BY ADRIAN REECE

Representation in the workforce has been a topic of conversation for years, particularly in positions of influence, where people can shift laws and create fair policies for all races. Representation in the legal system is an even more talked about subject, with many Black men being subjected to racism in courts and not being given fair sentencing by judges.

The fear of Black men entering the system is something that plagues mothers and fathers as they watch their children grow up.

Blink Equity, a company led by Pako Tshiamala, has created an audit called the Blink Score. This audit targets law firms and seeks to identify specific practices reflecting racial diversity among them in Toronto. A score is given based on a few key performance indicators. These KPIs include hiring practices, retention of diverse talent, and racial representation at every level.

The Blink Score project aims to analyze law firms in Ontario with more than 50 lawyers. The Blink Score is a measurement tool that holds law firms accountable for their representation. Firms will be ranked, and the information will be made public for anyone to access.

This process is ambitious and seeks to give Canadian citizens a glimpse into how many people are represented across the legal field. While more and more people have access to higher education, there is still a gap between obtaining that higher education and working in a setting where change can be made. The corporate world, at its highest points, is almost always one race across the board, and very rarely do people of colour get into their ranks. They are made out to be an example of how anyone from a particular race can achieve success. However, this is the exception, not the rule. Nepotism plays a role in societal success; connections are a factor, and loyalty to race, even if people are acquainted.

People of colour comprise 16% of the total lawyers across the province. Positions at all levels range from 6% to 27%. These numbers display the racial disparity among law practitioners in positions of influence. Becoming a lawyer is undoubtedly a huge accomplishment. Still, when entering the workforce with other seasoned professionals, your academic accolades become second to your professional achievements and your position in the company.

What do these rankings ultimately mean? A potential for DEI-inclusive practices, perhaps? That isn’t something that someone would want in this kind of profession. This kind of audit also opens law firms up to intense criticism from people who put merit above all other aspects of professional advancement. On the other hand, there is a potential for firms to receive clientele based on their blink score, with higher ones having the chance to bring in more race-based clients who can help that law firm grow.

It is only the beginning, and changes will undoubtedly be made in the legal field as Blink Equity continues to dive deep into the gap between people of colour and decision-making roles in these law firms. This audit has the power to shift the power scale, and place people of colour in higher positions. There are hierarchies in any profession, and while every Lawyer is qualified to do what they are trained to do, it is no shock that some are considerably better than others at their jobs. The ones who know how to use this audit to their advantage will rise above the others and create a representative image for themselves among their population.

BY SIMONE J. SMITH

The world, as we know it, is teetering on the precipice of change. While our attention is diverted by the glitz and glamour of celebrity culture, the heated debates of political campaigns, and the harrowing realities of global conflict, a silent revolution is brewing.

Behind the scenes, unseen hands are crafting the blueprints for our future, a future that will irrevocably alter the course of human existence. These plans, shrouded in secrecy, promise to reshape our societies, our economies, and even our very identities. As we remain captivated by the distractions of the day, the architects of this new world order are laying the foundation for a reality beyond our current comprehension.

There is a new initiative from the WHO that is deeply concerning. World leaders appear to be seeking domain over plants, animals, and humans — globalized, central control over public health policies in all participating countries.

The U.S., Canada and Mexico last week launched a joint pandemic preparedness initiative that one critic warned could empower the WHO to impose global control measures like vaccine passports and policies targeting the “infodemic.”

Are Vaccine Passports Just Around the Corner?

On October 23^rd, 2024 following through on the commitments made at the 2021 and 2023 North American Leaders’ Summits (NALS), the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), in collaboration with the U.S. Departments of State (State), Agriculture (USDA), and Homeland Security (DHS), and their respective counterparts in Mexico and Canada, released the North American Preparedness for Animal and Human Pandemics Initiative (NAPAHPI) to continue strengthening regional health security and pandemic preparedness through a One Health approach.

NAPAHPI is being touted as a flexible, scalable, and cross-sectoral platform to strengthen regional capacities for: prevention, preparedness, and response to a broad range of health security threats that builds on lessons learned from COVID-19, and other health security events in the last decade. It is based on a long-standing trilateral collaboration under the 2007 North American Plan for Avian and Pandemic Influenza and the 2012 North American Plan for Animal and Pandemic Influenza.

The 2007 North American Plan for Avian and Pandemic Influenza resulted from the commitment made by the leaders of the three countries under the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America (SPP). The plan included a comprehensive approach to prepare for avian and pandemic influenza in North America based on the assumption that a pandemic was likely to start outside of the region and focused on avian influenza because of the re-emergence of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 virus in humans in 2003.

