Ghanaian News - March 2014 Edition

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Ghanaian-Canadian Celebrate Ghana’s Independence across Canada Ghanaian-Canadian communities across Canada, along with their Canadian friends and African community partners celebrated the 57th Independence anniversary of Ghana in various cities across Canada in March 2014. We bring you reports from various communities from Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver.

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EDITORIAL KEEPING YOU IN TOUCH WITH NEWS FROM HOME AND LOCAL COMMUNITY ISSUES

EDITORIAL Publisher / Editor Emmanuel Ayiku Contributing Editors Dr. Michael Baffoe Joe Kingsley Eyiah Director of Operations Comfort Ayiku Community Reporter Jonathan Annobil Winnipeg Bureau Dr. Michael Baffoe

The Ghanaian News Publishes news and comments from the Community, serves Ghanaians across Canada with good source of information is committed to give good community Journalism The Ghanaian News is published in Canada by The Ghanaian News Corporation Editorial Office 2256 Sheppard Ave. Suite 202 Toronto, Ont. M9M 1L7 Tel:(416) 916-3700 Advertising Fax (416) 916-6701 Internet: www.ghanaiannews.ca E-mail: cayiku@gmail.com info@ghanaiannews.ca $1:00 per copy Subscription costs $12.00 for one year. $22.99 for two years. plus postage U.S. and foreign subscriptions costs US$79.99 per year.

Letters to the Editor We encourage your feedback and value your comments. Please feel free to write to us. keep letters to a maximum of 200 words, include your full name, Telephone # and mailing address with all correspondence.

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New Approaches Needed for Community Celebration of Ghana’s National Days in Canada Celebrations of Ghana’s 57th Independence Anniversary have been held across many cities in Canada by Ghanaian-Canadian communities.

The reports carried in this month’s edition of your versatile paper show enthusiastic community collaborative celebrations in Ghanaian communities across Canada.

Reports from Montreal, Ottawa, Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver, all show that the celebrations were collaborative events of youth and adults in the various communities.

The situation in Toronto, Canada’s largest City and home to the largest Ghanaian community in Canada was however appalling.

We cannot raise our heads and say that the event in Toronto was a success. Neither can we say that there was any collaboration between the youth and the adults in the celebrations in Toronto. For three years in a roll, the youth in Toronto, for whatever reasons, have organized parallel celebrations commemorating Ghana’s Independence on the same day. The youth events have all been packed to capacity while the adult versions of the celebration in another location in the same city have been poorly attended. This year was no exception and one could count the number at the adult event in Toronto on the finger tips.

This situation cannot be allowed to continue.

Something seems to be seriously wrong with the relationship between the adults and the youth in Toronto. There seems to be a real disconnect between these two groups of the same Ghanaian community family in Toronto.

We have had cause to raise this issue before in this column. We then called for positive moves to be made by the executives of the Ghanaian Association of Ontario to reach out to the youth to find ways of celebrating at least this particular event, our national day, as one national community event instead of competitive parallel events. Our earlier admonition seems to have fallen on deaf ears.

This year’s celebration in Toronto should therefore be a wake-up call for the adults in the community. They should swallow whatever pride is keeping them from reaching out to the youth to discuss the issues and factors contributing to this disconnect. There are issues, we know, and no-one should pretend there are not. The youth can do their own things, as youth do, with various events during the year, but at least on our national day, every effort should be made to hold a common, united celebration of which we shall all feel proud as Canadians of Ghanaian origin, adults, youth and children.

This is absolutely important and we are counting on the executive of the Ghanaian Association of Ontario and the various groups and organizations in Toronto to come together to find a solution to this impasse before the next independence anniversary comes off , the 58th edition, in March 2015.

Opinion/ Commentary Civic Awareness Indispensable Platform to Enhance Ghana’s Democracy

By Kwabena Akuoko Given that civic-minded citizenry is one of the core pillars on which democracy is built and defended, the architects o f G h a n a ’s 1 9 9 2 Constitution must be credited for the emphasis on civic education as an integral part of our c o u n t r y ’s s u p r e m e law. Albeit my praise for the recognition of civic education in the Constitution, I must say that the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), the public agency tasked with promoting civic education in Ghana exists only in a name. Notwithstanding its statutory guarantee under the Constitution, NCCE has not lived up to its responsibility in advancing civic awareness among Ghanaians and that has resulted in an increasing level of civic illiteracy in the country. The problem of citizens without the basic knowledge of their rights and responsibilities is unacceptable in democratic Ghana.

More needs to be done to address the lack of knowledge among the citizenry regarding civic rights and responsibilities.

A c c o r d i n g l y, c i v i c education needs to be considered as a core component of the education system. It is my firm belief that Ghana’s democratic development will strongly be enhanced if all Ghanaians, young and old are educated to understand their basic democratic rights and responsibilities. Strong emphasis on civics as a core subject in the school system that teaches rights, privileges and responsibilities is seriously needed. As well, grassroots adult literacy programs analogous to the Nkrumah’s era mass adult education strategy must be introduced as a platform to promote civic education for the ultimate benefit of our country’s democratic growth.

Coupled with strong emphasis on civics in the school system, adult literacy programs that offer instructions in the five principal Ghanaian languages about the importance of citizens’ rights and responsibilities in a democracy is necessary to enhance our country’s democracy. It must be noted however that the kind of adult literacy programs I am advocating are not necessarily about citizens’ ability

to read and write. Civic instructions in schools and adult civic literacy programs rooted in our country’s colonial past through the struggles for independence, subsequent military dictatorships to present day parliamentary democracy are some of the prerequisites necessary to build and maintain G h a n a ’s d e m o c r a c y.

Even basic awareness of their civic rights and responsibilities will enable both young and unaware old citizens to meaningfully contribute to Ghana’s democracy.

The vast lack of civic knowledge that exists among young Ghanaians in particular requires strong emphasis on civic instructions in the education system will not only equip them with the basic facts about principles of democracy, they stand to learn more a b o u t o u r c o u n t r y ’s past. For instance, a poll conducted during the 57 th Independence Anniversary celebrations surprisingly and sadly revealed that a significant number of first and second cycle students misinterpreted March 6, 1957 for Dr. Kwame Nkrumah’s (Ghana first p r e s i d e n t ) b i r t h d a y.

Many adults are no different than the large number of school children who lack knowledge about their democratic rights and responsibilities.

Some adults are also clueless about their rights and responsibilities.

Therefore, civic education that seeks to produce civic minded and well informed citizenry is crucially needed in Ghana. This will allow the population to understand the importance of participating in the democratic process.

Citizens who have civic knowledge also tend to be aptly in tune with civic engagement conducive to nation building simply because individual and collective participation in democracy is based on informed, critical reflection on the understanding and acceptance of the rights and responsibilities that go with citizenship.

Also, through civic education, citizens develop the responsibilities such as obeying the law, being informed and attentive to public issues, the importance of voting and paying taxes among other things. Similarly,

through civic education, citizens become aware of the negative ramifications of paying or accepting bribes for instance. This shows that democracy does not flourish in vacuum. It needs active, informed and responsible citizens; citizens who are willing and able to take responsibility for themselves and their communities and contribute to the political process. Finally, civic awareness allows citizens to become informed about the media and human rights, justice, equality, freedom and respect for authority.

Respect for justice and the rule of law, openness, tolerance, courage to defend a point of view and willingness to listen to, work with and stand up for others are all acquired through civic awareness. Civic instructions in schools is the primary means by which young people acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to participate in democracy in an informed and engaged fashion because the main rationale of civic education is about emphasizing literacy, which is geared towards an understanding of the basic principles of democracy. This is because civic education simply focuses on basic familiarities with prevailing social values, norms and an understanding of fundamental rights and responsibilities that go with citizenship.

In conclusion I wish to emphasize that by speaking out against the current arrangement where civic education or democratic rights and responsibilities are broadly considered under social studies in the school system is not good enough to develop a sense of appreciation for our country’s history, patriotism and love for the nation among compatriots who are young. Consequently, civic awareness should be separately and effectively taught in all schools. Last, but not the least, adult literacy programs framed under civic education must be vigorously promoted to produce civic minded citizens with the desired purpose of enhancing citizens participation in governance and thus s t r e n g t h e n G h a n a ’s hard won democracy.

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March 2014

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Getting distracted Driving and texting or talking on a cellphone is known to be a deadly combination, and yet people continue to do it.

All provinces in Canada have some form of cellphone/distracted driving legislation in place. Now, Ontario is looking to increase distracted driving fines – up to $1,000.00 plus three demerit points – making them the toughest in the country.

Hand-held cellphone legislation in Canada: In addition to banning cellphones, B.C. and Ontario also ban the use of hand-held electronic entertainment devices while driving.

On Tuesday, Ontario raised the distracted driving fine from $155 to $280.

If legislation introduced Monday is passed, it would increase the minimum penalty to at least $300 and as much as $1,000.

Penalties in other Provinces in Canada: Yukon - $250 fine plus 3 demerits, N.W.T. $100 plus 3 demerits, B.C. $167 plus 3 demerits, Alberta $172, Saskatoon $280 plus 4 demerits, Manitoba $200, Quebec $ 11 5 - $ 1 5 4 p l u s 3 demerits, New Brunswick $172.50 plus 3 demerits, New Foundland/Labrador $100-$400 plus 4 demerits, P.E.I $250-$400 plus 3 demerits, Nova

Scotia $164 (1st offence) $222, (2 nd) $337 (3 rd), Nunavut no laws in place.

In the United States: 12 states plus D.C. ban hand-held phone use, 37 states plus D.C, ban all cellphone use by new drivers, 42 states plus D.C. ban text messaging.

Distracted drivers in the U.K. get 3 penalty points and a fine of 100 pounds ($185). They can also be taken to court and disqualified from driving, plus get a maximum fine of 1,000 pounds (about $1,847).

Depending on the state, Australians are looking at either 3 or 4 demerits and a fine anywhere from $100 (C$102) to $433 (C$440) 24 hrs.

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Jim Flaherty, Federal Finance Minister, leaves cabinet resigns from Conservativecabinet after 8 years as Finance Minister Federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty has resigned from cabinet to prepare for work in the private sector, he announced in a news release Tuesday.

“Yesterday, I informed the prime minister that I am resigning from cabinet. This was a decision I made with my family earlier this year, as I will be returning to the private sector,” Flaherty said in a statement.

Joe Oliver to replace Jim Flaherty as finance minister Flaherty praised for prudent fiscal policy, steady hand in crisis Watch Chris Hall’s February interview with Jim Flaherty ​Read Jim Flaherty’s statement Read Stephen Harper’s statement on Jim Flaherty’s resignation Storify: Reaction to F l a h e r t y ’s r e s i g n a t i o n Conservative sources told CBC News that Flaherty spoke to his family at Christmas and made the decision then. He started calling close friends at 4 p.m. ET Tuesday, after the markets closed, to let them know of his decision.

Flaherty isn’t immediately going

Jim Flaherty, to a job in the private sector.

“As I reflect on my almost two decades in politics, I am proud of the accomplishments of the governments I was part of, provincial and federal.... Now, I will focus on life beyond politics as I return to the private sector. I believe that I have served my country, province and constituents of WhitbyOshawa to the best of my abilities and thank them for their continued trust and support for almost two decades,” Flaherty said in the statement.

Flaherty is staying on as an MP for the time being, his spokesman told CBC News.

PM names Joe Oliver as Finance Minister OTTAWA -- Prime Minister Stephen Harper tabbed Joe Oliver on Wednesday to take over from Jim Flaherty in the all-important Finance portfolio, and also promoted junior minister Greg Rickford to succeed Oliver at Natural Resources.

