NATIONAL WEEKLY | THURSDAY, MAY 3 – MAY 9, 2018 | VOL. 15 NO. 18
N E T W O R K T H E
M O S T
W I D E L Y
C I R C U L A T E D
C A R I B B E A N
A M E R I C A N
N E W S P A P E R
I N
F L O R I D A
CALL FOR
Apologize!
JUSTICE
A Jamaican group in Canada is demanding an official apology from a Canadian politician after she reportedly claimed legalizing cannabis in Nova Scotia will make the province unproductive like Jamaica. Elizabeth Smith-McCrossen
By Daniel Strom
made by Caribbean people to the province's social and economic development. “JCANS hopes this event can educate many about Jamaican history and culture and await a response from Smith-McCrossin by the middle of May as agreed to at the meeting,” the non-profit said in a statement. Meanwhile, Donna Gogan, who operates Flutterbye Jamaican Caribbean Cuisine, the Amherst, N.S., business woman who Smith-McCrossin, referred to, has said her comments were misrepresented. Gogan told CBC News that she is a proud Jamaican and Smith-McCrossin's comments "are completely inaccurate." "I sincerely apologize to my fellow Jamaican citizens for the negative impact of Elizabeth's misrepresentation of my comments on our land and the beautiful, hardworking Jamaica people," she said in a statement, adding that her comments to Smith-McCrossin were that, based on what she's seen, people who smoke cannabis seem to be less productive, but she also knows people who use cannabis and the use is not apparent. In a statement provided by her leadership team, SmithMcCrossin said she has apologized to Gogan and she is doing it again in public. "She is a good person who never asked to be in the spotlight until I mistakenly put her there last week. Donna and her family are very dear to me," the statement added. (NewsAmericasNow.com)
“A friend from Jamaica warned me that there is ‘very low productivity’ in the island country due to smoking marijuana..... I think we already have a productivity problem here in Nova Scotia. We do not need something else making it worse.” – Smith-McCrossin
The members of the Jamaican Cultural Association of Nova Scotia say they want the official apology on the floor of the province's Legislature from Elizabeth Smith-McCrossin, a member of the Progressive Conservative Association of Nova Scotia who represents the electoral district of Cumberland North. During a debate on Nova Scotia's new Cannabis Control Act last month, Smith-McCrossin told Province House that her friend from Jamaica warned her that there is "very low productivity" in the island country due to smoking marijuana. “I think we already have a productivity problem here in Nova Scotia,” Smith-McCrossin said on the floor of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly. “We do not need something else making it worse.” The comments drew harsh condemnation and the Progressive Conservative leadership candidate quickly offered extended apologies, stating she “needs to do better.” But advocates from JCANS Smith-McCrossin's comments caused a lot of distress to Nova Scotia's Caribbean community. The group recently met with Smith-McCrossin and she once again apologized but JCANS is demanding a formal apology to be given on the floor of the Legislature, as well as diversity training for the Linden, Nova Scotia-born politician and her colleagues. The group is also asking for a commitment that she will actively support programs for the Jamaican community in Nova Scotia and to help spread awareness of the contributions
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Family Pleads For Help As Trinidad Immigrant Remains In Coma The family of a Trinidadian immigrant is pleading for justice as she remains in a coma in the Brandon Regional Hospital in Brandon, Florida. Chebbie Roberts Turpin of Fort Lauderdale, reportedly fell out of a moving vehicle on Saturday, April 21, 2018, suffering over 12 brain contusions, a skull fracture, brain hemorrhage and subdural hematoma that has left her unresponsive in Brandon's IC Unit. The reported incident came as she and her boyfriend, Herbert Major, were planning on attending Chebbie Roberts the 13th Annual Tampa Bay Caribbean Carnival, where they had a booth. The family is demanding a thorough investigation to be conducted by the Tampa Police Department and is also urging the Tampa District Attorney to intercede on Roberts’ two daughters behalf of Turpin, who cannot “speak her truth at this moment.” Turpin's parents and only brother are all deceased, but she has 5 children who are anxiously waiting for their mother to wake up.
continues on A8 – Call For Justice
WHAT’S INSIDE NEWSMAKER
LA SECTION HAITIENNE
HEALTH & WELLNESS
SPORTS
A PLAQUE FOR CAPTAIN BARRINGTON A3
EAGLES’ WENTZ, DONATES $500,000 TO HELP HAITI A7
MAY IS STROKE AND ARTHRITIS AWARENESS MONTH B1-B2
BIG WINS FOR CARIBBEAN AT PENN RELAYS 2018 B7