The North American Plan for Animal and Pandemic Influenza (NAPAPI),  launched by President Barack Obama, President Felipe Calderon of Mexico, and Prime Minister Stephen Harper of Canada at the North American Leaders Summit (NALS) in April 2012,  provides a comprehensive, regional and cross-sectoral, health security framework. The framework outlines how Canada, Mexico, and the United States intend to strengthen our emergency response capacities, as well as our trilateral collaborations and capabilities to assist each other and ensure a quick and coordinated response to outbreaks of animal influenza or an influenza pandemic.

This new initiative establishes a Senior Coordinating Body as a key decision-making forum and the North American Health Security Working Group as its technical arm with members from the human health, animal health/agriculture, homeland security, and foreign affairs sectors. The three countries (Canada, Mexico, and the U.S.) intend to collaborate to strengthen regional health security through a focus on priority issues:

• Animal Diseases with Zoonotic Potential
• Infectious Diseases with Pandemic Potential and Other Threats to Regional Health Security
• Epidemiological Surveillance and Laboratory Diagnostics
• Medical Countermeasures
• Public Health Measures
• Medical Supply Chains
• Health Systems
• Risk Communications
• Border Health Measures
• Critical Infrastructure
• Risk Assessment and Foresight Risk Analysis
• Joint Exercises and Training
• Sustainable Financing

I want to point out some of the dangers of this; the Senior Coordinating Body (SCB) as a central decision-making forum poses significant risks. This centralized structure concentrates power in the hands of a few, potentially leading to groupthink and a lack of diverse perspectives. When I say diverse perspectives, I am speaking about the voices of the global community.

Now, let’s talk about One Health. ‘One Health’ is reportedly an integrated, unifying approach to balance and optimize the health of: people, animals, and the environment. They say it is particularly important to: prevent, predict, detect, and respond to global health threats such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

The One Health High-Level Expert Panel (OHHLEP) was formed in May 2021 to advise FAO, UNEP, WHO and WOAH on One Health issues. This includes recommendations for research on emerging disease threats, and the development of a long-term global plan of action to avert outbreaks of diseases like: H5N1 avian influenza, MERS, Ebola, Zika, and possibly COVID-19. The One Health High-Level Expert Panel is the scientific and strategic advisory group to the Quadripartite organizations:  the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) – in their collaboration on One Health.

The panel will also have a role in investigating the impact of human activity on the environment and wildlife habitats, and how this drives disease threats. Critical areas include food production and distribution, urbanization and infrastructure development, international travel and trade, activities that lead to biodiversity loss and climate change, and those that put increased pressure on the natural resource base – all of which can lead to the emergence of zoonotic diseases.

It appears that since the COVID-19 pandemic began, the necessary constructs have been created to facilitate vaccine passports. Now, it seems that they will be able to quickly enact these measures for the ‘next pandemic’ using the same systems. It has also been reported that the new initiative will adopt “a more systematic approach” to tackle the “infodemic” — referring to purported “misinformation” and “disinformation” on health-related topics.

The WHO defines the “infodemic” as “too much information including false or misleading information in digital and physical environments during a disease outbreak.” According to the WHO, the infodemic “causes confusion and risk-taking behaviours that can harm health” and foster “mistrust in health authorities.”

What does this mean? Well, this means our collaborating world leaders will try to ‘pre bunk  misinformation. It appears that part of the plan is to abolish free speech to protect public health.

I want to end this with one question community; are partner agencies too corrupt to be trusted? We trusted them during the pandemic, and there are some of us who are starting to see that we should not have done that. Let me know your thoughts.

REFERENCES:

https://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/rsrcs/pblctns/nml-pndmc-nflnz/index-en.aspx#fn01

https://www.who.int/health-topics/infodemic#tab=tab_1

https://www.hhs.gov/about/agencies/oga/global-health-security/index.html

https://www.who.int/groups/one-health-high-level-expert-panel

https://www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/one-health

https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2024/10/23/united-states-canada-mexico-unveil-efforts-strengthen-regional-health-security.html

‘P’ for Public or Propaganda? How NPR Morphed Into a Voice for the ‘Elite Establishment’

BY SIMONE J. SMITH

On Wednesday, October 30^th, 2024, Mark J. Golding, MP, the Leader of the Opposition in Jamaica was enthusiastically greeted by more than 300 Jamaicans in Toronto at a Town Hall meeting at the Jamaican Canadian Association.

The Toronto Caribbean Newspaper was invited to be part of the welcoming crowd who  listened attentively as Mr. Golding shared: his vision for the future of Jamaica, the ways in which Canadian Jamaicans can continue to work together for Jamaica, as well as his plans to better daily life for Jamaicans at home.