Southern Ontario backbench MP Ed Holder has also been brought into the cabinet fold, replacing Rickford as minister of state for science and technology.

In the past, even small cabinet shuffles have been documented with news releases and backgrounders.

This time -- and for the second time in less than a year -- Harper relied instead on Twitter to announce his newest lieutenants.

R E L AT E D S T O R I E S Oliver to replace Flaherty as finance minister “I just named Joe Oliver C a n a d a ’s n e w f i n a n c e minister,” the prime minister tweeted as the new ministers were sworn in at Rideau Hall. “He will continue to strengthen the economy & balance the budget by 2015.”

An hour later, he issued a five-paragraph statement on the shuffle.

“Mr. Oliver, Mr. Rickford and Mr. Holder bring with them a wealth of skills, knowledge and experience

Joe Oliver

and I am confident that they will deliver results and provide strong leadership in these important portfolios,” the statement said.

Oliver, 73, is widely respected within the Harper cabinet and Conservative party and is known on Bay Street, where he spent decades as an investment banker.

He went on to become executive director of the Ontario Securities Commission and then president of the Investment Dealers Association of Canada His sometimes gruff and often partisan demeanour is much different from that of the jocular Flaherty, who often poked fun at himself.

The 46-year-old Rickford, who has served as MP for Kenora since 2008, retains responsibility for economic development in Northern Ontario, including the region’s Ring of Fire mineral deposit.

He will also become the government’s point man on the tricky Keystone XL pipeline project, which is still awaiting approval in the U.S. Holder, 59, is an insurance broker from London, Ont., who was first elected to Parliament in 2008.

Flaherty was Harper government’s first and only finance minister until his departure, which he unexpectedly announced late Tuesday.

He managed the economy through the crippling recession of 2008-2009.

He went deep into the red with large deficits, but left the books virtually balanced after his Feb. 11 budget.

Flaherty said his decision was made with his family earlier this year. He said it was unrelated to a rare skin condition that requires him to take medication, which includes weight gain and apparent fatigue among its side effects.

“As I begin another chapter in my life, I leave feeling fulfilled with what we have accomplished as a government and a country during one of the most challenging economic periods in our country’s history,” Flaherty said in a statement.

He will continue to sit as the member of Parliament for the riding of WhitbyOshawa. The Canadian Press

Wynne shuffles cabinet after minister resigns Premier Kathleen Wynne has moved the chairs ing provincial politics to run for mayor of Brampton. around in her cabinet following the resig- She said she was troubled by the spending connation of Linda Jeffrey Tuesday afternoon. troversies surrounding current Mayor Susan Fennell, which include a sky-high salMaria Babbage, The Canadian Press ary and the approval of hundreds of millions of TORONTO -- Ontario Premier Kathleen Wyn- dollars for projects that weren’t completed or started. ne has moved the chairs around in her cabi- But the provincial Liberals have spending scandals of net following the resignation of Municipal Af- their own, including pulling the plug on two unpopular fairs and Housing Minister Linda Jeffrey. gas plants, which will cost taxpayers up to $1 billion.

Two backbenchers have been elevated to cabi- Jeffrey stood by the cancellation of the net, while three others have changed jobs. plants, despite the extraordinary cost that Bill Mauro of Thunder Bay takes over Jef- will likely become political cannon fodder. frey’s portfolio, while Oakville’s Kev- “It was a difficult decision, but I’m focused in Flynn talks over labour from Yasir Naqvi. on what’s happening in Brampton,” she said.

“Right now, I see some very troubling things that are being discovered on a daily, weekly basis. I Ontario Municipal Affairs and Housing Minis- think respect for taxpayers is an extraordinarily imter Linda Jeffrey speaks to the media in this file portant quality and I plan to bring that to the job.” photo. (The Canadian Press/Nathan Denette) Wynne has six months to call a byelecNaqvi takes over community safety and correc- tion in Jeffrey’s riding of Brampton-Springtional services from Madeleine Meilleur, who be- dale, unless there’s a general election. comes Ontario’s first francophone attorney general. She noted that Jeffrey was the first woman electHer predecessor John Gerretsen, who has said he ed to represent Brampton in provincial politics. won’t run for re-election, is minister without portfolio “I will personally miss Linda,” Wynne said in a stateand chairman of cabinet -- taking over from Jeffrey. ment. “She is a woman of integrity and honesty and Jeffrey announced earlier Tuesday that she’s leav- I wish her all the very best in her next endeavours.”

Jeffrey said she’s been lobbied to run for mayor of Brampton over the past year, with former Progressive Conservative premier Bill Davis -- who represented his hometown in the legislature -- being one of the most vocal proponents.

But she said she’s only been considering it seriously since January.

Jeffrey, who was first elected in the Liberal sweep of 2003, has also held the portfolios of natural resources, labour and minister responsible for seniors.

She was also the point person when it came to fielding questions about whether troubled Toronto Mayor Rob Ford should step aside after he confessed to smoking crack cocaine.

Jeffrey is the latest Liberal to announce that she’s calling it quits since Wynne took the top job just over a year ago.

Laurel Broten quit last July, following her cabinet colleagues Margarett Best, Dwight Duncan, Greg Sorbara, Chris Bentley and former premier Dalton McGuinty. Backbencher Kim Craitor also stepped down.

Joining the exodus are Gerretsen, Government Services Minister John Milloy, former cabinet ministers Rick Bartolucci, Harinder Takhar and Donna Cansfield, as well as MPP Phil McNeely, who have all said they don’t plan to run again.

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March 2014

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Canada pulls out last Cisco picks Toronto as one troops from Afghanistan, of 4 global innovation hubs ending 12 years of military operations

KABUL, Afghanistan -Canada ended military operations in Afghanistan on Wednesday, ending a 12-year mission as the international community winds down its role in the country ahead of an end-of-year deadline for foreign combat operations to end.

The Canadians formally ended their combat role in southern Afghanistan in July 2011 but maintained a small training operation in Kabul.

“Canada played a critical role in securing Kandahar Province and had a strategic impact across the country with their contribution to the NATO training mis-

sion,” the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Joseph Dunford, said during a flag-lowering ceremony at the headquarters for international forces in Kabul.

At its peak Canada was the sixth largest troopcontributing nation, behind the U.S., Britain, Germany, France and Italy. It deployed more than 40,000 service members to Afghanistan since the mission began in 2001.

Like Americans and Europeans, Canadians have grown weary of the war.

According to the Canadian government, 158 soldiers, one diplomat, one journalist and two civilian contractors were

killed in Afghanistan.

A statement by the NATO-led international Security Assistance Force said Canada also was instrumental in developing a network of roads as well as improving economic conditions and governance in Kandahar, the birthplace of the Taliban and one of the hardest areas to tame in Afghanistan.

Canada will continue to play a role in Afghanistan with the provision of $330 million to help sustain the Afghan security forces, it said.

The Canadian Press

Election bill sends ‘very poor message’ to budding democracies Proposed election changes set bad example for authoritarian countries trying to go democratic, expert says Proposed Fair the week after an open Elections Act re- letter to Prime Minister buked globally 7:50 Stephen Harper by 159 The Conservative gov- Canadian political sciernment is trying to ence and law professors. change Canadian elec- Reynolds calls Election law in a way that tions Canada “the is “deeply disturbing” pre-eminent example and “sends a very poor of an elections admessage” to countries ministration body.” trying to become democ- “Its autonomy, its inderacies, an international pendence, its capacity democracy expert says. to enforce free and fair The proposed changes, elections is something contained in Bill C-23, in- that is transported around clude limiting the topics the world,” he told Roseon which Canada’s chief mary Barton in an interelectoral officer could view on CBC News Netspeak, and eliminating work’s Power & Politics. vouching, a process that “Now, this legislation lets a voter vouch for would severely do damanother person in his age to the autonomy, or her riding to prove to the independence, that person’s identity. to the capacity of Elections Canada to manPierre Poilievre, minister age good elections.” of state for democratic re- ‘Partisan mechanism?’ form, is trying to change Reynolds said democCanadian election law racy advisers face a in a way that is ‘deeply challenge in trying to disturbing’ and ‘sends persuade new governa very poor message’ to ments to set up indecountries trying to be- pendent, autonomous come democracies, an election authorities. international democracy “When a democratic, expert says. (Fred Char- established democracy trand/Canadian Press) in the west like Canada Andrew Reynolds, an seems to be curtailing associate professor at its own ability to do the University of North that, it sends a very poor Carolina at Chapel Hill, message to new counwas one of 18 profes- tries in the Arab world, sors from around the in Africa, in Asia, who world who earlier this are attempting to move week signed an open from authoritarianism letter about their con- to democracy,” he said. cerns. Their letter came Reynolds said many of the bill’s measures

would weaken Elections Canada in its ability to “enforce legitimate elections.”

Pierre Poilievre, the minister of state for democratic reform and the MP who tabled the bill, says Elections Canada’s numbers show “irregularities” in 25 per cent of vouching cases from the 2011 election. But Harry Neufeld, the election expert on whose report Poilievre bases his claims, says Poilievre is “selectively” reading the report.

Reynolds says there’s almost no evidence that vouching “is a window to voter fraud.”

“There’s huge evidence to show that vouching would, if it was taken away, curtail the rights and accessibility of tens, if not hundreds of thousands of Canadians to vote,” Reynolds said, adding that the question is what is driving the proposal.

“Is it really fear of fraud and malfeasance? Or is it in fact a partisan mechanism to try and preclude some people from voting who should be legitimately voting?”

“In every case that we’ve seen a similar type of proposal, it has been about tilting the balance in favour of a given party,” he added.CBC News

Toronto will be the site of a $100-million global innovation centre dedicated to the “internet of everything,” Cisco Systems Inc. has announced.

The centre, to open at RBC WaterPark Place, a new complex scheduled for completion in spring 2015, will bring together startup companies and other innovators involved in developing new applications for smart connection technologies.

Cisco is one of the world’s biggest makers of internet backbone equipment and “internet of everything” technology will run on its networks.

The “internet of everything” is a term used to refer to internet-connected things such as smart vehicles, home security systems and appliances — and internetconnected processes, such as ways to connect retailers with customers or patients with healthcare providers. It’s a market Cisco estimates to be worth $19 trillion over the next 10 years.

The Toronto IoE Innovation Centre represents a $100-million investment in design and infrastructure, technology, staffing and operational costs by Cisco over the next 10 years. It is the first investment in a planned $2-billion commitment to Ontario that will result in 1,700 jobs, says Cisco Canada vice-president of marketing Mark Collins.

Collins said the centre Collins envisions that will be the most ad- new sensor and smart vanced internet-proto- technology could col (IP) enabled build- deal with problems ing in North America. such as transportation “It’s an environment de- gridlock in Toronto. signed for us to collabo- “If we were able to partrate with partners who ner and work with transwill take advantage of the portation organizations economic potential of the and the city itself and internet of everything,” we had smarter technolhe told CBC News. ogy that would allow “If you look at indus- people to know where tries like energy, like parking spots are behealth care — we’re fore they actually drive talking to major organi- downtown,” he said, “it zations where they’ll be could cut down the time able to come into this they waste seeking parkenvironment with ideas ing and trigger a more and other partners and dynamic city, where traf… collaborate with us, fic could flow faster and test out their ideas, ex- save time and energy.” periment with us and Further applications are ultimately develop the in health care, education, solutions of tomorrow.” municipalities, transporAn IP-enabled building tation and construction. would also offer advan- Late last year, Cisco tages such as the abil- committed to investity to control the light- ing $4 billion in Ontario ing and temperature in over the next 10 years. your workplace with It is a premier partner in a cellphone app. the 2015 Pan Am/Para Toronto is one of four Pan Am Games in Tosuch innovation hubs ronto and will also inplanned by the tech giant. vest in research chairs, The others are in Songdo, professorships and innoSouth Korea, Rio deJa- vation centres at 10 unineiro, Brazil, and an un- versities across Canada. named city in Germany. Toronto deputy mayor Cisco said the To- Norm Kelly welcomed ronto site will be a the creation of the in“North American hub novation centre, saying for thought leadership it will boost Toronto as and experimentation.” a place to do business.

