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So many challenges, and so much to endure – Young people speak on COVID-19 experiences

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BY JONELL PANTLITZ

As a community newspaper, we are concerned with what is happening in our community, and we are determined to stay connected with everyone on all levels. This is why we understand that change affects young people in many ways and every person has a different story. I was asked to tell some of those stories.

From my personal experience, there are ups and downs with everything that is happening. Being a black student in a time like this has been hard, but also powerful. Having a voice is one thing, but using it is an amazing feeling. Being a part of something historical is a pleasure that cannot be explained.

Apart from that, isolated learning has been difficult. Many days, I didn’t open my laptop. I didn’t have the will power to do anything. It’s a good thing that slacking off didn’t stop me from meeting deadlines. This online shift overall has given me a lot of free time that I had no clue what to do with it. I don’t think we realize as students how much of our life is spent in a school. With the free time: I started trading, I joined a lot of online workshops, and I am more aware of my mental health. I spoke to some other young people my age, and after sharing my stories, I asked a simple question, what about you?

Kaysia (High School-Graduate)

Not everyone has the ability to adapt to a new environment as quickly as some do. Many of us get depressed easily. We have more anxiety attacks than we used to, and even feel socially drained most days.

We encounter so many challenges and endure so much pressure. Truth be told; it’s hard to actually accept reality most times. It’s hard to live in the moment and pretend that it’s only a matter of time before things get better. So I say this to say that change really has a positive impact on teens as well as it has its negative.

We have more distractions at home than if we were actually supervised while sitting in a classroom. Many have the mind-set of “I’m home, so I don’t really have to do the work because no one is there to see to it that I do.” Some youths understand a lesson better by: hearing the instructor’s way of explaining, being given the chance to participate in class discussions and being present. I believe that there is more school-related work being issued online than when we were in an actual classroom.

Online classes have also affected study patterns in more ways than one. From experience, it’s tiring to be staring at the screen for so many hours. Every day is just another day for children going to school during this pandemic. They don’t see the need to be revising notes again because everything is just being projected online.

Anushka (University-student)

I had to leave my apartment closer to my University and return to my family home which was probably the most negative part of my experience. I think the events in the world have mentally affected me more than physically – the realization that the world can easily shut down. Isolated education worked just like any online class, with the exception of being able to go discuss your concerns with your professor face to face. At first, I did not want to study at all. It was difficult to get my mind in that place. I eventually developed a schedule, but it still was not the best experience. I think the quality of my work was also affected.

My younger siblings’ (who I try to help) biggest difficulty is getting them to find the willingness to work.

Shaina (High School-Graduate)

In my opinion, change doesn’t have much affect on the younger generation because we tend to adjust to situations quicker than the older generation may have. That being said, distance learning and in school learning are two different things because we as students do not get one on one time with teachers, which means it may be a bit more difficult for some students to reach an understanding. With studies online, most of us tend to stop caring and to start losing focus on our studies.

The best way to learn about the experiences of young people is to actually talk to us. I hope that this has been an eye opener. We are all in this together

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Promoting economic inclusivity are ways to contribute to positive financial changes in the Caribbean community

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Photo Credit: Drazen Zigic

BY SIMONE J. SMITH

How much of a difference does your upbringing make to your life? It’s a question that’s been debated for ages and, in a world with a greater focus on equity, the wealth gap within society is under the microscope.

Compare the Market AU has done a survey of more than 1,000 Canadians to ask questions about their upbringing, financial education and habits, social class and home ownership. Now, I am not sure the demographics of this research, but it did make me think; how much are we (the Caribbean community) represented in these numbers?

The survey revealed a good degree of class mobility, with 32.8% of Canadians who said they grew up working class now identifying as middle class.

Additionally, younger generations were more likely than previous generations to say they were raised upper class. While only 0.4% of Canadians aged 58 and above said they had an upper-class upbringing, this rose with each subsequent generation up to 10.8% for 18–25-year-olds. Research indicated that:

  • Younger generations are more likely to be born upper class than older generations
  • Almost one third of Canadians consider themselves serious savers
  • Over 40% of half of upper-class Canadians own a home, compared to less than a quarter of the working class

Upbringing can have a big impact on how people handle money as an adult:

  • 6% received helpful lessons on money from their parents
  • 7% said their parents taught them, but it wasn’t helpful
  • 3% said their parents didn’t teach them and they had to learn in other ways
  • 4% never received lessons from their parents on money and they still struggle today

This is where we as a community really need to focus our attention. Today, almost 40% of Canadians say they budget to save and spend on what they want, while almost a third (32.3%) consider themselves serious savers, rarely spending money on things they don’t seriously need. Over one-in-ten were impulse buyers (12.0%). Worryingly, a further one-in-ten said they rarely had savings and spent beyond their means (13.2%).

