children.”

Knia,” I asked, “There are a lot of new parties this year, but for some reason, I am only seeing four. Why is this?”

“Media knows that any attention you give these parties is a vote for them. They control the political game.

When I ran for the Green Party, they did not get any attention, and they were the best at that time, and would have served our interest more. They were the most independent.”

“What about those people who say that giving your vote to the new parties is throwing your vote away?”

“If you give your vote to any other party, they may not get the seat, but it does show numbers. You can’t vote based on who you think is going to win. These ideologies are spread across the media and they pigeon hole voters. Vote for who you think will be your best candidate.”

“I see that you are running as an independent this year. Let the community know why you did this?”

“As an independent, you respond to the needs of your riding. I don’t support the ideologies of any of the parties. They are removing rights from Canadian people, which is alarming, they are not promoting health. They have sanctioned the removal of professionals, and have destroyed businesses. I can’t align my values with them. If every MPP was independent, we would have a much more functional democracy.”

My dialogue with Knia got me thinking, and helped me put together this article. He is right; we have to vote for who aligns with our views, our personal perspectives, but we also have to think about this in a communal sense. What have these parties done for our community in the last two years, three years, five years, or ten years?

I had a chance to speak with members of the Caribbean community, and I sent questions to the parties running in this election. I have not heard back from any of them, but when I do, I will make sure to post these answers on our social media pages. Here is a list of some of the questions below, and I would like for the community to send us any other questions that they have. After the questions, I provide a short overview of what the parties running are promising Ontarians.

Questions for our Political Leaders

Outline your party’s plan for addressing the health and safety issues that have intensified in schools since the onset of the COVID crisis, specifically within Black,

Indigenous, and racialized communities?

How will your party revise the education funding formula to ensure that school boards receive full and adequate funding to meet student needs?

What steps will your party take to ensure post-secondary education opportunities are available and accessible to all qualified students, including those from lower and middle-income families as well as those living in rural, northern, and remote communities?

How do you plan to improve the infrastructure that failed our older population so badly? What immediate measures have you taken?

What measures are you taking to identify older persons in financial distress?

Why are there places in Canada without potable water? Why are there so many water advisories? Are solutions being implemented? Why do water issues particularly challenge First Nations communities?

In the last two-three years, what have you actively done in the African Caribbean Community (Remove grants and funding that many members of the community do not have access to)?

Have you reached out to the grassroots communities, spoken to them, taken the time to hear what their needs are?

Have you reached out to children in our community? Actually spoken to young people, those who might not be seen as desirable, and heard their stories? This is important when creating policies that actually support them, nurture their stories.

Have you reached out to members of the African Caribbean community who had valid reasons for not wanting to be vaccinated? Have you taken the time to hear their point of view?

What research has your party done on the effects of vaccines on the African Caribbean community?

What is an action plan that will enable our community to become self-sufficient and not depend on hand-outs from the government?

Other than the career politicians, have you spoken to leaders in the African Caribbean community to hear what they have to say?

Have you reached out to African Caribbean News Outlets, requested to speak to them and share your policies with the people?

Now, let’s take a look at what the parties are proposing to do for Ontarians this year:

Ontario Party

We’ve seen enough of where fake conservatives, liberal elites, take us. Ontario needs us to stand up, tell the truth, and never back down.” Derek Sloan

Derek Sloan stands on his platform that no Ontario citizen can be compelled to commit an act, or communicate an idea, that directly contradicts their sincerely held religious beliefs or moral convictions deemed legal under the Criminal Code and protected by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. He:

  • Guarantees that all Ontarians, but particularly those of conservative worldview can exercise their freedom of expression to its fullest extent as allowed by law.
  • Fight against anyone withholding provincial funding from any provincially subsidized organization that compels any of its members to contradict or disavow their legally protected religious beliefs or moral convictions; or discriminates against, or punishes, any of its members for their protected and legal exercise of free expression.
  • Establish a separate government office specifically dedicated to guarding the free expression and conscience rights of Ontario citizens and aiding those who have experienced a breach of those rights.

Sound interesting to you; read their entire platform at https://www.ontarioparty.ca

New Blue Party

Belinda and Jim Karahalios established the New Blue Party of Ontario to offer the solutions necessary to ensure our province’s future is one of hope, opportunity, and prosperity.

The New Blue will also fight to:

  • Renew political accountability
  • Defund the establishment media and promote a free press
  • Grow Ontario’s economy
  • Provide tax relief
  • Reform education
  • Restore dignity and transparency in our healthcare

Visit them at https://www.newblueontario.com for more details.