“Innovation centres are “It will also position Toa key pillar of our strat- ronto as a unique tech egy to impact the pro- hub that will allow comductivity and innovation panies to harness Cisco’s trajectory of Canada,” expertise and leverage Cisco Canada presi- their ‘internet of everydent Nitin Kawale said thing’ market opportuniin a press statement. ty,” he said. CBC News

Province’s private clinics misleading, overcharging patients: public health advocates TORONTO - Public health advocates say many private clinics in Ontario are misleading patients and unlawfully billing them for medically unnecessary services.

The Ontario Health Coalition says a significant number of clinics they contacted were charging patients extra fees on top of billing the Ontario Health Insurance Plan for necessary procedures.

It says one clinic was charging patients $50 “administrative fees” for such things as a snack and patient records.

The group says such fees were more common

among cataract clinics, which were charging patients for medically unnecessary tests and procedures when they came in for needed surgery.

They say clinics are manipulating patients, who are confused about

what they need and what they don’t need.

The coalition says the government must crack down on such user charges which are more widespread than ever.

The

Canadian

Press

The Ghanaian News online Check it out www. ghanaiannews.ca

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The Ghanaian News March 2014

FOCUS Ghana Sitting on Riches? The Case of Ghana Tourist Authority!

By Joe Kingsley Eyiah, Teacher, Brookview Middle School, Toronto A video on the natural and human endowments of Ghana, a beautiful and hospitable country in West Africa by the Ghana Tourist Authority which has been in circulation on the social media since November, last year, has once again caught my attention to the ‘riches’ on which Ghana is sitting!

Oh my beautiful Ghana!!

I thank God for such endowments. However, the question then arises: Why is Ghana ‘poor’ in the midst of ‘plenty’?

Let me use the industry of tourism to briefly examine this question and offer suggestion for possible solution.

Research shows that tourism has become a popular global leisure a c t i v i t y. I t c a n b e domestic or international,

and international tourism has both incoming and outgoing implications on a country’s balance of payments. Today, tourism is major source of income for many countries, and affects the economy of both the source and host countries, in some cases it is of vital importance.

The industry of tourism in Ghana is run by a ministry which was created in 1993 to promote, develop and coordinate tourism related activities in the country. It is on record

that 1,087,000 million tourists visited Ghana in 2011. The country is endowed with all year round tropical climate and exotic wildlifes which are sources of major attraction to many tourists (both local and international).

The country’s tourist attractions include waterfalls such as Kintampo Waterfalls and the largest waterfall in west Africa, Tagbo Falls; Ghana’s coastal palmlined sandy beaches; caves; mountains, rivers; meteorite impact crater and reservoirs and lakes such as Lake Bosumtwi or Bosumtwi meteorite crater and the largest lake in the world by surface area, Lake Volta; dozens of castles and forts; UNESCO World Heritage Sites; nature reserves and national parks such as the Kakum National Park

and the Mole National Park. What a category of tourist attractions in the land of peace and political stability, called Ghana! After 57 years of independence from colonial rule Ghana ought to grow in her tourist industry!!

“The World Economic Forum statistics in 2010 showed that Ghana was 108th out of 139 countries a s w o r l d ’s f a v o r i t e tourism destinations. The country had moved two places up from the 2009 rankings. In 2011, Forbes Magazine, published that Ghana was ranked the

eleventh most friendly country in the world. The assertion was based on a survey in 2010 of a crosssection of travelers. Of all the African countries that were included in the survey Ghana ranked highest. Tourism is the fourth highest earner of foreign exchange f o r t h e c o u n t r y. ”

the roads were good!

It was safe to travel in Ghana! The government must maintain these roads and improve security in the country.

Ghana Tourist Industry headed by an appointed minister is ‘sitting’ on money! Get the government to construct good roads to these places!

I feel nostalgia viewing the Ghana Tourist Authority’s video! It reminds me of my numerous visits with my students through the GBC Fan Club & Wildlife Clubs of Ghana to many of these places in the 1980s! Then

Promote local tourism!

Organize good trips to such places for our locals for even their 20 & 50 cedis! Don’t wait for the foreign tourists!

CHARITY BEGINS AT HOME!! Ghana is rich!

Manage it well!!!!!!!

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For All Your Events Coverage Call The Ghanaian News 416-916-3700

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13

LEGAL MATTERS Potential consequences of driving while naked in Ontario

By Bode Odetoyinto, Mississauga The importance of knowing and obeying the conditions and limitations of your driver’s licence and vehicle insurance cannot be overstated. I call driving vehicle without insurance or the appropriate license driving naked.

Nakedness means bare, plain, devoid of usual or accepted covering.

Driving naked comes at a significant cost. Obeying the rules and having the right insurance means that if anything happens while you were properly licensed and insure, your insurance company will deal with the issue on your behalf.

Violations of the policy condition often time results in detailed investigations by the insurance company and denial of a claim. In this nightmare scenario, the individual is extremely naked.

How do you recognize if a person if driving while naked? Here is a very simple but not exhaustive list: i. If he has a G1 license, yet drives on the 400 series motor way or without a 4 year G class accompanying front seat passenger with blood alcohol level less than .05 – He is driving naked! ii. If he drives a vehicle a vehicle while his driver’s license is suspended – he is driving naked. iii. If he is a novice or young driver (under 22 years old) violates any of the conditions of his licences, it’s not only an offence, it could also void insurance liability and collision insurance cover since you he is not authorized by law to drive – He is driving naked! iv. If a parent permits a novice driver or a young driver to drive their ve-

hicle after he or she has had a “sip of beer”, or in other in circumstances in which the driver is “not authorized by law to drive”, they are committing a policy violation- They are probably driving naked! v. If you are a class G2 driver, by law you must not drive unless your blood alcohol concentration is zero – or you will be driving naked! vi. If you agree to exclude named persons (usually members of your household) from your car insurance yet such driver(s) drive in violation of policy conditions or permit others to do so you may void coverage – you are so naked! vii. Any violation of the driving conditions for a given class of licence will violate the “not authorized by law” condition for insurance. viii. A class G2 driver driving with four friends in the back seat, when the back seat is only equipped with three seat belts – is so naked.

What then happens if a person drives a vehicle in Ontario while uninsured or without a valid driver’s or violates his insurance policy and then has an accident injuring or killing another? The consequences can be devastating. Here are some of the consequences: a. If another person is injured as a result of the accident, there may be a crushing financial judg-

ment rendered against the driver and/or owner. b. The victim of the accident will likely receive compensation, even if the uninsured driver cannot afford to pay. This is because there are rules which usually require the victims’ own insurance company to pay the judgment, or which permit payment of some or all of the compensation from the Motor Vehicle Accident Claims Fund. c. The victims’ insurance companies or the Fund may be able to claim against the responsible uninsured driver and owner. d. The uninsured driver and owner’s future wages could be subject to garnishment and their assets subject to seizure. e. Once a judgment is obtained against the driver or owner, their driver’s licences may be subject to suspension until the judgment is paid. f. Section 198 of the Highway Traffic Act permits a suspension of the person’s driver’s licence if there is an unpaid judgment “for damages ... occasioned by a motor vehicle”. g. Other provisions permit the driver or owner to apply to court to get their driver’s licence back if they make a payment plan; however, this leaves the prospect that the driver or owner will be making payments for many years, possibly even for life. h. Bankruptcy likely will not solve the problem for the driver or owner. A discharge from bankruptcy might be opposed and the driver or owner required to pay part of the judgment. i. Bankruptcy might prevent the driver’s or owner’s wages from being garnished; how-

ever, the driver’s licence suspension likely would not be affected by the bankruptcy. j. Moving from Ontario likely also will not assist the driver or owner (depending on where the person moves) because of reciprocal arrangements between provinces which permit mutual enforcement of driver’s licence suspensions. k. In addition to the devastating civil consequences described above, a driver who is caught driving without insurance is liable under

the Compulsory Automobile Insurance Act to pay a heavy fine of “not less than $5,000 and not more than $25,000 for a first conviction,” and on a subsequent conviction “not less than $10,000 and not more than $50,000 and, in addition, his or her driver’s licence may be suspended for a period of not more than one year.”

Further, the vehicle being operated is subject to being impounded for three months.

only safe way to operate a vehicle is to have coverage at all times, obey all the conditions of the license and avoid any situations that may invalidate insurance.

Not having coverage on our roads in the event of the unexpected occurring is risky, expensive and can be life changing.

Bode Odetoyinbo is a partner at Odetoyinbo’s LLP Personal Injury Lawyers. He can be consulted at 905-4876333 or www.Lawyer4me.com

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Let's Talk Politics

Rational Choice and Institutional Development: Dilemmas of a Public Official

By Dr. Francis Wiafe-Amoako, Toronto Rational choice theorists have been able to convince us to think about the choices that people make in terms of those choices arrived at as a result of a cost-benefit analysis. So for example, if the benefit is greater than the cost, a particular behavior is preferred.

This is true for both moral and immoral behavioral choices. In other words, rational choice theorists try to erase from our world any accommodation for insanity or absurdity in choices and behaviors.

This line of thinking may offer explanations as to why some people will choose to continually engage in criminal and other deviant behaviors despite them being in jail many times. To these people, jail terms give them more benefit than living freely outside the confines of a jail.

Many of us are guided by this cost benefit-analysis in the choices that we make. Rational choice has relevance to the creation of stronger institutions in emerging democracies such as Ghana. Public officials, especially those with political power a n d inf luence, ha ve an incentive to create strong institutions.

One such institution is for anti-corruption.

Embedded in rational choice is self-interest.

Law-makers should be self-interested enough to create stronger anticorruption institutions so they do not have much trouble when they leave public office. I have heard ex-public officials (MPs) complaining about corruption in public organizations and ports of entry into Ghana. I wonder why such MPs did not put in place effective anticorruption laws when they had the opportunity to do so. Certainly, during a public official’s tenure in office, their influence shielded them against the negative impact of corruption or they just did not recognize the reality of corruption at all. Now that the “shield” is gone, ex-public officials get to taste the reality of corrupt activities. The truth of

the matter is that public officials detest corruption only when they are politically weak just like the average Ghanaian.

Once political power is attained, any serious effort at addressin g corruption dissipates. It is more talk at tackling corruption than actually addressing it.

I remember when the Kuffour government came to power in 2000, many NDC ministers and other public officials found themselves at the wrong end of the law.

Some had their normal lives completely altered by having to sit in jail.

Others met their demise probably out of the shock that what they perceived as normal during their tenure in office could result in jail terms. Still, others lived daily with threats of arrests and thus accumulated high legal bills. When the NDC came back to power in 2008, many in the Kuffour government, including ministers and MPs, faced threats of arrests and jail terms. The Mills government accused many NPP ministers and MPs of corruption. The government therefore spent quite some time after inauguration chasing ex-public officials to recover government cars and other government properties. The time spent could have been used to develop longterm strategies to move Ghana forward. Many other ex-public officials were investigated by the BNI, and others also got a date with the Serious Fraud office. At the end of the day valuable time and efforts were wasted because many of those allegations turned out to have no basis to warrant any investigations.

Corruption, in this case, may have been assumed instead of it actually occurring.