When it comes to home ownership, just under 60% of our survey respondents who were 18–25-year-olds were non-homeowners while just over 41% were homeowners (either with a mortgage or owning outright), but this changed with over 50% of 26–41-year-olds owning a home vs 47% who didn’t. Older generations were even more likely to be homeowners, with over 65% of those aged 58 and above being homeowners.

Of course, on one hand, this is to be expected. The older you are, the more time you’ve had to save up money for a house. The problem is that house prices have outstripped wage growth, so those dreaming of owning a home are chasing a goal that’s getting further away from them every year.

This is where wealth (and family financial support) can make a big difference in home ownership. In Canada, 63.1% of the working class didn’t own a home, compared to 42.5% of the upper class and 37.5% of the middle class who owned, with a mortgage.

The data shows that many Canadians have been able to work their way up the social ladder by having helpful guidance in childhood or educating themselves about money, but it isn’t always easy. As Stephen Zeller, General Manager of Money at Compare the Market notes, knowledge can be the difference between sinking and swimming in an economy that seems to be set on inflation.

“There are some great resources out there to help people get a better understanding and manage their finances. Saving even just a small amount in terms of your interest rate can save you thousands of dollars over the course of the loan.”

Promoting financial literacy and empowerment within the Caribbean community can be a positive step toward fostering a healthier relationship with money. Encouraging open discussions about financial matters, providing access to education and resources, and promoting economic inclusivity are ways to contribute to positive change.

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Canada’s international students are being hustled; What you need to know about being a student in Canada

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Photo by Rdne-Stock-Project

BY MICHAEL THOMAS

“Expenses are getting higher; everything is getting more expensive. It’s so messed up. If I had known the ground reality, I wouldn’t have come.”

These are the words of Ravneet Singh, a student who traveled over 250 miles just to go to school. What would make an international student say such a thing about Canada? Let us find out.

East Indian students make up the majority of the international students coming to Canada to study and hopefully stay and work, but there is a hefty price to pay, and one these students never bargained for.

Canada’s present government has opened the door to international students through a foreign-study visa. These aspiring youngsters spend big bucks to come here with high hopes of making it big in cities like Toronto and beyond, but it is anyone’s guess if the College recruiters ever tell these poor foreign youngsters the truth about what Canada has become recently.

Many of the colleges due to the heavy influx of students have teamed up with so-called private learning enterprises and subcontracted the courses to the latter, and as a result, Immigration Minister Marc Miller called the education the students are lining up for, “Shoddy programs.” “People are being exploited,” Miller said in an interview with a reputable news source.

There is more; these students bring over $22 billion to Canada’s economy annually, not to mention cheap labor for places like the fast-food industry, yet they are being shortchanged on their education and milked by the colleges. These foreign students pay five times the tuition of Canadian undergraduates.

This is the reason why Singh, whom I mentioned in paragraph two, cannot afford the cost of rent near his school and therefore must start his day as early as 3:00 am just so he can reach his 9:00 am class.

Even immigration consultants are reporting that business is booming thanks to foreign students. Brampton immigration consultant Sandeep Singh confessed that students now form about 90% of his firm’s business.

The Trudeau government has decided to flood Canada with immigrants, students included. This move has tripled the number of foreign students to more than one million. Today, about 1 in 40 people in the country are on a foreign-study visa.

An Environics Institute poll found that 44% of Canadians said there’s too much immigration to the country, a stunning 17-point jump from the prior year – the largest change in opinion since the survey began in 1977.

Somehow Trudeau’s government seems to have forgotten that these students would need: housing, jobs, and lots more, so as we see, arriving here is the easy part.

Let’s revisit paragraph five: What Canada has become recently? These are some of the things the college recruiters and the Trudeau government need to let these international students know before issuing these visas, taking their hard-earned money, and leaving them up to their fate:

  • Lately, Canada has become a place where a one-bedroom apartment can easily cost upwards of $2000.
  • Lately, the cost of groceries has more than tripled.
  • Lately, even the average working Canadian cannot afford the staples of day-to-day living.
  • Lately, a lot of ordinary folks are living in their cars.
  • Lately, food banks have become the second home of a large number of Canada’s population.
  • Lately in Canada, free speech does not exist. It is now called hate speech with jail time attached, if things go according to “Uncle Justin’s” plans.

