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Bob Marley’s Legacy: A timeless anthem of unity and empowerment; Toronto celebrates Bob Marley’s 79th Earth Day

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BY SIMONE J. SMITH

“One Love! One Heart! Let’s get together and feel all right.”

These words from the Legend’s iconic song ‘One Love’ became an anthem for peace and unity. It doesn’t matter where you go in this world, Bob Marley’s music transcended genres and borders, resonating with people from all walks of life. Marley’s influence extends far beyond his music. His commitment to social and political activism made him a symbol of resistance and empowerment.

Bob Marley’s legacy lives on through his timeless lyrics, which continue to inspire and motivate generations. His music is a powerful force that continues to foster a sense of community and encourage positive change. His impact isn’t confined to his lifetime. His music is a bridge that connects people across cultural, racial, and social divides. It’s a reminder that, no matter where we come from, we can find common ground through the power of music.

I have a shocking surprise for everyone, one that will be a historical moment here in Toronto, and if you are a Bob Marley fan, you will not want to miss it. Humanity Ova Vanity (H.O.V) is honored and excited to have the opportunity to curate an activation celebrating Bob Marley’s 79th Earth Day with members of the Marley family for the first time in the history of the City of Toronto!

On Tuesday February 6th, 2024 (at Don on Danforth) with the support of the OCS and the Don Arts Academy, you are invited to spend a few hours immersed in the: world, sounds, culture, reasonings and higher vibrations that inspired Bob Marley. This will be an inclusive experience with delicious Ital food and juices, art installations inspired by Bob’s daily life. There will be musical tributes, and an intimate conversation with international recording artist and Grammy winner Sharon Marley as she remembers her father: beyond the stage, his values and pet peeves, his favourite things to do at home, family memories and so much more.

Sharon Marley is a dynamic and multi-faceted artist, Montessori educator, mother and child advocate who forms 1/4 of the three-time Grammy winning group Ziggy Marley & the Melody Makers. Her first full length album is slated for release in 2024.

Her daughter, Donisha Prendergast, is an: actress, writer-director, producer and cultural curator. Her body of work includes lead performances in award winning films: Akilla’s Escape, Black Bodies, Awaking Sankofa, and RasTa; A Soul’s Journey where she ventures to eight countries around the world to learn about the roots and evolution of Rastafari.

She is also the founder of Humanity Ova Vanity, a non- profit focused on curating activations that bridge the gap between industry, culture, art and the act of come-unity.

I had an opportunity to speak with one of the organizers, the magnificent Michelle Linares, and she gave me the 411 on what guests have to expect on February the 6th.

“We are honoured to have the Ontario Cannabis Store as one of our sponsors; we have worked with them before, and when they heard about what we were going to do, they were more than happy to be a part of it. We are also happy to be partnering with Her Black Garden, a collective of females that work in the cannabis industry. We are going to bring something different to this celebration; trust me when I say that this is history in the making.”

Even with her busy schedule, Bob Marley’s granddaughter Donisha took some time to speak with the Toronto Caribbean Newspaper about how exciting it was going to be facilitating this event in Toronto. “It is important to create the space to overstand the work that is being done,” Donisha begins. “Humanity over Vanity is now that structure. It is sustainable. I have wanted to start a non-profit, but I didn’t want to have a registered structure. As I matured, I came to realize that in order to get certain things done, you have to use wisdom. Everything now is done with purpose.”

“What has motivated you to focus on the specific issues and causes that you are currently addressing in the community,” I queried?

“This work is not strange to me. I have been building alternative curriculums for the last decade. We want to work with artists to help them connect with the community so that they have sustainable impact. Art has the potential.”

In what ways has collaboration with other individuals, or organizations maximized the impact of your community work?”

“Iron sharpens iron. I have always been into collaboration, because we don’t live in a void. Being able to collaborate about beautiful, passionate women is incredible. The expertise and insight Michelle brings in connecting with the community; I submitted to the process because it was part of the process.”

I had to agree with her there; when the universe connects you with the right people; great things occur. I was curious if Donisha had faced any criticism, or skepticism regarding her community work, and how she responded to these challenges.

“People are like, Donisha, exactly what do you do?’ She said laughing. Sometimes I don’t even know what I am doing. ‘Jack of all trades, master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one.’ Most people leave the ending part out of this popular statement. Being versatile and having diverse skills can be valuable, even if one is not a master in a specific field. People don’t understand because I do so many things.

I am an artist and do community development work. It is hard to do both, but I have been able to incorporate my artistry into my community work. At times, it can be challenging.

Time away from family; this is the biggest challenge. My first year as a mother, I had to help a friend get her two children back from CPS. I left Canada and went to America and was stuck there for eight months. When I became a mother, I wanted to step away from community work, but this issue impacted me, and my family.