Leader of the Opposition Mr. Mark J. Golding is an attorney-at-law, specializing in the areas of: corporate finance, capital markets and mergers and acquisitions. He has been lead counsel in many public and private sector issues of domestic and international debt and equity securities, and in several large corporate mergers and acquisitions. In 2011, he took a leave of absence from Hart Muirhead Fatta, the firm of which he has been a partner since 1993, to assume his appointment as Minister of Justice.

Mr. Golding studied law at Oxford University, where he graduated with first class honours. Wishing to return home to practice, he attended the Norman Manley Law School in order to be called to the Jamaican Bar and received its prize for the most outstanding student of the class of 1987-89. He then won a Commonwealth Scholarship and continued his studies at the University of London, obtaining a master’s degree in commercial and corporate law.

“I am a proud Jamaican, a son of the soil and a dedicated member of the People’s National Party,” Mr. Golding shares on his website. “My parents were champions in giving back to Jamaica especially in the disabilities community and I continue the family legacy through my own advocacy for disenfranchised persons and persons with disabilities. I am committed to using the law to protect rather than oppress people, as evidenced by my legislative performance.”

“Our common purpose must be the creation of a 21st century Jamaica that exemplifies and upholds the progressive principles of social justice and equality for all Jamaicans. This is the foundational purpose of the Party and its socialist roots. There is much more work to be done to eliminate the remaining structural inequalities within Jamaican society. To achieve this, we must live and promote the values of self-discipline, civic responsibility, and caring for and respecting others.”

The People’s National Party (PNP) is one of the oldest and most influential political parties in Jamaica. The year 1938 was a turning point in the history of modern Jamaica. Workers across the island began to demand better wages and working conditions, and the colonial government had no choice but to listen. Strikes by the sugar workers of Frome Estate in Westmoreland, by the dockworkers of the Standard Fruit Company in Kingston, by farmworkers in Islington, St. Mary led to mass rallies and public meetings, the likes of which had never been seen on the island, not even the decade before during the height of Garveyism.

The People’s National Party was founded on September 18^th, 1938, by Norman Washington Manley, a Rhodes Scholar, lawyer, and National Hero of Jamaica. The party emerged during a time of social and economic unrest in Jamaica. Norman Manley, an advocate for social justice, sought to address these inequalities and envisioned a political movement that would champion the rights of the working class while pushing for self-governance. Manley, along with a group of intellectuals, labor leaders, and activists, formed the PNP as a democratic socialist party. Its foundation was based on a commitment to social equality, workers’ rights, and the eventual goal of political independence for Jamaica.

As of 2024, the People’s National Party remains one of Jamaica’s two major political parties, alongside the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP). The party continues to advocate for policies that promote social justice, economic development, and sustainable governance. In recent years, the PNP has focused on addressing the economic and social challenges posed by globalization, climate change, and the digital age. The party’s leadership, headed by Mark Golding, faces the challenge of maintaining the PNP’s relevance in a rapidly changing political and economic landscape.

In his opening address to the audience, and speaking about Jamaica’s unique relationship with Canada, Mr. Golding shared, “Canada and Jamaica are very close. For us there is a special relationship with Canada. I was minister of Justice under (Prime Minister) Portia Miller Simpson from 2012 to 2016, and the Canadian government helped us with the Justice Reform Program we were pushing through. Their support was very valuable.”

During the question-and-answer segment of the Town Hall, audience members posed questions to the Opposition Leader which ranged from: issues regarding Jamaican Farm Workers and the farm workers program in Canada, voting in Jamaica while outside of the country, healthcare, and managing the care of children with special needs in Jamaica.

On Friday November 1^st, 2024, Mr. Golding visited the heart of the Jamaican community during a Walking Tour of Little Jamaica. I had a few moments with Mr. Golding, and my question to him was concerning the lack of youth involvement in politics.

“We have made efforts to involve youth in the movement,” Mr. Golding shared with me. “One of the questions that young people will always have in this day and age is ‘What is in this for me?’ There will need to be significantly greater mentoring, support, and inclusion to more effectively engage youths and young professionals across Jamaica and help shape the image and direction of the Party. The youth pool is growing, and we will continue to support them through political education, life skills training, and encouraging them to undertake meaningful tasks of engagement within their communities.”

The PNP continues to champion its core values of equity, justice, and people-centered development, while grappling with the need to modernize and adapt to new realities. Its legacy as a movement that has significantly shaped Jamaica’s national identity, labor rights, and governance remains a critical part of the island’s political narrative.