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Peeks Toronto Caribbean Carnival gets ready to heat up the Toronto streets

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BY: LEANNE BENN

The weather is warm and the streets are alive, this can only mean we’re entering one of the most fun seasons of the year, Carnival season of course. This year marks the 51stcelebration of the Toronto Caribbean Carnival in Toronto. With its second year under the headline sponsor of Peeks Social, the Peeks Toronto Caribbean Carnival is back with more lively dancing in the streets, intricate and colourfulMas costumes and genuine togetherness.

Opening remarks by Toronto Mayor, John Tory and Toronto City Council Joe Mihevc at the media preview day for the festival emphasized just how much Carnival does for the city of Toronto; it’s a fusion of culture and celebration.

“This started off as a gift to immigrants and it has become rooted in our culture of what it means to be a Torontonian,” Mihevc remarked. Mihevc has spent over 21 years supporting Toronto Caribbean Carnival as the official council liaison and this year a proposed $625,000 is going to council towards fundingof Toronto Carnival.

However, Carnival is more than just an economic anchor for the city, it is also a cultural powerhouse that brings communities together. From parents to kids, you can find communities working together, for instance at different Mas costume camps across the city that make costumes for the adult and kid-friendlyevents associated with carnival. This all-inclusive affair is truly one major street party, where all are welcome to partake in classic Caribbean vibes.

Chief Executive Officer of the Festival Management Committee, Denise Herrera Jackson is marking another year on board with the festival and highlighted the importance of the sponsors for the festival, the bandleaders and the creative arts directors for each band.

This year, approximately 12 bands so far are set to hit the road: Venom, E.P.I.C Carnival, Tribal Carnival, Toronto Revellers Cultural Assoc. Louis Saldenah Mas KClub, Fantazia Carnival, Concept Costumes Creators, D’New Regulars, Atlantic Mas, Sunlime Canada, Allure Carnival and Carnival Nationz which will feature the 2018 and nine-time reigning Queen of Carnival, Joella Crichton. Each band will offer an exciting theme to accompany the beautiful costumes and sections within their group. From Birds of Paradise to themes of Wonderland and Love, the costumes reflect the dedication and hard work that many commit to making this festival come alive through the arts. This is why the scientific aspect of costume design is recognized, by the Ontario Science Centre, where they will award the Innovation In Mas Award, focused on the design and engineering of costumes on August 2, to one creative band designer.

With all the events scheduled to happen, Toronto Carnival will be three weeks of enjoying Caribbean culture as many will have a chance to take part in the delicious food, the dancing, the music, and the arts. With Peeks Social as the headline sponsor, this organization is spending their second year committed to broadcasting live coverage available around the world. Due to the innovative culture and technology available at Peeks, those that want to be in tune with Carnival can follow along closely through the Peeks Social App. Other Media sponsors for the festival include CTV and CP24 which will be celebrating their 10thyear of television coverage of the festival. Contributing and corporate sponsors include Caribbean Airlines, Grace Foods, The Ontario Science Centre, OLG, Exhibition Place, Woodbine Mall Holdings, Radisson Hotel, El Dorado Rum and new to the list this year, Flow Hydration, to make sure you’re properly hydrated while dancing in the warm sunshine.

In terms of the schedule of events, the official launch of this year’s festival will take place on July 10th at Nathan Phillips Sq. from 11 AM to 2 PM and will showcase three major artistic groups associated with Carnival: The Toronto Mas Bands, the Organization of Calypso Performing artists and The Ontario Steelpan Association.

The Junior Carnival King and Queen Showcase and the Junior Carnival Parade will take place on July 15th and 21th respectively. There will be an elegant Carnival Ball on July 27th at the Beamsfield Centre at Exhibition Place. The adult King and Queen Showcase will be onAugust 2nd and a new event this yearwill be a Friday Night Mas onAugust 3rd at Ontario Place from 9 pmto midnight which starts the lively party before the grand parade on August 4th starting at 8 AM. There are many more events all leadingup to the grand parade including a newly added breakfast party, a traditional church service and the lighting of the CN Tower. To get the full list of events and the official map route, visit Peeks Social online, download their app or visit #GoTOCarnival. Also,remember to #respectthemas and #respectthedance but most importantly have fun!

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Junior Contributors

It is an unfortunate truth, but the Canadian Government has a habit of not honouring their promises

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BY KAHA G – 15 YEARS OLD

In history class, we were asked to do a group presentation based on various disputes between Indigenous peoples and the Canadian government as a whole, whether that be the crown, or even our current government. We were also asked to do an OPCVL (Origin, Purpose, Content, Value, and Limitations) on the websites we use to get a good idea of who is reporting the article and what kind of biases they present on the specific topic. My group chose the Toronto Purchase as our topic, and I will explain the Indigenous and Crowns’ perspective and give an overall introduction to what the Toronto Purchase is (some of this information is from my group members as well).

The Toronto Purchase of 1805, known as Treaty 13, is a big moment in Canadian history. Partially negotiated between the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation and the British Crown, this land treaty aimed to address the uncertainties left by the Johnson-Butler Purchase of 1787-88. The earlier deal lacked clarity, resulting in rage over land boundaries and usage. In response, the Toronto Purchase sought to provide a clearer understanding of land rights between the Crown and the Mississaugas, resulting in ongoing colonial expansion and the displacement of Indigenous communities.

Now, here is the Toronto Purchase Treaty from each perspective:

The Crown’s Perspective:

Britain’s defeat at the hands of the Americans in 1783 because of the American Revolution placed a lot of pressure on the crown to acquire more land to resettle loyalist refugees. As well as the crown needed to secure communication and supply lines to western outposts and unite settlements along Lake Ontario from Kingston to Niagara. Since the crown knew that the Mississaugas of the Credit had large amounts of land that could benefit them, they created a treaty. The Mississaugas agreed, however, the British had no intention of sharing this land, and there were doubts about the treaty’s legitimacy of the deed and unclear land boundaries.