One of the things we need to think about is the basis upon which corruption charges were brought against ex-public officials. Obviously there must have been an existing law for which they may have violated.

The other thing has to do with how ex-public officials were able to violate the existing law during their tenure. This is where the other puzzle of a comprehensive law – ENFORCEMENT – becomes critical. Public officials may not like institutions that enforce laws, but it is the same institutions that will give them peace when they are out of office. Any serious institution should be one that works. If public officials find it difficult to exercise self-control and stay clear of corrupt and other deviant activities, they must be helped. Even in advanced states such as the United States, where effective institutions exist, public officials try to find opportunities to abuse their office. These deviant officials are investigated, prosecuted, and deservedly punished whiles they are still in office. How is this possible? Public officials are monitored and investigated when the need be. This includes their banking activities, investments, emails (when sanctioned), etc.

The issue therefore becomes whether Ghanaian public officials are ready to act rationally and actually do a costbenefit analysis in the choices they make and the behaviors they engage in regarding corruption. Here comes the dilemma. When lawmakers develop laws that strengthen enforcement institutions, the same law will alter their behaviors, lifestyles, etc.

Institutions, by default, have the objective of doing so. Interpreting the resulted behavior is a matter of perception.

I already mentioned in an earlier article that, public officials are at a huge advantage, not in terms of how much

money they could amass whiles in office, but the knowledge they acquire whiles in office.

People or opponents could criticize you for your wealth, but they cannot criticize you for the worth of knowledge you have acquired whiles being a public official. This knowledge can be used to establish a private business (i.e.

consulting business, or teach in a university, etc.). Institutions to nip corruption at its roots are just one aspect of creating viable institutions for democratic consolidation in Ghana. MPs and other public officials should be incentivized enough to pursue this direction even though the shortterm benefits may not be “palatable.”

D r. F r a n c i s Wi a f e Amoako is an adjunct professor in International Relations and African Studies at the University of Toronto and Ryerson University. He is also the director of the Center for the Sustained Domestic Security and Development (CESDOSED).

Mahama welcomes new tax reforms for presidents President John Mahama has declared Ghanaians to also pay their taxes. support for the proposal that the President, Vice President and public H e a f f i r m e d g o v e r n m e n t ’s office holders pay tax to the state. c o m m i t m e n t t o u s e t h e t a x pool to enhance the country’s According to the president, the move g r o w t h a n d d e v e l o p m e n t . is laudable and he fully supports it.

President Mahama further clarified He said: ‘The president’s income, on the specific items on which as president, is exempt from taxes he was filing the tax returns. and the Constitution Review Implementation Committee has made the recommendation to make the president’s official income taxable and I think it’s a good thing and I support it’.

“I receive royalties on my book and I also have extra income from some agricultural activity that I undertake with my family,” he explained.

Meanwhile, the GRA has also welcomed the proposal by the Moves to get the president, vice Constitution Review Implementation president and public office holders to Committee for the President, pay tax to the state is part of a draft Vice-President and public office bill submitted by the Constitution holders to pay tax to the state.

Review Implementation Committee (CRIC) to the Attorney-General. The authority commended the president for showing leadership The current 1992 Constitution in paying regularly his tax returns. exempts presidents from paying tax but the provision has been According to the Commissioner of r o u n d l y b e e n c r i t i c i s e d . the Domestic Tax Revenue Division of the GRA, Comfort Boahene, it is Speaking at the Flagstaff House committed to widening the tax net of during the filling of his tax the country to increase the revenue returns, President Mahama urged pool of the country. Citifmonline.com

For All Your Events Coverage Call The Ghanaian News 416-916-3700

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March 2014

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Canadians living outside country may be surprised to learn they owe Ottawa taxes

MONTREAL - Globalization is luring Canadians every year to work, travel or retire in low or tax-free countries with the mistaken belief that they can shed their tax obligations at home.

But experts in the field say the only way to legally free yourself of Canadian income tax is to completely severe ties with the country and become a permanent resident elsewhere.

Things like provincial health coverage, Canadian bank accounts, cars, membership in social clubs or a spouse and dependent children living in Canada affect your status as a non-resident in the government’s eyes.

“You cannot reduce your tax burden if you are a Canadian resident working and living abroad,” says Allan Madan, a chartered accountant and tax expert in Toronto.

Cleo Hamel, a senior tax analyst with H&R Block says many Canadians only realize their mistake years after departing the country. Many assume payment of Canadian taxes isn’t required if they live outside the country for a year.

“Most people think about the actual move or they think about the life that they’re going to lead outside of the country, without actually thinking or researching if there are any tax implications,” she said from Calgary.

Ex pats who maintain close ties with Canada must file tax forms annually and pay Canadian taxes on their worldwide income. Credit is given for any taxes paid the 93 countries that have tax treaties with Canada, to prevent double-taxation.

Technology that allows electronic records to flow easily between governments is making it harder to get away with not paying taxes on worldwide income. Canadian law requires that the government be notified of transfers from foreign to Canadian bank accounts.

The restrictions have prompted some Canadians to completely sever their Canadian ties.

Madan says he’s been fielding a growing number of calls in the past couple of years, especially from middle-aged, high income executives seeking to relocate to tax-free or low tax

zones in the Caribbean or the Middle East.

“For the most part, that’s where their work is taking them, but they’re decision is heavily influenced by the tax situation,” he said in an interview from Toronto.

Someone making $1 million a year abroad can save more than $450,000 in Canadian taxes by changing their residency from Ontario to a tax-free country like Saudi Arabia.

retirees move to warmer climates or the U.S. Some leave to return to their country of birth.

While tax savings influence the decision about becoming a non-resident of Canada, Cadesky said it is rarely the only factor and driving force.

“The tax rates in Canada are sufficiently manageable, even though they’re high, particularly for people that have investment income,” he said.

Canada Revenue Agency says about 20,000 people a year request a determination of residency, with 60 to 75 per cent coming from people leaving Canada.

Cadesky said the easiest way to qualify in the 93 countries that have tax treaties with Canada is to establish a permanent residency in the new country.

He said CRA tends to be “quite reasonable.”

Cadesky warns there

are many traps that can ensnare foreign workers who try to navigate through the process without the help of a tax professional.

“It’s a horrible exercise if you try to do it yourself,” Cadesky said.

He advises that workers being transferred by their company seek an allowance to spend on tax advice .

The Canadian Press.

The tax savings would be much less if they relocate to the United States or Europe where tax rates are similar to Canada.

Michael Cadesky, an international tax specialist with Cadesky and Associates, says people are much more mobile these days because of globalization, EU laws that let their passport holders work without permits, and NAFTA that allows some professionals to work in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

The Toronto tax expert said workers tend to relocate to countries where jobs are available in their industry, while

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IMMIGRATION AND SOCIAL ISSUES By: James A. Kwaateng, B.A. (Hons), LLB (Hons)

In-Canada Applications for Refugee Claims versus In-Canada Humanitarian and Compassionate Applications Under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA), refugee protection is conferred on a person when the person has been determined by the Refugee Board to be a Convention refugee or a person in need of protection or when the Minister allows an application for protection.

A claim for refugee protection may be made in or outside Canada. Claims made inside Canada are made to an immigration officer, who, pursuant to the Act, shall, upon receipt of a claim, promptly determine whether the claim is eligible to be referred to the Refugee Protection Division (RPD) for further action on the claim.

or membership in a particular social group. The second and third grounds – a danger of torture and a risk to life or a risk of cruel and unusual treatment or punishment - are the basis for finding a claimant to be a person in need of protection.

The Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) is allowed to grant protection on three different basis which are on convention refugee ground; on ground of danger of torture and, lastly, on ground of a risk to life or a risk of cruel and unusual treatment or punishment.

The convention grounds are dealt with in section 96 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) while the danger of torture grounds are dealt with in section 97(1)(a) of the Act and risk to life and of cruel and unusual treatment or punishment grounds are dealt with in secThe first ground – con- tion 97(1)(b) of the Act. vention refugee ground - needs to relate to the There is a mistaken beperson’s political opinion, lief that the requirements race, religion, nationality for refugee claims and

protection applications are necessarily the same as the requirements for humanitarian and compassionate applications.

Based on this false assumption, there is a tendency for people who are unaware of this difference to submit applications for convention refugee or for protection instead of making humanitarian and compassionate applications and vice versa.

To apply for permanent residence from within Canada on humanitarian and compassionate grounds (H&C), one must be a foreign national currently living in Canada.

The person would also need an exemption from one or more requirements of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act

Russia bans entry to 13 Canadian lawmakers in spat over Ukraine Wouters, the clerk of the privy council; JeanF r a n c o i s Tr e m b l a y, deputy secretary to the cabinet; and Christine Hogan, assistant secretary to the cabinet.

MP Opitz on entry ban issued by Russia OTTAWA -- Russia on Monday slapped an entry ban on 13 Canadian lawmakers and officials, including House of Commons Speaker Andrew Scheer and government House leader Peter Van Loan, in retaliation for Canadian sanctions over Ukraine.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry called the move a response to Canadian travel bans and economic sanctions imposed earlier on a number of Russian officials -- “unacceptable action by the Canadian side that has inflicted serious damage to bilateral relations,” the ministry said in a statement.

The move follows Canada’s decision to act in unison with the U.S. to introduce sanctions targeting members of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s entourage following Russia’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea region. “ C a n a d i a n o ff i c i a l s named by Russia aren’t oligarchs or threatening to annex parts of peaceful neighbours by military force,” the Department of Foreign Af-

In this March 21, 2014, photo, Russian President Vladimir Putin signs bills making Crimea part of Russia in the Kremlin in Moscow. (AP Photo/Sergei Chirikov, Pool)

fairs said in a statement.

Speaking from The Hague, where he is attending a nuclear security summit with Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird echoed Liberal MP Irwin Cotler in describing the sanctions as a “badge of honour.”

“Any country who thinks that in the 21st century you can simply rewrite the borders of Europe is wrong, and it’s of deep concern,” Baird said.

“None of the people listed today are threatening the territorial integrity or sovereignty of the Russian Federation. I think it also says we’ve certainly got the attention of those in the Kremlin.”

Russian retaliation was bound to come, said NDP Leader Tom Mulcair.

“It’s a sign that we are heading into an era of much chillier relations, but it was predictable. And frankly, if that’s the price to pay to start sending a message to Putin, so be it.”

Sen. Raynell Andreychuk, a Conservative senator from Saskatchewan, is also on the list, along with Paul Grod, national president of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress.

“I wear my exclusion from Russia as a badge of honour and am proud to be in such distinguished company,” Cotler said in a statement.

Liberal MP Ralph Goodale called the Russian move “deeply insulting”, especially in targeting Scheer.

Cotler said he was first banned from Russia 35 years ago for his efforts on behalf of Soviet-era dissidents.

“The Speaker embodies the rights and privileges of all MPs and indeed the very dignity of the whole House,” Goodale said.

The Russians say the Canadian sanctions are unacceptable and have inflicted serious damage on relations between the two countries.

In addition to Scheer, Van Loan and Cotler, the Russians also banned Tory MPs Ted Opitz, James Bezan and Dean Allison, Liberal MP Chrystia Freeland and NDP MP Paul Dewar.

Also named are Wayne

The Russian Foreign Ministry said Russia remains open to “constructive” cooperation with Canada, but added that “we don’t need such co-operation more than Ottawa does.”

- With files from The Associated Press

or Regulations. Strictly speaking, a person is eligible to apply for permanent residence from within Canada only if he or she falls within the following classes: Spouse or Common-law partner; Live-in caregiver; Protected person and Conventional refugees, and Temporary Resident Permit Holders.