Here is an example of how bad things have gotten.

This is happening countrywide even as far as Sydney, Nova Scotia. At a Hallmark store, manager Tasha Myers receives about 10 to 15 resumes from students per day, forming a thick pile in a red envelope on her counter. “Yesterday, we had at least 12 students before noon looking for literally anything. They say, ‘Just give me three or five hours a week’ or ‘I’ll wash the toilets,’” she said. Yes, this is what foreign students are reduced to in Canada.

Some students are spending more time working, or hunting for work rather than attending classes, just to keep up with the cost of living here.

Many of these private-public schools focus on selling non-degree programs with easy or broad subjects, and classes two or three days a week. It is no wonder Canada’s immigration minister fears these students will end up driving Uber taxis as a profession.

In a move to do some much-needed damage control, the country’s Immigration Minister Marc Miller has announced a temporary limit to the number of student visas and is promising further measures soon.

It speaks volumes when an immigration minister calls out colleges for “Shoddy programs and sham commerce degrees.” I am just wondering if he and his government knew this all along while issuing those hundreds of thousands of student visas.

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The African-Canadian Advisory Committee disbanded during Black History Month

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BY PAUL JUNOR

The vote by trustees of the Toronto Catholic District School Board to disband the African-Canadian Advisory Committee (ACAC) during Black History Month brought shock and dismay to many concerned Toronto: Catholic parents, community members and students. This was truly not expected as expectations were high about its vital role.

The committee has been in existence since 1984, and many hoped that it would bring much needed and necessary changes to the largest Catholic school board in North America.

Details about the mission, vision and goals of ACAC can be seen in a report titled, “Black Voices Study” that was released in June 2023 by Brandy Doan-Goas and Natalie Young. The study aimed to bring awareness to the experiences of Black students, staff and families at the TCDSB in order to allow for increased awareness and understanding of how anti-Black racism is contextually prevalent within the TCDSB.

The ACAC was devoted to ensuring that the interests of all TCDSB members, students, staff, parents, and stakeholders are advanced within the African diaspora. It notes further that it endeavors to provide success in areas of Black student achievement and well-being, Black parental engagement, and Black staff development within the operations of Catholic educational service delivery, based on data that enhance culturally relevant and responsive pedagogical practices (TCDSB n.d).

The phenomenal work that ACAC has played in the TCDSB cannot be trivialized, devalued and underestimated since its inception. The appointment of Dr. Brendon Browne as Director of the TCDSB in September 2020 (who was hired from outside the board) saw him acknowledge the reality of anti-Black racism within the board. He was aware of the crucial role that ACAC played and the work of former Chair Kenneth Jeffers and Kirk Mark, former co-coordinator of Race and Ethnic Relations, Multiculturalism and Community Services.

The appointment of Derek Chen as Superintendent of Equity (who lacked any experience in equity work and initiatives) did not further the equity agenda. The subsequent resignation of Jeffers and Mark from the ACAC brought focus to inherent deficiencies and inequities within the board.

I spoke to Kirk Mark on February 21st, regarding the TCDSB’s vote to disband the ACAC. He said he was shocked and surprised that the board has made this poorly conceived decision in light of the many: challenges, issues and concerns that have been levied against it with respect to accusations of systemic racism, particularly anti-Black racism over the years. In his capacity as a senior administrator with the TCDSB he was aware directly of the: history, culture, issues, and challenges with respect to the implementation of programs, policies, and initiatives to tackle anti-Black racism.

In an article, Jeffers posed an illuminating question in light of the motion to disband the ACAC. He writes, “The immediate question lies in the area of why the so-called ACAC was not proactive in informing the community, and what was the rationale for such draconian action by the TCDSB in this global celebration of Black History Month.”

Jeffers notes further, “The fact that the TCDSB made this decision during the height of Black History Month with the prevalent award ceremonies and statements of recognition of everyone who has presumably contributed to the development of the community is mind-boggling but not unexpected.” Rather than focus on the disbanding of this committee, Jeffers sees a light at the end of the tunnel. He hypotheses, “However, if there is a positive aspect to this, it is the fact that the humiliation and disrespect of our Black community may motivate some to determine why successes in the past were not sustained and, more importantly, what we need to do now to address the fierce urgency to improve the life of our Black youth.”

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