The Ontario Liberal Party

The Liberal platform resulted from 25 open forums, and 500 consultations, involving over 28 000 participants who submitted 38 000 ideas involving 23 000 votes.  These 7 areas are in its provincial platform:

  • A Place to Grow Your Family
  • A Place to Grow Older
  • A Place to Grow Healthy
  • A Place to Grow Economic Dignity
  • A Place to Grow Up
  • A Place to Grow Sustainably
  • A Place to Grow Together

The full platform can be seen at www.ontario.liberal.ca.

Conservative Party of Canada

The recently released budget by the PC-led Doug Ford government on April 26th, 2022, promised infrastructure spending of $158 billion on transits, hospitals and highways.

Premier Ford’s vision for Ontario.” The 5 areas emphasized in the budget include:

  • Rebuilding Ontario’s Economy
  • Working for Workers
  • Building Highways and Infrastructure
  • Keeping Costs Down
  • Plan to Stay Open

The full platform can be seen at https://www.conservative.ca/.

Green Party of Canada

My vision is for the Ontario we all want; caring, connected, and ready for the new climate economy. Like you, I want to provide a future for my children that is full of opportunities.” Mike Schreiner (Green Party Leader)

The 6 key strategies, which are in their plan, are:

  • Homes not Highway
  • Mental Health is Health
  • New Climate Economy
  • Respect for People
  • Reinvest in Health and Education
  • Protect Nature

Learn more about the Green party at www.gpo.ca. 

New Democratic Party

Their platform is titled, “Strong. Ready for You,” and if you are in the mood to read, they revealed a 186-page document that goes over the points below in detail:

  • Homes You Can Afford
  • Make Rent Affordable
  • Cheaper Auto Insurance
  • Affordable Child Care
  • Start Fixing the Electricity Sector
  • Affordable Groceries
  • Protect Consumers

It can be seen at website:www.ontariondp.ca

All right everyone! That’s it. Now it is up to you. Take control of your destiny. Take control of your future. GET OUT AND VOTE!

We, as humans are guaranteed certain things in life: stressors, taxes, bills and death are the first thoughts that pop to mind. It is not uncommon that many people find a hard time dealing with these daily life stressors, and at times will find themselves losing control over their lives. Simone Jennifer Smith’s great passion is using the gifts that have been given to her, to help educate her clients on how to live meaningful lives. The Hear to Help Team consists of powerfully motivated individuals, who like Simone, see that there is a need in this world; a need for real connection. As the founder and Director of Hear 2 Help, Simone leads a team that goes out into the community day to day, servicing families with their educational, legal and mental health needs.Her dedication shows in her Toronto Caribbean newspaper articles, and in her role as a host on the TCN TV Network.

Community News

You get vaccinated, get Myocarditis, and then have a ticking time bomb in your chest

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BY MICHAEL THOMAS

According to a new peer-reviewed study funded by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), sixty per cent of young people who were hospitalized with Myocarditis after receiving an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine still showed signs of this disease six months after being injected.

Some 307 out of 333 patients they started with had their health data collected from April 2021 to November 2022. The time between injection and follow-up varied, with a median of 178 days, almost six months.

What is worse is the study authors are said to be making fun of the seriousness of the findings. They are calling the results reassuring and describing these cases of Myocarditis as mild.

Who are these study authors? Why are they acting so recklessly? Critics said that some of those study authors who published their report in The Lancet on September 6th, 2024, also have ties to the government and the big drug companies that may have influenced the research.

One such person is lead author Dr Supriya S. Jain, a pediatric cardiologist and researcher at Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital in Valhalla, New York. Daniel O’Conner of Trial Site News criticized the FDA as the study’s funder. “The FDA is not keeping up with its tradition of ‘patient safety first,’” he said.

O’Conner said he believes the outcome is much more severe than is reported, and The FDA study authors do not have the urgency they should, given the vulnerabilities of the population.

Chief Scientific Officer of The Children’s Health Defense Brian Hooker agreed, saying he was “disgusted” by the study authors’ downplaying of cardiac harm caused by the COVID-19 mRNA injections. Hooker is quoted as saying, “You get vaccinated, get Myocarditis, and then have a ticking time bomb in your chest for the rest of your life.”

Some of the most vital questions here concerning these injected youths, and the injected population is “What happens as they age?” or “Where do they go from here?”

It is important to know that medical researchers have pointed out that studies show Myocarditis can be life-threatening and can also cause critical changes and scarring of the heart.

“I don’t feel that any incidence of vaccine-induced Myocarditis is reassuring,” Heather Ray, a science and research analyst with CHD told a reputable news source. “Additionally, we have all witnessed several anecdotal, or personal reports of individuals who died from vaccine-induced cardiac issues over the past four years.”