If you do not fall within any of the afore-mentioned categories, you need an exemption. Section 25(1) of the Act allows foreign nationals who are inadmissible or who are ineligible to apply in an immigration class, to apply for permanent residence, or for an exemption from a requirement of the Act, based on humanitarian and compassionate considerations.

For the application to succeed, the H&C applicant should demonstrate in his or her application that he or she would experience unusual and undeserved or disproportionate hardship if the application

does not succeed and he or she is made to go back home and apply. It should be noted that H&C applications would rarely succeed without elements of hardship. Even though hardships can arise out of risk to life and risk of torture, cruel and unusual treatment, hardships are not necessarily risks.

Caution must be exercised by applicants not to convert their H&C applications to refugee claims or applications for protection under the Act (IRPA) and vice versa. They are not the same. The requirements and mode of assessment for H&C applications are substantially different from those of refugee claims or applications for protection. Seek professional advice when in doubt.

James A. Kwaateng is an Immigration Law practitioner with offices located at 168A Oakdale Road, Suite 4, Toronto, Ontario. For thorough discussion of your immigration and related social and legal issues, you may contact him at telephone number (416) 743-2758.

Getting distracted Driving and texting or talking on a cellphone is known to be a deadly combination, and yet people continue to do it.

All provinces in Canada have some form of cellphone/distracted driving legislation in place. Now, Ontario is looking to increase distracted driving fines – up to $1,000.00 plus three demerit points – making them the toughest in the country.

Hand-held cellphone legislation in Canada: In addition to banning cellphones, B.C. and Ontario also ban the use of hand-held electronic entertainment devices while driving.

On Tuesday, Ontario raised the distracted driving fine from $155 to $280.

If legislation introduced Monday is passed, it would increase the minimum penalty to at least $300 and as much as $1,000.

Penalties in other Provinces in Canada: Yukon - $250 fine plus

3 demerits, N.W.T. $100 plus 3 demerits, B.C. $167 plus 3 demerits, Alberta $172, Saskatoon $280 plus 4 demerits, Manitoba $200, Quebec $ 11 5 - $ 1 5 4 p l u s 3 demerits, New Brunswick $172.50 plus 3 demerits, New Foundland/Labrador $100-$400 plus 4 demerits, P.E.I $250-$400 plus 3 demerits, Nova Scotia $164 (1st offence) $222, (2 nd) $337 (3 rd), Nunavut no laws in place.

In the United States: 12 states plus D.C. ban hand-held phone use, 37 states plus D.C, ban all cellphone use by new drivers, 42 states plus D.C. ban text messaging.

Distracted drivers in the U.K. get 3 penalty points and a fine of 100 pounds ($185). They can also be taken to court and disqualified from driving, plus get a maximum fine of 1,000 pounds (about $1,847).

Depending on the state, Australians are looking at either 3 or 4 demerits and a fine anywhere from $100 (C$102) to $433 (C$440) 24 hrs.

The Ghanaian News

March 2014

17

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The Ghanaian News March 2014

Brampton, Ont., courthouse Temporary foreign worker shooting: Officer wounded, program abuse to bring suspect dead heavy fines Victim rushed to hospital, suspect shot dead by police

A Peel Regional Police officer was rushed to hospital after he was shot inside a courthouse in Brampton, Ont., Friday morning. Police say the suspect was then shot dead during an interaction with police that followed.

CBC News has confirmed that Michael Klarenbeek is the name of the officer shot at the Brampton courthouse.

He was transported to Brampton Civic Hospital for treatment, where his condition is stable.

The province’s Special Investigations Unit (SIU) said that at about 11 a.m. on Friday, a man entered the courthouse at 7755 Hurontario St. and “discharged a firearm reportedly injuring a Peel Regional Police Service officer.”

“There then was an interaction involving officers with the Peel Regional Police and the man. During the i n te raction, a PRPS

officer discharged his firearm and the man was struck and has been pronounced dead.”

P o l i c e c o n v e rg e o n Brampton courthouse Police converge on the Brampton courthouse where a police officer was shot this morning. (Christopher Williams/CBC)

“I was just standing outside on the second floor and we just saw three cruisers pull up very urgently to the front of the door and then officers ran in. Then we heard an officer on The S IU a sking fo r the second floor basically witnesses to come forward. instructing us to get inside the court as soon as possible The first floor of the and lock ourselves in.” courthouse was in lockdown and police Patel said people on the tactical units were on second floor have since the scene as of 1 p.m. been allowed out of the courtrooms but are being Peel Regional Police restricted to the second floor.

Const. Fiona Thivierge said there was no risk The SIU automatically to the general public. investigates all incidents in which anyone is hurt or Shortly after noon ET, killed during an interaction CBC News spoke with with police. CBC News He died at scene, according to the SIU. There are 15 SIU investigators probing the circumstances of the man’s death .

New measures expected to be included in spring budget bill

Sangetta Patel, a criminal lawyer who was inside the courthouse at the time of the shooting. The federal government says it will bring in legislation to allow it to impose She didn’t witness what heavy penalties on firms that abuse the happened, but said she temporary foreign worker program. heard an officer yell up to the second floor for A g o v e r n m e n t s o u r c e s a y s t h e everyone to get back measure will be contained in the inside the courtrooms budget implementation bill being and to lock all doors. tabled in Parliament later today.

The new measures will be in place starting in early 2015.

The source says the nature of the penalties have still to be determined, but it will be the strongest action the government has taken so far on the controversial issue.

The legislation will authorize the employment minister to penalize employers who issue false declarations about their use of foreign workers or who use foreign workers to replace Canadians.

The program has come under fire after revelations that employers were bringing in temporary foreign workers at a time of abnormally high unemployment following the 2008-09 recession.

Some estimates indicate the number of temporary workers in Canada

doubled in seven years to about 340,000 as of December 2012.

The program became a political hot potato last spring after it was revealed that the Royal Bank of Canada contracted with a supplier for IT assistance, which resulted in the bank firing Canadians while the new supplier brought in foreign workers to replace them.

The bank apologized for the incident.

Earlier this week, the Parliamentary Budget Officer reported that he could find little evidence of systemic or countrywide job shortages or skills mismatches, although he said there was some labour-market tightness in Saskatchewan and some isolated sectors.

I n t h e C o m m o n s o n T h u r s d a y, Employment Minister Jason Kenney denied saying there was a national crisis.

“I have stood up in front of business groups and said that if employers want to keep complaining about a general skills shortage, then they should be reflecting that by increasing salaries, wages, benefits and investments in training,” he said. The Canadian Press

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The Ghanaian News

March 2014

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The Ghanaian News March 2014

Climate change report: The good and bad news for Canada record rates since the 1970s, for example.

By the middle of this century, the top of the world is expected to be ice-free for 125 days a year, considerably above the current 50 days. That open water provides a very convenient shortcut between Europe and Asia for shipping, access to vast resources of oil and gas, opens the door to ecotourism, and, of This report (which will be officially course, that all translates into jobs. released on Sunday evening) was prepared by climate scientists from So, from an economic point of view, 100 countries, who are gathered climate change is, in many ways, good in Japan this week. It outlines the for Canada. Then again, the economy has consequences of the unprecedented always come ahead of the environment. rate of change in the Earth’s climate and the implications for society.

The irony is that while much can be gained from an open Arctic passage, For Canada, it’s a mixed blessing. almost all of the commercial activities in The Arctic region has been warming the North accelerate the warming climate: four times faster than the rest of Smoke from increased shipping can the planet, bringing about dramatic settle on snow, making it darker, so environmental change, but that same it absorbs sunlight and melts faster. change opens up the North to commerce.

Oil and gas extraction means more greenhouse gas emissions will be Ice covering the Arctic Ocean has been blown back into the atmosphere disappearing during the summertime at The latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) sends out another warning of the dramatic changes taking place in the global environment, but there are parts of Canada that stand to gain from a warmer world.

KFS

from technology that burns it.

The loss of ice is changing the colour of the Earth, from white sea water and land to dark, which absorb sunlight rather than reflect it, adding to the warming.

Melting permafrost releases methane, another greenhouse gas, which adds to the mix of warming agents heating the planet.

All of these effects add to the vicious cycle of ever-increasing rates of warming, which affects everything that lives in the Arctic - from polar bears to migrating birds and animals, to fish stocks and the people who live in the North. That cycle will be very hard to break, as long as the economic gains continue to increase.

Perhaps that is why Canada has become one of the worst performers when it comes to curbing greenhouse gas emissions.

According to the Washington-based Center for Global Development, Canada has fallen to dead last compared to 27 other OECD countries (Organisation

It will be interesting to see how long the short-term economic gains can stay ahead of the long-term environmental costs. CBC News

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March 2014

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‘Sunshine list’ 2014: Ontario’s top public earners list released Tom Mitchell, president and CEO list was released to the public in of Ontario Power Generation, the form of five thick binders, tops list with $1.71M in earnings C B C Q u e e n ’s P a r k r e p o r t e r Genevieve Tomney reported.

Ontario’s list of public servants w h o t a k e h o m e m o r e t h a n The heads of large provincial bodies $100,000 a year — the so-called such as Ontario Power Generation Sunshine List — has been released. and Ontario Hydro often top the list. Tom Mitchell, president and The list chronicles every public CEO of Ontario Power Generation, provincial servant whose paycheque topped the list with earnings of exceeds six figures. This year’s $1.71 million last year. Carmine

Marcello, the president and CEO of year’s list, while 97,796 names Hydro One, brought in $728,570. — an 11 per cent increase — made it onto this year’s iteration.

The average salary on the list comes in at $127,433, slightly less than According to Talbot, if the list last year. According to Tara Talbot, was adjusted for inflation since vice-president of human resources of 1996, the real benchmark salary Workopolis says the average public s h o u ld b e a r o u n d $ 1 4 5 , 0 0 0 . sector salary is about $52,000 per year. The Sunshine List was brought in under the Mike Harris-led Progressive Each year the list gets longer. Conservative government in 1996. At There were 88,412 names on last the time, Harris said it served as an important check on the public payroll.

The Public Salary Disclosure Act requires organizations that receive public funding from the Province of Ontario to disclose annually the names, positions, salaries and total taxable benefits of employees paid $100,000 or more in a calendar year.

The act applies to organizations such as the Government of Ontario, Crown agencies, municipalities, hospitals, public health boards, school boards, universities, colleges, Hydro One, Ontario Power Generation, and other public sector employers who receive a significant level of funding from the provincial government.

Since then there have been calls to raise the $100,000 salary threshold.

CBC.ca will also publish the entire list after its release in a document you can search. CBC News

24

The Ghanaian News March 2014

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The Ghanaian News

March 2014

27

Burger King Baby finds birth mom 27 years later after Facebook campaign, gets long-awaited hug

A woman who, as a newborn, was abandoned in the bathroom of a Pennsylvania fast-food restaurant said Tuesday she has found her birth mother just three weeks after launching a search that garnered worldwide attention.

logical mother for the first time Monday at an attorney’s office. And, after she learned the sad details of her conception and abandonment, she said she understood why her mom did what she did.

“She is better than anything I could’ve ever imagined. She is so sweet and amazing. I’m so happy,” said Deprill,

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The photo was shared more than 30,000 times by Facebook users around the world, and Deprill’s story landed in numerous media outlets.

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The Ghanaian News March 2014

BUSINESS The Bankruptcy Trustee Is Not Your Friend By: Ken Ntiamoa, MBABIA Insolvency Counsellor

“ Be warned that the bankruptcy trustee is the prosecutor, the judge and the jury all rolled into one.”

Let me ask you this question; if you were faced with a criminal o ff e n c e , w o u l d y o u face the prosecutor, the judge and the jury alone?

Probably, not! You would go to court in the company o f a g o o d l a w y e r.