 You can make an impact in the world. We want individuals to connect with the community, and we want corporations to see this pattern. We want nation building to become a culture. Can the philosophies that have been instilled in me be shared with the world? Most definitely!”

“Finally, Donisha, what can guests expect from the One Love in Action event?”

It is going to be a beautiful night spent with members of the Marley family. It will be complemented with Ital food, and natural juices. As we celebrate his life, let’s remember the man who turned his guitar into a weapon of peace and left an indelible mark on the world.”

Community, lucky for you, I have the all the details for this historical week coming up:                                                               

Tuesday, February 6th BOB MARLEY 79th EARTH DAY

6:30PM – 10PM at Don on the Danforth

Tickets can be found at (https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/one-love-in-action-celebrating-bob-marleys-79th-earthday-registration-790713303777?aff=oddtdtcreator)

Thursday, February 8th, 2024                                    

One Love – Private Screening Invite Only at Tiff Bell LightBox.                                     

Friday, February 9th, 2024

1:00 PM-3:00 PM (Visit with Toronto South Detention Center)

7:30 PM – 8:30 PM (Sharon Marley Live at the AGO)                                                      

Saturday, February 10th, 2024 (BOB & RITA’S WEDDING ANNIVERSARY)      

2:00 PM – 4:00 PM – RasTa, A Soul’s Journey documentary screening with Donisha Prendergast                                                      

Sunday, February 11th, 2024                                                              

8:00 PM – 2:00 AM at Don on the Danforth

Simmer Down Sundaze with DJs Spex da Boss, Brigadier Shazbad, and Special guests DJ Shacia Payne and DJ Zuri Marley with Live performances by King Cruff, Bam Marley and Mystic Marley

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 12th, ONE LOVE MOMENT

“Protecting ME” A visit to Abiona Center with Donisha Prendergast, Shacia Payne, Mystic Marley & Zuri Marley.                                     

6:00 PM – 8:00 PM Bob Marley One Love Movie – Come-Unity Screening & Talk back with the next generation of Marley family members.

Community News

Hidden Agendas – Bill C-293: The silent Bill being passed right under our noses

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BY SIMONE J. SMITH

Greetings everyone.

It is always fascinating, isn’t it? How some things dominate the news, get talked about endlessly on our social media feeds, debated over dinner tables, and dissected in countless articles and op-eds, but what about the things that do not make headlines? What about the decisions that happen quietly, in the background, while we are busy discussing everything else?

This edition, I want to shed light on something that has been happening right under our noses. A bill, being crafted, debated, and—unless we take action—soon to be passed by the Canadian government, without most of us even knowing it exists. By the time it hits the public radar, it might just be too late.

Now, I know some of you may be thinking, “What bill? I haven’t heard about any major legislation.” That is exactly the point. While we are kept busy with all the newsworthy controversies, this bill is being shaped in the shadows.

Why hasn’t this bill gotten the same attention? Why isn’t it making headlines? Is it not important enough, or is there something else at play? What this bill will do is undermine Canadian sovereignty by shifting power to unelected, non-Canadian organizations like the WHO and WEF.

You see, it is always the quiet ones, the bills that fly under the radar, that often carry the biggest consequences. The laws that: reshuffle power dynamics, alter rights, or change the very fabric of our society without any of us having a say. By the time we are aware, the decisions have been made, the ink has dried, and we’re left wondering, “How did this happen?”

So today, as I share the details of this bill, I want you to think critically. Ask yourselves why it has not been brought to our attention sooner. Why has it been kept quiet? Most importantly, what can we do as a community to ensure that we are no longer kept in the dark?

It is a move that willfully hands over control of your food, your privacy, and your rights to globalist agendas. You have likely heard of the hard work Citizengo is doing around the world to stop the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Pandemic Treaty.  A treaty that would have countries sign away their national sovereignty and become servantent states under unelected globalist rule, whenever and however the next “pandemic” is called. If this goes through we will see the World Health Organization’s “One Health Initiative” rolled out in Canada. This has dire consequences and will essentially usher in a technocratic surveillance state under the guise of safety and preparedness.

What if I told you that Canada, thanks to Justin Trudeau’s Liberals and Jagmeet Singh’s New Democratic Party, have already hatched a plan to surrender our national sovereignty to their authoritarian globalist friends. Let me introduce you to Bill C-293, the Pandemic Prevention and Preparedness Act, introduced by Liberal MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith. Currently, the bill is awaiting its 2nd Reading in The Senate, under the very noses of every-single Canadian, and this is news for some of our readers right now.