Dr Peter McCullough said, as a cardiologist, he was “Greatly concerned,” that COVID-19 vaccine heart damage in most of the young people studied had not resolved at the time of follow-up. McCullough said that he disagreed with the author’s reports calling this finding mild, “Even small areas of damage invisible to cardiac MRI could put vaccine recipients at risk for a future cardiac arrest.”

It is amazing that with all these findings and recommendations to date, COVID mRNA Injections are still very intentionally and maliciously pushed on the population quietly worldwide, this is especially true here in Canada.

It may interest readers to know that the same people behind these mRNA injections in the Western world have decided to look at Africans as lab rats too. The World Health Organization has approved so-called mpox injections for use in adults and said it can be used for: babies, children, teens, and pregnant women in Africa.

Brian Hooker called the WHO’s approval of the shot for infants and children in Africa “A train wreck in the making.”

Recently here in Canada, Global News is now warning that the CDC is telling folks that COVID injections, and heart inflammation issues between injected teens are related. This is something that Toronto Caribbean Newspaper has been warning Canadians about for years now.

Again, Global News has reported, “Myocarditis is noted by the Canadian Pediatric Society as a possible side effect of mRNA injections.” https://old.bitchute.com/video/EFDWj1rHrX6v/

Now more than ever it is vital that folks think for themselves and quit relying on compromised professionals who are in positions of power but are wolves in sheep’s clothing working for Big Pharma.

A rule of thumb is to question everything because history has shown that liars usually suffer from short memory.

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Community News

New course launched that counters narratives and understands Black children’s humanity

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BY PAUL JUNOR

The launch of the new course “Black Childhoods in Canada” in the School of Early Childhood Studies at Toronto Metropolitan University is positive and encouraging. Details of the launch of this groundbreaking course were revealed in a post by Clara Wong on May 8th, 2024. For many students it will be the first time formally studying Black experiences; encountering Black scholarship, or even being taught by a Black professor. It was introduced in the winter term of 2024 and was one of the first courses in TMU’s Black Studies minor, which is offered by the Faculty of Community Services.

The course is coded as “CLD540” and details of its content are noted.

“An introduction to Black Canadian Studies in the context of childhoods. Childhoods are considered via Black feminism, Black studies, anti-racism, and de-colonial theoretical and practical frameworks and pedagogy. Students engage in a range of textual, experiential and multi-modal learning opportunities.”

Some of the topics covered include:

  • Black acts and media
  • Black Canadian histories
  • Black families and mothering
  • Black girlhood
  • Blackness and disability
  • Blackness and ECEC and education
  • Black play
  • Black queer activism
  • Global anti-Black racism

Professor Rachel Berman was inspired to enlarge the Black studies content in early childhood studies and reached out to her colleague, Janelle Brady to collaborate on the development of the course. This was financed through the Faculty of Community Services Anti-Black Racism Curriculum Development Fund, which ensured that it was ready.

Professor Berman states, “I’m thrilled now to see the course come to life. It’s long overdue. There’s a deficit assumption about Black children-that Black boys make trouble during play, or that Black girls are made to seem more mature than they are. We need to counter those narratives and understand Black children’s humanity.”

Professor Brady notes, “The course doesn’t resolve everything, but it’s a start in breaking the ‘preschool-to-prison’ pipeline for Black children.”

She observed further that the impact of teaching the course has influenced her greatly. She adds, “It motivated me to do even more and seek more resources. There were so many informal discussions among students inside and outside of class. There’s a real hunger for spaces like this. It was inspiring to see how much students are already engaged in anti-Black racism work, and I feel I was learning just as much as they were.”

There are many testimonials from students who have been enrolled in this extraordinary course. Faizi Ali, an undergraduate student in the early childhood studies program states, “Any forum that allows Black students to lift their voice is cause for celebration. The course provides so much space for us to exchange ideas and thoughtful dialogue. I’ve gained many new perspectives and techniques to better support students.”

Magdalena Grammenopoulos, a media production undergraduate student, talked about the insight that left the biggest impression on her from the course. She states, “The concept of Black ‘futurity.’ It’s about imagining a stronger future for Black children through the ways we live day-to-day-ways that counter the stereotypes and discrimination which prevent Black children from living as freely as others. I want to implement futurity by always taking it upon myself to create safer spaces for Black children, whether it be my friends, family, or strangers.”

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Community News

“No! You can’t check my phone.” Border officers are not authorized to search your electronic device

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BY SIMONE J. SMITH

Each year, millions of Canadians travel abroad, and we carry our personal devices (computers, tablets, and smartphones). These devices contain highly sensitive and private information about who you are, reflecting your: lifestyle, beliefs, relationships, finances, and health.