Similarly, if you are faced with debt problems and you are considering declaring bankruptcy, or a proposal to your creditors, it is not a good idea to face the trustee alone. Be warned that the bankruptcy trustee is the prosecutor, the judge and the jury all rolled into one. He works for the Bank and not for you.

A bankruptcy trustee is appointed by the bankruptcy court to oversee the bankruptcy of an individual or a business. The duties of the bankruptcy trustee include:

Collecting • and selling assets • Paying off creditors with the assets in order of priority class.

• In a Chapter 11 Reorganization, to operate the business so as to preserve the value of business assets • To m a k e periodic reports to the court on the progress o f t h e b a n k r u p t c y.

A bankruptcy trustee, like other trustees, has a fiduciary duty to be responsible for the funds under his/her care.

A friend of mine from the Bahamas went to a bankruptcy trustee to declare bankruptcy. The

Trustee was very nice to him in the information gathering stage to such an extent that he felt he and the trustee were friends. “What’s your name, job, income, RRSPs, homeowner and so on? In the process the trustee found out that my friend was from the Bahamas. “Oh, you are from the Bahamas? The trustee queried. I hear it is a beautiful place. I would like to visit there someday” “Oh, Yes. I’m from the Bahamas and it is a beautiful place.

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Integrated approach to investment needed – Bank of Ghana Head of SBG Securities Ghana, the brokerage arm of Stanbic Bank, Mr Fouad Idun-Ogde has called for an integrated drive to educate Ghanaians on investment and investing the right way.

A challenge we face as a people is that there is not enough local retail content when it comes to securities, investing and investment issues. Many investors thus choose to focus on relatively guaranteed Government bills and shy away from the securities market, he said.

invest when they do not understand the mechanics and the products.

At SBG Securities we make a conscious effort to ensure that all our clients have adequate appreciation of the market dynamics before investing. The various industry players need to drive this awareness on investment, he added.

SBG recently organised Standard Banks 2nd Annual West African Investors Conference in Accra. The essence was to provide a platform for investors to engage with locally listed Speaking in an interview with companies to gain insights on the journalists on Thursday, Mr Idun- operations and outlook for these firms.

Ogde said foreign institutions and more savvy investors had a better The conference was also to sell appreciation of investments on the the Ghanaian story as well as raise stock market and were making very the interest of investors while decent returns on the securities market. improving liquidity on the bourse.

He said Ghana was the fourth best performance market on the continent with year to date return of 43.4% in dollar terms in 2013. Malawi was first returning 62.20% while Nigeria and Kenya jointly returned 43.60%.

A representative of the Ministry of Finance who spoke at the conference applauded the idea of Government and stakeholders engaging with investors to share ideas and opportunities that would promote the growth agenda of the country.

Mr Idun-Ogde called for a joint effort from policy makers, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE), the brokerage and advisory community and other stakeholders to take steps to educate the populace on There is plenty of emptiness economic, self-imposed exiles. the general investment climate In our midst for us to get any happiness With no fixed plans to return and dealings on the stock market.

But, we only wor- home any time soon to exhale.

Also present was the Director General, Securities and Exchange Commission Mr. Adu AnaneAntwi, who stressed that the capital market was a necessary condition for development of the economy since it enhanced efficient financial intermediation, increased savings mobilisation, The situation at the home-front is making people always crav- Trading in equity assets is unique improved efficiency and volume ing to exchange places somewhere and needs to be handled very of investment to aid economic But, there is no green pasture anywhere We keep searching in vain well. You cant just ask people to growth and development. GNA

Too Much Heartache and Headache In The ‘Hood.

ry about the cedi’s wellness When all our river bodies have been polluted And, our forest has been depilated Our natural resources are getting hammered While our politicians are making corruption hallmarked As if it’s nothing that requires an immediate attention.

I wonder if we have ever thought about the long- term ramifications of our actions.

Sadly and gradually, we’re leaving the next generation with inhabitable nation.

The damage we’ve caused will stop God Almighty from answering our prayers for years.

We’re not even truthful tithe or tax payers.

Now we wonder when everything goes astray.

With too many inequities and iniquities in our system, things are bound to be in disarray.

Oh, Lordy, in a nation with an abundant resources and just twenty-something million bodies There is no reason to pan-handle for loans across the globe.

While its offspring meanders across the globe.

Ghana’s sons and daughters have become globetrotters and socio-

While stretching and tearing our veins How can the government contain the anger and indignations of the people?

When they will one day flex their fists on the table Because there is too much headache in the ‘hood.

Why so many heartache Ghanaians walking around?

No wonder, they’re not staying around.

One day they will end up weaving their “tweaa flags “with no fears.

Because frustrations are their spears.

They’ll be singing, “tweaa, boys abre!”

I wonder if anyone has ears to hear me.

Tweaaa, not when our Mps are enjoying the gravy train In their selfcontains.

Perhaps they’re saying,” double tweaa, boys abre!! “ Baabia awu !!

Kwaku Adu-Gyamfi (voice of reason) Asuom, Kwaebibirem district. *The author is a social commentator and founder of the Adu-Gyamfi foundation for the Disadvantaged Youth of Asuom.

For All Your Events Coverage Call The Ghanaian News 416-916-3700

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March 2014

29

TALKING FINANCES Excuses vs. Results

By: Gabriel Quayson, Toronto Everyone has a story about why they are where they are: They may range from abuse, neglect, unloved, lack of support, divorce, marriage, born poor, etc. The stories you tell yourself, will eventually be believed by you. If you feed yourself any story long enough, you will start to believe it, whether it’s true or not.

In a previous article, I discussed the conscious mind and the subconscious mind. A brief introductory about the mind will set the state for this article. We have two minds, a conscious and the subconscious.

The conscious mind is the basis of our 5 senses (taste, see, hear, smell and touch).

The conscious mind is known as our working memory and individuals have absolute control over it. One very important aspect of the conscious mind is that it has the power of rejection, ie: filter what comes in. The subconscious on the other has no rejection power and will accept whatever the conscious has allowed to exist for a reasonable amount of time. The subconscious is further

not aware of what is real and what is imagined.

This means that whatever images (story or excuses) you hold in thoughts long enough, eventually the subconscious will believe to be real and move into turning it into reality. Yet, our behaviour is driven by the subconscious mind. The information that has been allowed to stay in the conscious long enough becomes part of the programming of the subconscious, which then moves us habitually in a certain direction. The direction of movement will then determine the results that we get. The said result/achievement will never change until we do something different.

My challenge to you is that once you become an adult (18yrs old plus), you have to take matters into your own hands and design the best life for yourself regardless of your story. Your story should not be an inhibitor. You should find the strength within your story to boost you. Your history or experience is a valuable resource to rely on as reference for wisdom.

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do not take no for an answer. They stop making excuses and take action.

chronically late for most appointments and their story is traffic. But everyone experiences traffic. The late arrivers have told the traffic story to themselves long enough that they do not need to find ways to work on that weakness. If they told a different story, their brain will start to look for a solution. A better story will be everyone has the same traffic as me, why am I always late?

Dr. David Schwartz in his book entitled, The Magic of Thinking Big mentions that the major difference between successful and unsuccessful people is the ability to not make excuses. Schwartz claimed unsuccessful people are constantly making excuses for why their life is stuck and tell a story of some set back years ago. The story gives them comfort as they accept the spectator role in their own life instead of a participant. Successful people on the other hand have realized that making excuses will not move them ahead in their path.

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Dr. Schwartz says that if you study successful people, they have the same options to make excuses but they do not make them. In his own life, he confirmed that he has been successful whenever he called out on his own excuses and decided to go for it with a firm commitment. He realizes that in the instances he has been unsuccessful; he constructed stories why he would not be successful, made some really creative excuses and just stopped taking action. Ironically, the excuses seem so real that you begin believing in them. Solution? Ask yourself if you can develop an attitude of not making any excuses for areas in your life that need improvement or attention. Instead of making excuses, decide to go for it! Meet the challenges and adventures of your life head-on minus the excuses. Can you imagine what life would be if you decided to launch and take action towards your greatest dreams and aspirations?

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different person by the time you get to the other side. Similarly, taking higher education is not just to have credentials for your wall. It should make you a different ( e n l i g h t e n e d , w i s e r, resourceful, etc) individual by the time the award is issued to you. Your mind should be enhanced in your field of studies far beyond an average Joe. Everyone has a story of why they couldn’t do something. But a few amongst us do not allow the story to determine their destiny. Your story is just history of what has worked and hasn’t.

So are we going to let history shape the rest of our life? Your story will keep you exactly where you are. Your story gives you a reason not to try or do something about inappropriate situation, ie lack of financial abundance.

Muggsy Bogues who is 5ft 3inches and Spud Webb, 5ft 7inches both made it to the NBA, where the average player is 6feet, 8inches. They both could have sung many songs about how their heights were a disadvantage for

them. Instead, they sang songs about other players too big, clumsy and not fast enough to guard them. The story they told themselves became true and they achieved their dreams of careers in the NBA. In conclusion, you may have used all types of excuses in the past to avoid certain tasks, actions or accomplishment. We have all made excuses and put things off and felt bad about them later on. The purpose of this article is not to blame or criticizes the past in any way but to realize how excuses can paralyze our good intentions, block our progress and prevent us from launching our lives into great success that they were meant to be. Moving forward in life without any excuses is a somewhat scary proposition. We make excuses for all sorts of things and then rationalize why that is true for our situation.

We do not question if the excuse has any basis or validity. “Never make excuses. Your friends don’t need them and your foes won’t believe them.”John Wooden, “At the end of the day, let there be no excuses, no explanations, no regrets, not stories, just results.” ( Steve Maraboli, modified).

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Blagoja Bob Ristic of National Ethnic Press and Media Council of Canada passes away

Blagoja Bob Ristic It is with great sadness we inform all our colleagues journalists that Blagoja Bob Ristic, the producer of Serbian Te l e v i s i o n To r o n t o , a s w e l l a s S e r b i a n Mosaic, passed away suddenly from a heart attack on Feb 9, 2014 at the a g e o f 6 4 .

Blagoja Bob Ristic was born in 1950 in Skopje, the Repubic of Macedonia. He immigrated to Canada with his wife in 1990 and than begun to build his life anew, learning to speak English and graduating from George Brown College, in Toronto, in graphic design.

But his true passion was photography. He was always filming something for his beloved Serbian TV show on OMNI TV and Rogers. He leaves behind two children, Viktor and Mia, both students, who helped their father in the studio to produce the shows. He was always trying to better his community.

‘Dumsor’ ends finally -As Asogli, TICO restore 400MW Following dramatic improvements in Gas supply from Nigeria and the successful completion of upgrade works at the Takoradi International Company (TICO), normal power supply is expected to be restored earlier than thought to end the ongoing load shedding exercise, The Al-Hajj can report.

With independent power producer, SunonAsogli now producing at full capacity of 200 MW and TICO set to come on stream with another 200MW of power which will bring total restored generation to 400MW, Ghana’s energy challenges popularly christened “Dumsor Dumsor” barring any unforeseen challenges, would be a thing of the past by Monday, March 31, 2014, according to aL-hAJJ’s dependable source. Even more refreshing to electricity consumers in the country, according to the source, is the imminent production of gas from the $850 million world class Processing Plant at Atuabo to power the Volta River Authority (VRA) plants at Aboadzi in June this year, barring any mishap.

C u rren t l y, Gh an a’s

installed capacity is about 2, 850MW. The Akosombo Hydroelectric Power Plant generates about 1, 020MW of energy, followed by Bui Dam, which also p r o d u c e s 4 0 0 M W, Aboadze Thermal Power Plant and the Takoradi Thermal Power Plant p r o d u c e 3 6 0 M Wa n d 330MW respectively.