A deed is a legal document that outlines details of a land transaction, in this case, it would have the sale of the lands from the Mississaugas to the British Crown.

These concerns were bad for the crown because honouring agreements was important for maintaining the British government’s reputation and credibility. Violating treaties can damage relationships with Indigenous nations and other colonial powers, which puts them at a disadvantage when it comes to various aspects like security, defense, alliances, and trade.

The Mississaugas of the Credit First Nations Perspective:

Chief Wabakinine (wabakeyneen) was the Head Chief of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation in the 18th century. On their behalf, he signed many surrender treaties with the colonial British setters, including Treaty 13, or the Toronto Purchase.

Since the British needed more land for the settlers, Chief Wabakinine agreed to share the land with the newcomers in a beneficial way, where the Mississaugas could still hunt, fish, and gather, while the settlers would go about their way establishing villages and farms. However, the British didn’t keep up their end of the Treaty and the settlers saw the Mississaugas as trespassers, drove them from their camping places, ravaged the resources of the land and brought new diseases with them.

Sooner than later, the traditional economy was collapsing, and disease started to spread, making the population of Mississaugas drop 20%, within 10 years. The crown was now deemed untrustworthy since they didn’t respect Indigenous rights, took more land than originally agreed upon, underpaid them for the land, did not honour the terms and agreements of the Treaty and delayed the Mississaugas compensation for around 223 years (1787 to 2010).

Furthermore, the sources I got this information from were biased towards Indigenous peoples, as well as Indigenous websites that have a clear and precise analysis of what the goals of the Crown were, and why they did what they did. So, I would say the websites I used have a balance in respect to bias.

To summarize this whole article, the British Crown wanted more land for settlers and to secure their territory, but they didn’t stick to their promises in the Toronto Purchase treaty. The Indigenous Mississaugas agreed to share the land but got mistreated, lost resources, and faced disease instead. This shows how colonialism harmed Indigenous people and why we should honour their rights and finally bring justice for all of the torment they faced because of the Canadian government.

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The Poetic Word

How beautiful it would be to love again

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Photo Credit: Prostooleh

BY GLORIA O’KOYE

Like relearning to crawl,

Taking baby steps

Praying that there will be no falls.

Reopening back up a secured vault,

Filled with luxuries of the most potent

Human emotion,

A necessity to remain sane and strong.

 

It cures and reverses illnesses.

Prolonging healthy life

Once the barriers crumble

Like brick silos.

 

A renewed love resurfacing

Unhealed wounds

To be properly treated

Instead of decaying.

 

If only love could exist

Without any historic chains

To pierce the tender flesh

Of a beating heart

That wants to love,

Not to risk being in pain once again.

 

How beautiful it would be

To fall in love again.

Heights being reached

To know what it means to love again.

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Junior Contributors

What is Ramadan? People say, we’re fasting; that’s only a part of It

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Photo Credit: Way Home Studio

BY KAHA G. – 15 YEARS OLD

Ramadan is fast approaching! It’s said to be on either Sunday, March 10th, 2024, or Monday, March 11th, 2024, based on the sighting of the crescent moon. However, what is Ramadan? In Islam, Ramadan is the ninth month in the Muslim calendar (we use the lunar calendar) and is the holy month of fasting.

Like I said earlier, it starts and ends with the sighting of the crescent moon. This calendar is different from the Gregorian calendar because “Ramadan begins 10–12 days earlier each year, allowing it to fall in every season throughout a 33-year cycle,” according to Brittanica. This is why, in some cases, Eid (the celebration after Ramadan), can fall on the same day as Christmas.

Additionally, Ramadan is a period where Muslims practice self-restraint, from dawn to dusk from food, drink, sexual activity, and all forms of immoral behaviour. This includes bad deeds as a whole, like swearing, disrespecting your parents, music, etc. Keep in mind that these should be stopped no matter if it is Ramadan, or not. In addition to that, we are encouraged to do many good deeds during this month because the reward for it is multiplied immensely. So, we would partake in good acts like charity, reading the Qur’an (the holy book for Muslims), prayer, and so on.

Before the dawn prayer known as Fajr, we wake up for suhoor which translates to the meal eaten before dawn. We wake up one hour before dawn prayer, eat our suhoor, and read the Qur’an. On the other hand, after the sunset prayer, we have something called iftar, which is the meal we break our fast with.

Now, here is the amazing part of Ramadan. During Ramadan, in the last ten nights, there is a day called Laylat al-Qadr (Arabic word for the night of power). Allah (God) revealed the Qur’an to the prophet Muhammad peace be upon him. This day is so special to the point where all of our supplications are answered, and the angels descend giving the day a sense of tranquility.

According to zakat.org, there is a hadith (a statement, or action from the prophet Muhammed peace be upon him) from An-Nasa’i (a scholar who collects the hadith and puts it into a book) that states the following. “There has come to you the blessed month of Ramadan, in which God, the Mighty and Sublime, has enjoined you to fast. In it, the gates of heaven are opened, and the gates of Hell are closed, and every single devil is chained. In it, God has made a night whose value is greater than a thousand months (Laylat al-Qadr), and whoever is deprived of its goodness will indeed have lost.”

I would like to end with a quote from Mufti Menk, an Islamic scholar. “What is Ramadan? People say, we’re fasting; that’s only a part of it. It is the month of peace, the month of tranquility, the month of cure, the month of goodness, the month of forgiveness, the month of mercy, the month of attaining paradise, the month of the Qur’an, the month of revelation, the month of celebration of being a Muslim. “We don’t just do what we want, we do what the Almighty has ordained.”

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