I only just learned about this Pandemic Treaty Bill myself when the team at CitizenGo reached out to me. Shortly thereafter, LifeSiteNews released their article, and I was truly shocked by what I read. “Included in Bill C-293 are provisions to ‘regulate commercial activities that can contribute to pandemic risk, including industrial animal agriculture,’ produce ‘alternative proteins,’ and ‘enable contact tracing of persons.”

In other words, if Bill C-293 passes, The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), The World Health Organization (WHO), The World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH), and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and other unelected globalist international bodies will have unprecedented control over Canada’s sovereignty.

If this bill is allowed to ascend into Canadian law, the federal government would have to listen to these globalist agencies “guidelines” in regulating our agriculture industry all under the guise of something called “pandemic prevention.”

Guess what else falls under this vague label? Promoting alternative proteins like insects while phasing out traditional meat production. Even more alarming, the bill allows for contact tracing, raising serious privacy concerns and enabling government overreach. How many more digital applications are you going to have to pay for, like ArriveCAN, if you decide to travel abroad, or even throughout Canada?

Here’s how Canadian sovereignty will be lost:

  • Global Regulation of Industrial Agriculture will target meat production and give international bodies influence over what Canadians can produce and consume.
  • Promoting Alternative Proteins through the pushing of lab-grown meats and insect farms designed to devastate local farmers and meat producers.
  • Implementing Contact Tracing to intrude upon every aspect of your life. Without privacy, digital IDs and contact tracing tools grant significant power to the government to control individuals’ behaviour, including where you can go through the usage of mandatory lockdowns and “social distancing” style policies.
  • Ceding Control to Global Institutions were Canada’s pandemic response and industries would be 100% subjected to international oversight, ending our national autonomy as a democratic nation that values individuals’ Human Rights and Freedoms.

The Senate was set to resume its business on September 17th, 2024, but here is the reality: this is not an accident. Certain policies are designed to be kept quiet, tucked away, and only brought to light when there is no turning back. Whether it is the complexity of the bill, or the deliberate silence around it, it is clear—the less we know, the less we can protest.

It is not just this one bill. It is a pattern. While we are being distracted by the flashy stories, we miss the subtler, yet often more impactful, moves happening right beneath the surface. What is the strategy behind this? Silence. Secrecy. Control. Before we know it, we are living with the consequences of decisions we never had a chance to discuss, let alone oppose.

Now, I am not here to incite fear. I’m here to inspire awareness, because we still have a say. We still have time. We must start paying attention to these quieter moves by our government. We need to ask the hard questions, demand transparency, and hold those in power accountable for the decisions they make in the shadows.

If we don’t, we’ll continue to wake up to laws that we had no idea were even in the works. We’ll continue to have: rights, freedoms, and choices taken away without our consent. And that, my friends, is a dangerous place to be.

Democracy doesn’t just live in the loud, public moments—it thrives when we shine a light on the quiet ones too.

REFERENCES:

https://www.onehealthcommission.org/en/why_one_health/what_is_one_health/

https://www.citizengo.org/en-ca

https://www.parl.ca/documentviewer/en/44-1/bill/C-293/third-reading

https://em.citizengo.org/OTA3LU9EWS0wNTEAAAGVic6AghmKYA6VL35jcL7JwEYFvRucjLnneADAZGHY-8NrORLPoh1N5xgY_bNvOwh7xoMLCzs=

Bill C-293 (International Pandemic Treaty) Revisited: Concerns Raised Over Food Supply

 

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The drug manufacturer and pusher man: Off with their heads

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BY STEVEN KASZAB

Victims of the opioid epidemic have been shouting aloud to the: authorities, addiction/mental health emergency providers, and local governments for help. Asking, pleading, and when action does not happen quick enough protesting the apparent inaction of those who are supposed to be protecting society. There will always be excuses as to why those who manufacture and sell these drugs are not in prison right now. Their legal rights, the police’s inability to soundly find proof necessary to have them arrested, the federal government cannot stop the importation of these illegal drugs illegally, nor the domestic manufacturing of this poison. Aboriginal Rights, personal and privacy rights, international domains, lack of response from India and China’s Security Apparatus in stopping those in their country.

It comes down to the question, if you are addicted to drugs, are you of sound mind and body? Can you think for yourself, or must a public judicator force the addict into rehabilitative care? Often war does not have rules, and the war on drugs has been one sided for a very long time. Those nations that allow illicit drugs to be made in their territory, or transported from should feel the effects of powerful embargos. Let the Foreign Affairs Office do something useful by placing: Mexico, China, Columbia, Burma, and others on an embargo list not allowing them to ship or sell their products to Canada.

Long ago sanitariums were set aside, considered politically incorrect. Now, these same institutions of medical rehabilitation are necessary to hold involuntarily addicts for a three-to-six-month period, where their healthcare, mental health, and addiction therapy can be carried out. Inviting the church organizations to assist with their historical experience can be an asset.