But, decline in gas supply from Nigeria forced the shutdown of SunonAsogli and one of the thermal plants in Takoradi.

As a result of this coupled with expansion works at the Takoradi T2 thermal plant, the country lost over 500MW. Bui electric dam, which is managed by the Bui Power Authority which has a generation capacity of 400MW, unfortunately is presently producing less than 200MW due to low level of water.

This development forced officials of VRA, Ghana Grid Company and the Electricity Company of Ghana, producers, transmitters and distributors in the power sector respectively, to formally announced a “temporary load management” exercise which began Monday, March 17. In the wake of the crisis, Mr Emmanuel

Armah Kofi Buah, on the instructions of President John Mahama, visited Nigeria and held talks with his counterparts in a bid to solving the energy crisis. His visit, according to government sources yielded positive results as gas supply from Nigeria, which dropped to a record 30 million standard cubic feet per day prior to the Minister’s visit shot up to 50 million as of last Monday and is expected to go up by Friday.

However, Engineers working on both the VRA and TICO power plants last weekend expressed optimism that by yesterday Wednesday, March 26, 2014 works on the additional 100 megawatts would have been completed and brought on stream injecting 200 megawatts of power onto the national grid.

“We also hope that gas volumes from Nigeria will improve soon and work on Atuabo will be completed to enable us to add another 70MW from T3 and 130MW from units in Tema which are commissioned to run on only gas. The Asogli plant is also expected to operate fully,” they said. Al-Hajii

Engineers working on the

Paperless clearing system reaches all customs entry points

The Ghana Community Network Services Limited Blagoja Bob Ristic will be missed by his (GCNet), the e-Solutions f a m i l y, f r i e n d s a n d S e r b i a n c o m m u n i t y. provider to Government which developed and deployed the Ghana Customs Management System (GCMS) for clearing of goods at ports, in collaboration with the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) is deploying the Paperless Clearing System across all customs entry points in the country.

The Ghanaian News online Check it out www. ghanaiannews. ca

Gas plant say it would start with 30 MMBtu/d and increase progressively to 60MMBtu/d and then to 90MMBtu/d, reaching its normal of 120MMBtu/d. According to experts in the energy sector, except for force majeure, with the start of the local production of gas from the Atuabo Gas processing plant, Ghana will no longer suffer setbacks in the power sector as often experience whenever Nigeria was unable to supply it with gas. Though the “Dumsor Dumsor” w i l l b e o v e r, V R A engineers say intermittent power outages due to faulty transformers and shutdown of plants for repair works, will not ceased. Ghanaians have been enduring erratic power supply after electricity consumers contended with almost a year-long load management between 2012 and 2013. This was occasioned by shortage in the supply of gas from Nigeria to power thermal plants in Tema and Takoradi to generate power to complement what is produced fro m t h e Ak o s o m b o Hydro-electric Dam.

The Paperless Clearing System is currently implemented in Takoradi port and at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA).

The new system requires that all Ministries, Departments

and Agencies (MDAs) that issue permits and/ or exemptions before goods are imported into the country are linked onto the platform to issue them electronically.

Freight Forwarders and other actors in the Customs clearing process have also been migrated to the webbased platform namely the Ghana Integrated Cargo Clearance System (GICCS).

The exercise has become necessary because the clearing system introduced in 2004 to make customs clearing seamless and paperless, is being under utilized by stakeholders and end-users.

GCNet was established to develop and operate a customised electronic system for processing trade and customs documents.

The paperless clearing system would therefore mean that all parties involved in valuation, classification of imports, issuance of permits, settlement of cash and all other activities relating to the clearing process be web-based so as to facilitate a seamless system without recourse to much paperwork.

It cuts out human interference, which is inefficient and prone to malfeasance. The electronic based system

also has an audit trail that tracks transactions in the system.

Currently, there are over 16 MDAs and permit granting agencies, connected electronically onto the system. This enables the system to process supporting documents, especially exemption letters or permits, electronically.

For instance, Ghana Free Zones Board, Minerals Commission, Ghana Investment Promotion Centre, Ghana Standards Board, Destination Inspection Companies (DICs), the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) etc… all issue their permits electronically cont'd on pg. 58

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March 2014

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The

The Ghanaian News online Check it out www.ghanaiannews.ca

Youth Journal

MOVING FORWARD WITH OUR YOUTH THE FUTURE OF OUR COMMUNITY

Disproportionate “Carding” of Black Youth Racial Profiling under a Different Name

By Kwabena Akuoko, MSW, RSW,, Toronto

“Carding”, policing policy that gives Toronto frontline police officers permission to stop and question individuals anywhere has been in the news lately because the Toronto Police Services Board is said to be one step closer to finally reform or abandon the controversial guidelines all together.

This piece is a modified version of what I previously wrote for this column. It is intended as a reminder about the bias nature of the whole carding system.

Policing core tenet of serving and protecting encompasses hidden and even unacceptable practices on the part of law enforcement officers. And other than the diabolical and the most talked about objectionable practice of racial profiling, carding has become the buzzword for unacceptable policing procedure. Carding and racial profiling are in essence two sides of the same coin. Critics contend that police use the controversial method of racial profiling to overly screen suspected criminals on the basis of race and other characteristics.

In the same manner, frontline law enforcement officers use carding as a system to stop and question individuals, especially young African Canadians and other minority youth under the disguised idea of community policing.

Racial profiling is not only controversial, but also illegal. Because it is simply any discriminatory practices that target individuals for suspicion of wrongdoing based on their race, ethnicity, skin colour and other traits.

As a routine, some police officers profile certain individuals by heavily relying on these set of attributes falsely believed to be associated with crime. A case in point is when officers use race or ethnicity to determine which individuals to search for drugs.

Closely related to racial profiling is carding. As a matter of fact, the only difference between racial profiling and carding is on words or phrase. The latter is a practice in which the police randomly stop, question and document citizens following encounters in what are mostly non-criminal. Police contacts with citizens and gathering information about them even where crimes have not been committed are otherwise known as Street Checks, Field Information Reports or Carding.

The practice is euphemistically known in law enforcement cycles as community policing.

Carding, which is particularly common among large urban Police Services allows officers to document citizens in mostly non-criminal encounters to be later utilized as investigative tools. The information gathered on individuals is later on transferred to police’s internal database to be utilized for future investigative purposes. For many concerned citizens in the minority communities, such information practices are pure and simple racial profiling. But the police evidently deem such conducts as justifiable and within the realms of acceptable policing practices. The carding system is susceptible to enormous abuse, and

hence many critics equate it with racial profiling.

As I have explained, carding in many respects is no different than racial profiling because it is purportedly and primarily undertaken by the police for reasons of safety, security or public protection by falsely relying on stereotypes vis-à-vis individuals and groups’ race, colour, ethnicity, ancestry, religion, or a set of other factors, rather than on a reasonable suspicion. To single out individuals for greater scrutiny, treat them differently or even simply contact them based on racial attributes clearly epitomize discrimination.

Ideally, carding allows for all citizens regardless of skin colour or other racial characteristics to be contacted by the police for the purpose of serving and protecting, yet minorities, especially young Black males are the ones who are frequently carded. Backed by the law, the police can stop anyone under the disguised idea of serving and protecting. The police also claim to use the carding system as investigative tool and crime prevention strategy. What people need to know is that once stopped by the police, one is usually interrogated regarding identity, reason for being at a specific geographic location in the community one is stopped and ordinary, yet pertinent questions to elicit personal information for future use. Where the similarities between carding and racial profiling become evident is that the information regarding officers’ contact with citizens is documented on Card or Form and kept by the police. The information ultimately ends up on the police computer data base for future use.

Carding is racial profiling in disguise because the system significantly singles out and targets certain demographics, particularly young African Canadian and other minority males for contact even when crimes have not been committed.

Although it should not be the case, but critics highly speculate that the way and manner in which young Black males dress and speak make them the targets of the carding system. Like racial profiling, wrong perceptions strongly play crucial roles in how officers frequently stop, question and document their contacts with young African Canadian males.

The carding system and racial profiling are both unfair policing practices that disproportionately target Black and other dark skin young Canadians. It is immoral and unacceptable for the police to rely on skin colour or race to single out certain individuals or groups for contacts in order to ascertain information for future purposes. Like racial profiling, carding, which the police supposedly use to service and protect society, must be understood in the context of discrimination.

Consequently, any reform measures by the civilian oversight body, the Toronto Police Services Board that seek to bring fairness to bear while the police serve and protect all citizens are welcomed.

Death sentences increased in 2013 – Amnesty International About 1,925 people were sentenced to death in 57 countries globally, including Ghana.

Ghana was on record of sentencing 14 people, all men to death that year.

The Director of Amnesty International Ghana, Mr Lawrence Amesu, who said this at the launch of the 2013 Global Death Penalty Report in Accra on Thursday, said the global figure for the year under review was a worrying development.

He noted that the figure indicated an increase in death sentences compared to 2012 which recorded 1,722 death sentences.

On executions, Mr Amesu said at least 22 countries were known to have carried out ex ecu t i o n s i n 2 0 1 3 , however, it could not be confirmed if executions were carried out in countries experiencing conflict, such as Syria.

“In 2012, 21 countries

were reported to have implemented death sentences. These figures represent a significant decrease over the past two decades,” he said.

Mr. Amesu said while Amnesty International’s campaign against death penalty was gradually but steadily yielding positive results over the years, the death sentences and executions in the world remained startling.

“At least 778 executions were known to have been carried out worldwide, 96 more than in 2012.

A small number of countries, mainly Iraq and Iran were responsible for the increase. In Iraq reported executions jumped by almost 30 per cent with at least 169 people put to death.

“In Iran there were at least 369 officially acknowledged executions, but hundreds more were not officially acknowledged. Excluding China, almost 80 per cent of all known executions

worldwide were recorded in only three countries – Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia” he added.

The report named China, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and USA as the top five highest executing countries in 2013 while nine countries, China, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, USA, Yemen, Sudan, Bangladesh and North Korea are labelled “The Nine Worst Offenders” as they are known to execute every year since 2007 to 2013.

Mr Amesu stated that from all indications, Ghana was progressing steadily in the abolition of death penalty and called on Ghanaians to play their individual and collective roles to support that effort.

Mr Vincent AdahalieMensah, a Board Member, said Amnesty International was envisaging a free world where people would be free and stressed the need to continue the campaign to ensure total abolition. GNA

For All Your Events Coverage Call The Ghanaian News 416-916-3700

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March 2014

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The Ghanaian News March 2014

“Pull Efforts Together to Support the Development of our Motherland, Ghana”-Mr. Anim to Ghanaians in Diaspora

From Joe Kingsley Eyiah, Toronto-Canada

The new Ghana Consul General for Toronto, Hon. Joseph Anim has asked Ghanaians in Diaspora to unite their efforts to support the development of our motherland, Ghana. Mr Anim, a career diplomat, who had served Ghana in countries like Germany, Belgium, China, USA etc before been posted to Toronto-Canada in November 2013, was speaking at the celebration of Ghana’s 57th Independence Day Anniversary in Toronto on March 8, 2014. The function was organized under auspices of the Ghanaian Canadian Association

of Ontario (GCAO) with theme: MOVING THE COMMUNITY TOGETHER FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF OUR YOUTH Though the attendance at the anniversary this year was very low, the occasion itself was graced with the presence of chiefs, doctors, justices, pastors, teachers as well as businessmen/ w o m e n i n t h e c o m m u n i t y.