What you may not know is that even though your personal device is very personal, and highly sensitive because of the information on it, section 99(1)(a) of the Customs Act allows Canadian Border Officers to search these devices without any reasonable suspicion. This law was recently challenged by two travelers, Jeremy Pike and David Scott, who were charged with possessing and importing child pornography after their devices were searched. Now, although it is a good thing that this type of behaviour was caught, the key question in their appeal is whether this law is constitutional.

On August 12th, 2024, the Court of Appeal for Ontario released its decision in R v. Pike, 2024 ONCA 608, holding that section 99(1)(a) of the Customs Act, which authorizes border officers to search electronic devices without any reasonable basis, is unconstitutional because it violates the section 8 Charter right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure. CCLA was an intervener in the case.

The Canadian Civil Liberties Association is a human rights organization committed to defending the: rights, dignity, safety, and freedoms of all people in Canada. CCLA is the pre-eminent voice advocating for the rights and freedoms of all Canadians and all persons living in Canada. They are leaders in protecting rights and have earned widespread respect for their principled stand on such issues as: national security, censorship, capital punishment, and police and state accountability with a fearless voice on civil liberties, human rights and democratic freedoms.

Shakir Rahim, Director of the Criminal Justice Program, made the following statement, “CCLA applauds this important ruling, which makes it clear the border is not a Charter-free zone. As CCLA argued, standardless limitless searches of electronic devices, which contain highly private information, violate the Charter right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure.”

I had a chance to review the decision, and I found direct references of CCLA’s submissions at paragraphs:

  • 63: The Crown’s related counterargument that travelers’ “choice” to travel with digital devices merits a lower threshold also fails. Because digital devices are our “constant companion[s]” (Bykovets, at para. 1), travelers need to bring them across borders to work and communicate. As the trial judge ruled, leaving them behind is not a meaningful choice. Neither is declining to leave and re-enter Canada, which, as the intervener Canadian Civil Liberties Association (the “CCLA”) submits, is not merely a choice but a section 6 Charter Just as “Canadians are not required to become digital recluses” to preserve their privacy (R. v. Jones, 2017 SCC 60, [2017] 2 S.C.R. 696, at para. 45), they also should not have to surrender the ability to enter and leave Canada with an indispensable instrument of modern life.
  • 66: The law’s low threshold increases this risk because, as the CCLA submits, low threshold powers are the easiest for officers to wield to target, whether intentionally or not, racialized and disadvantaged people: R. v. Landry. While the law’s good faith purpose test offers some protection against this risk, its subjective nature makes that risk harder to detect because officers do not have to point to objective facts to justify the search and help negate the possibility of discrimination.
  • 73: Simmons held that the state’s interest in suppressing the trafficking of drugs produced in other countries that had to be transported across the physical border to enter Canada justified the strip search law: at pp. 526-529. In contrast, digital contraband, even when downloaded to a device, is usually also stored on external servers and can be electronically transmitted into Canada, a mode of transmission that the Agency admits it has no mandate to control.

(They refer to Professor Steven Penney’s article “Mere Evidence? Why Customs Searches of Digital Devices Violate Section 8 of the Charter” and an article by Professor Robert Diab “Protecting the Right to Privacy in Digital Devices: Reasonable Search on Arrest and at the Border” (2018)

  • 89: Manual searches can still invade large amounts of highly private information and, if officers invest the time, can be almost as revealing as forensic searches. Further, officers could easily use manual searches as a backdoor to gain information that would meet the higher threshold to conduct forensic searches.

They refer to an article by Bingzi Hu, “Border Search in the Digital Era: Refashioning the Routine vs. Nonroutine Distinction for Electronic Device Searches” (2022)

“Parliament must legislate a stringent standard with clear safeguards for the state to search an electronic device at the border. This reflects the fact that electronic devices are a trove of our most personal, intimate, and sensitive information,” shares Shakir.

The pandemic showed how willing our government is to overlook and ignore our rights and freedoms. This is why the Toronto Caribbean Newspaper will always keep you “In the Know,” when it comes to how to truly live as a FREE Canadian.

REFERENCES:

https://www.canlii.org/en/on/onca/doc/2024/2024onca608/2024onca608.html

https://www.canlii.org/en/ca/scc/doc/2017/2017scc60/2017scc60.html

https://www.canlii.org/en/ca/laws/stat/schedule-b-to-the-canada-act-1982-uk-1982-c-11/latest/schedule-b-to-the-canada-act-1982-uk-1982-c-11.html

https://ccla.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/CCLA-Intervener-Factum-R.-v.-Pike-Scott-COA-23-CR-0023-C70656.pdf

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