No reprieve for Toronto cop who assaulted Dafonte Miller

No reprieve for Toronto cop who assaulted Dafonte Miller

Ontario’s top court has upheld the conviction and sentence of Const. Michael Theriault, the off-duty Toronto police officer who assaulted Dafonte Miller in an attack that left the young Black man blind in one eye. Earlier this year, Const. Michael Theriault was found guilty of assault in connection with a December 2016 attack on Miller, […]

Hands off Haiti! Time to pay reparations

Hands off Haiti! Time to pay reparations

In the middle of the night of July 7, a shocked Haitian nation woke up to the news that President Jovenal Moise was murdered by a group of armed men. Almost immediately a number of Colombian mercenaries were arrested and admitted doing the deed. So far fingers are being pointed at a US-based security company, […]

Black Canadians more likely to be hesitant about COVID-19 vaccines

Black Canadians more likely to be hesitant about COVID-19 vaccines

  Toronto orthopedic surgeon Dr. Ato Sekyi-Otu, leader of the health-care task force of the Black Opportunity Fund, says a new survey confirms unpublished public health data that vaccine hesitancy is higher among Black Canadians than among white or non-Black racialized people. “There’s a 20-point gap with respect to the rate of vaccination in Black […]

Montreal police stops: You can now log what happened on an interactive map

Montreal police stops: You can now log what happened on an interactive map

Starting this Wednesday, Montrealers who are stopped by police, or who have been stopped in the past, can self-report their experience via an online interactive map. The goal is to reflect a more accurate account of police stops in the city, using the open-data research initiative to collect information about the nature of the stops […]

Former Montserrat chief minister jailed

Former Montserrat chief minister jailed

A High Court Judge on Monday sentenced former chief minister David Brandt to 15 years in jail after he had earlier been found guilty on six counts of sexual exploitation and one count of perverting the course of justice. But Brandt immediately indicated that he intends appealing the sentence, insisting that he had no physical […]

UK wants to deport Caribbean woman whose Windrush father served in Royal Air Force  

UK wants to deport Caribbean woman whose Windrush father served in Royal Air Force   

People arriving in the UK between 1948 and 1971 from Caribbean countries have been labelled the Windrush generation. It refers to the ship MV Empire Windrush, which docked in Tilbury on 22 June 1948, bringing workers from Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and other islands, to help fill post-war UK labour shortages.  The ship carried 492 […]

“Right now, steelbands are like vagrants’’

“Right now, steelbands are like vagrants’’

By Lincoln DePradine Despite a collaboration with the Festival Management Corporation (FMC), under which pannists are able to ply their trade and now earn income at some Toronto restaurants, leaders of the pan movement in the city still aren’t satisfied that the artform is receiving the financial and other support that are required. “Right now, […]

Calypsonians still not getting their due

Calypsonians still not getting their due

By Lincoln DePradine Calypso and soca artistes, like other Toronto Carnival stakeholders, have been negatively impacted by underfunding and the deadly Coronavirus pandemic, which forced the shutdown of the economy and cancellation of large social gatherings. For performers of every genre, surviving and earning income during COVID-19 have involved utilizing online platforms such as Zoom […]

‘Key suspect’ arrested after President Jovenel Moïse’s assassination

‘Key suspect’ arrested after President Jovenel Moïse’s assassination

They say Christian Emmanuel Sanon, a 63-year-old Haitian national, flew into the country on a private jet in early June with “political motives”. Mr Moïse, 53, was killed at his residence on 7 July, by 28 foreign mercenaries, the police said earlier. His wife was injured in the attack, and then flown to the US […]

Festival Management Committee funding fiasco

Festival Management Committee funding fiasco

Despite claims to the contrary, the Festival Management Committee gives about 5% funding to stakeholders In 1997 bandleaders boycotted the Caribana festival and took the parade “Up North” to Markham Fair grounds. This resulted in the festival being taken seriously by Toronto City Hall and, with the help of Lincoln Alexander, the first significant funding […]