Our society must take the war seriously, or hundreds of thousands of our citizens will perish. Take no prisoners, as those who manufacture and sell this poison know exactly: what they are doing, who they are harming, and what the end game truly will be.

For all those who have not seen someone dying of addiction, being poisoned long term, or it was their very first try…wake up. Decide whose side you are on, the victims and their families, the society you live in that is possibly the best that can exist, or you’re on the side of evil, people who make a living by poisoning and killing others.

Choose, and choose well.

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Canadian Congress on Inclusive Diversity and Workplace Equity 4th Annual Canada Leadership Summit and Nations Building Award

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BY PAUL JUNOR

There will be much to look forward to at the 4th Annual Canada Leadership Summit and Nations Building Award which will be held on Friday, October 4th, and Saturday, October 5th, 2024, at the Hilton Toronto Airport Hotel. The event will be hosted by the Canadian Congress on Inclusive Diversity and Workplace Equity and along with several partners such as: International School of Greatness (ISG), Diversity Institute located at TMU and other strategic partners who have been integral.

The CIDWE is described as the premier global event that gathers leaders from diverse backgrounds, all united by a shared dedication to transformational leadership and tackling today’s most urgent issues through networking, advocacy, and steadfast commitment. An integral mission of the summit is the goal of inspiring participants to rise above: personal, professional, and corporate challenges, and their aim is to ignite the spirit of leadership in everyone and transform those in positions of authority into nation builders.

On Friday, October 4th, 2024, there will be an evening of networking. It is intended to inspire critical dialogue and action on a global scale through strategic learning and networking opportunities.

On Saturday, October 5th, 2024, there will be a Business Breakfast Forum followed by the Leadership and Diversity workshops. There will be a Business Branding and Profitable Growth Workshop. Participants will learn about the Seven Laws of Exponential Growth and how to leverage the Psychology of Sales and Marketing to build generational wealth and achieve global impact.

These series of workshops will focus on: Transformational Leadership, Strategic Management, Social Justice, and Community Development. Some of the speakers include Dr. Wendy Cukier, Dr. Ardavan Eizadirad, Dr. Upiomoh Osholene, Dr. Mary Grogan, Alethia O’Hara Stephenson, and others.

The Nation Builders Award will be given to thirteen inspirational and motivational individuals who have distinguished themselves in a variety of fields such as: government, academia, business, and community service. A nation builder is understood in very specific terms as  someone who actively contributes to the development and strengthening of their country. In addition, nation builders take responsibility for their country’s future, working to create: systems, policies, and cultural practices that lead to long-term success and prosperity. They are visionaries who understand that the strength of a nation depends on the collective efforts of its people, and they work to: inspire, lead and empower others to participate in this important work.

In an email, Nosakhare Alex Ihama mentioned, “Our dedicated committee meticulously selected the 2024 nominees, ensuring that the awardees exemplify outstanding leadership and community service across our nation. With about 100: speakers, panelists, entertainers, sponsors, and strategic partners involved; we are proud to be recognized as a leading platform for national transformation. We congratulate the distinguished 2024 award recipients and eagerly anticipate learning from their insights while celebrating their collective achievements in making Canada truly North and Free.”

Participants will be able to network with the speakers and Nation Builder Award winners. They will have an opportunity to engage with thought leaders and policymakers and be part of meaningful conversations that will shape our collective future.

The titles of the awards and the names of the thirteen recipients are:

  • Nation Builders Lifetime Leadership Award: Senator Wando Thomas
  • Nation Builders Award for Excellence in Black Community Development: Dr. Winston LaRose
  • Nation Builders Legacy Award: Honorable Dr. Jean Augustine
  • Nation Builders Award for Inclusive Government & Policies: Greg Fergus
  • Nation Builders Award in Education & Academia: Dr. Gervan Fearon
  • Social Justice Icon Award: Honourable Michaelle Jean
  • Nation Business Award for Business Excellence: Harriet Thornhill
  • Nation Builders Rising Star Award for Social Justice: Nicholas Marcus Thompson
  • Nation Builders Global Humanitarian Award: Kamala Jean Gopie
  • Nation Builders Award for Inclusive & Equitable Sports: Rowan Barrett
  • Nation Builders Award for National Unity & Harmony: Senator Murray Sinclair
  • Nation Builders Award for Media, Arts & Entertainment: Patricia Babia
  • Nation Builders Award for Law and Justice: Hon. Justice Donald McLeod
  • Nation Builders Award for Youth Empowerment: Diana Alli D’Souza

There is much to expect from the upcoming Leadership Summit and Nation Builders Award. No doubt, there will be many moments of: empowerment, inspiration, motivation, and engagement.

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