A grand parade was displayed by the youth of the Toronto Ghanaian SDA Church known as the Fa Nyame Pathfinders who also sang cont'd on pg. 65

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March 2014

35

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Community

y in pictures

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March 2014

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The Ghanaian News March 2014

PEOPLE AND PLACES 2 Ghanaians missing in Ahunstic, Montreal

On Sunday, 9 th March 2014, at 9.30pm, Kobie Courage Agbezolie a resident of MontrĂŠal left his apartment to go to Jean Coutou Pharmacy in Montreal, Quebec to buy a bus pass. He called a friend Sandra Mensah to accompany him. They have since not been found after leaving the pharmacy. This mysterious disappearance has baffled both the community and Police.

A car with Ontario license plate being driven by them was found without the couple with no criminal activity according to Police. Personal items like an Ipad and a laptop were found in the car.

According to reports, the car was discovered aban-

doned facing north on Boulevard St. Germain corner of Gouin Boulevard near Riviere des Prairies with no criminal activity in the car.

The community has been distributing flyers everywhere and also relentlessly working hard to create a financial reward as an incentive to finding the lost couple.

Courage, has short brown hair and brown eyes, he is 1.77 metres tall (5ft 8ins) weighs 74 kilograms ( 163 lbs ) Sandra has long braided brown hair and brown eyes she is 1.67 meters tall (5ft 5ins) and weighs 68kilograms (149 lbs) Police is asking anyone with information about their whereabouts to call 515-393-1133

Baby dedication at Living Word Assembly of God Church Sunday March 16, 2014

Mr.Paul Owusu with family and friends

Margaret AduBoateng of Calgary Mr. & Mrs. Ebenezer Cobbina with family and well-wishers

Mr. & Mrs. Philip Asante Asare with family and friends

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March 2014

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Pomp and Pageantry Mark Ghana’s 57th Birthday Anniversary in British Columbia

By Dr. Charles Quish-Adade. Vancouver, BC The Metro Hall in New Westminster, British Columbia, was the venue for this year’s celebration of Ghana’s independence anniversary organized by the Ghanaian Canadian Association.

A large audience that comprised a healthy mix of youth and adults, Ghanaians and non-Ghanaians, celebrities and revelers of ages and backgrounds was treated to a mélange of adowa cultural dance and acrobatic displays, good old-time highlife music and modern hip-life, and reggae.

The night began with a brief speech by president of the Association, Dr. Charles Quist-Adade. He reminded his compatriots not to forget the sacrifice made by their forebears to liberate their country from the yolk of colonialism. He said liberation did not end with independence 57 years ago, when Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah declared on the Old Polo grounds that “Ghana, your beloved country is free for ever.” He stressed that liberation is a protracted and an ongoing process, with twists and turns, ups and downs, adding “the liberation process also proceeds in phases.” The first phase was political liberation and the second was supposed to be economic independence.

Dr. Quist-Adade regretted that unlike the first phase which was guided by a blue print, the second phase, which was aimed at economic self-sufficiency does not seem to have any well-thought out plan and vision. He attributed the loss of vision for Ghana’s economic development to the 1966 overthrow of the First Republic, truncated the SevenYear Plan, which was to transform Ghana

into a modern industrializing nation.

Concluding, Dr. Quist-Adade called on Ghanaians and other Africans in the Diaspora to help in putting the second liberation back on course with ideas and resources. He called for concerted efforts to “turn the brain drain” has bedeviled the African continent for ages into brain gain. “We in the Diaspora must work on all fronts, to build bridges in the economic, social, intellectual spheres with our compatriots on the continent for our mutual benefit.” He called for creative approaches to tap into the vast pool of talents in the Diaspora to engage in the continent’s development. He appealed to Africans in the Diaspora to be strategic in their investments and remittances to their respective countries. “Your remittances to the home country must be strategic.

They must aim at restructuring the economy in such a way that the majority of Ghanaians, not just a tiny minority, reaps the fruits of your investments.”

Mrs. Comfort Adesua Ero, president of the Nigerian-Canadian Development Association of British Columbia delivered the keynote address. In a lively speech spiced with humour, Mrs. Ero called on Africans in the Diaspora not to forget the cultures of their homelands.

The youth, she advised, must be encouraged to take pride in the vibrant cultures of Africa. She exhorted the youth to take their education seriously.

and Canadian national anthems. The main highlights of the event were a royal adowa dance and acrobatic display by “Mr. Fantastik,” aka Nana Fynn, a famous Ghanaian acrobat.

In addition, several members of the Ghanaian community were honoured The night started with a prayer by with certificates for their outstanding the president of the local Abusua acco mp lis h men ts an d s er v ices .

Kesse Cultural Association, Mr. The recipients of the certificates Kingsley Agyeman, followed by spirited renditions of the Ghanaian

include Gershon Koffie, a player for the Vancouver White Caps Soccer Club, Ruky Abdulai, a GhanaianCanadian athlete, who runs for Canada, George Amoako, a police officer of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and several local Ghanaianowned small business enterprises, including the African Superstore, Anim Hair, Gigi’s Supermarket, Taste of Africa, and Platinum Auto.

Ghanaian-Canadian Athletes Honoured at Ghana’s 57th Birthday Anniversary in British Columbia

By Staff Reporter

Two Ghanaian and Ghanaianathletes were among this year’s Ghana Canada Association of British Columbia (GCABC)’s Honour Roll Call. Gershon Koffie, a player for the

Vancouver White Caps Soccer Club, Ruky Abdulai, a Ghanaian-Canadian athlete, who now runs for Canada.

Also honoured were George Amoako, a police officer of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police,

of appreciation. The citations on the certificates read: “The Ghana Canada Association of British Columbia Certificate of Recognition is hereby granted to you for outstanding service, dedication and lasting contribution to the Ghanaian community.”

Presenting the certificates at a sold-out party to mark the 57 th Independence Anniversary of the Republic of Ghana at the Metro Hall here, GCABC President, Dr. Charles Quist-Adade thanked the and several local Ghanaian- recipients for bringing honour to owned small business enterprises, the community, Ghana, and Canada. including the African Superstore, He said their feats and contributions Anim Hair, Gigi’s Supermarket, would serve as shining examples to Taste of Africa, and Platinum Auto. all Ghanaian, especially, the youth.

The honorees were given certificates

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The Ghanaian News March 2014

Lead-acid batteries from Ghana successfully recycled The first container of used lead-acid batteries from Africa has landed in Germany. The batteries were collected in Ghana through a unique cooperation and recycled in an environmentally-sound manner in Germany. Experts neutralized the battery acid and achieved a very high lead recycling rate.

The export was organized under a project of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) entitled “Global circular economy of

strategic metals: best-of-twoworlds approach (Bo2W)”.

This aims to achieve sustainable improvements in cooperation between Africa and Europe on the recycling of batteries, endof-life vehicles and electronic waste. The batteries were collected by Ghanaian recycling firm City Waste Recycling Ltd. and then packaged and shipped in accordance with international standards. The recycling was performed by Johnson Controls, a global leader in the manufacture and

recycling of lead-acid batteries.

Collection in Africa – recycling in Europe

the acid isn’t drained into the ground in Ghana, as it has often been the case before, causing environmental damage.”

Johann-Friedrich Dempwolff, Managing Director of Johnson Controls Power Solutions EMEA, confirmed that the shipped batteries fulfill Johnson Controls’ requirements: “We can recycle up to 99% of a used battery at our recycling center in Germany. Part of this process is to ensure that batteries are shipped to us intact and that

With this initial success story, the partners are sending out a clear signal that lead-acid batteries used in Africa can be brought for recycling in a resourceefficient manner. Jürgen Meinel, General Manager of City Waste Recycling Ltd.: We are delighted that we have been able to prove with this initial delivery of

a good 20 tons that there is a feasible, environmentallyfriendly recycling alternative for Ghana. Export to Germany is the best solution given the absence of local alternatives and there should be many more containers of lead batteries to follow in the years to come.

Demand for such batteries is growing strongly in Ghana.

Lead-acid battery recycling – a vital problem in Africa Improper lead-acid battery recycling presents a significant environmental and health problem in Ghana and all of Africa. The discharge of the battery acid into the environment and remelting of the lead in open fires or recycling plants lacking up-to-date technology are common practice in Africa and few alternatives have been developed to date.

John Pwamang, Director of the Chemicals Management Center at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in Ghana, has been aware of the problems for a long time and added: “Ghana is currently developing a legal framework for the proper disposal of used batteries and e-waste and is also interested in building up a recycling industry. International cooperation on lead-acid batteries is most welcome.”

West African companies are working closely with European counterparts on this. Due to a lack of environmentallyfriendly recycling capacities, the partner in Ghana collected used starter batteries from passenger vehicles and trucks, packaged them properly and shipped them in a container via sea and land to the Johnson Controls facility in Krautscheid. Thanks to state-of-the-art recycling technology, harmful emissions can be avoided there and almost 100% of the lead recovered.

Environmentally-sound recycling is a must To Andreas Manhart, the man responsible for project activities in Ghana at the Oeko-Institut, “this first environmentallysound packaged, transported and recycled batch of lead-acid batteries is important evidence that the ‘Best of Two Worlds’ approach can work in practice.

The current informal sector in Ghana can be involved in the collection as an economic partner, while people are no longer being put at risk from the battery acid and lead.”

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Project manager Matthias Buchert (Oeko-Institut) emphasized that “this initial success has been made possible by the constructive cooperation with the EPA in Ghana. It helped all partners obtain the necessary export permits and put a stop to improper practices such as the transport by sea of lead-acid batteries that had already been opened.” Mr. Pwamang (EPA) confirmed this latest regulatory step and added that “Ghana will not approve any trade in used batteries in the future that does not cont'd on pg. 66

The Ghanaian News

March 2014

41

Frankly Speaking

Borrowing till Thy Kingdom come

By: Dr. Michael Baffoe, Winnipeg, MB

Once upon a time there was a country called Ghana which was under the colonial control of Her majesty’s Kingdom, Britain. This country called Ghana decided in 1957 that she had reached the age of maturity and could manage her own affairs. She therefore asked Her Majesty and her agents to pack off.

Her Majesty granted Ghana what is called independence. As at the time that Her Majesty and her agents were leaving Ghana, they left the Treasury of Ghana lots of money. Our first political leaders used and misused the financial legacy; some for the positive development of the country and but a greater part was misused to develop the personal “stomachs” of our political leaders through eating and drinking well, and stashing some of the money away in local and foreign private banks. No wonder from the time of independence till now, men with big stomachs in Ghana are associated with good living and wealth.

This misusing of the c o u n t r y ’s r e s o u r c e s intensified throughout G h a n a ’s l i f e a s a n “independent” country.

The stealing got worse especially between 1972 and 1979, and again between 1982 and 2000 during which periods a bunch of restless military guys forcibly took over power in Ghana and looted the country’s finances with their eyes closed.

The greatest culprit in this slash and loot business was the company led

by Jerry John Rawlings who ruled the country for close to twenty years.

Therefore as at the end of the year 2000 when the rule of Jerry Rawlings ended with the election of the government of John Agyekum Kufour, Ghana’s economy had totally collapsed. In the process we had borrowed so much money from other countries to the levels at which the money we were using to pay interests on our debts was more than the total GDP (the total revenues and good produced in the country).

Ghana was therefore admitted as a member of a shameful League of Irresponsible Economy M a n ager s know n a s Heavily-Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC).

When the Kufuor administration took

over power in 2001, the creditors, those countries to whom Ghana owed so much money offered us a way out of the financial mess and crisis. We were given the opportunity to confess with our own mouths that we were indeed irresponsible debtors and in return our financial sins will be forgiven.

This order was taken out of the Western Creditors Big Book, Chapter One verse one which read: “If thou shall confess with thy mouth that thou art a heavily-indebted debtor and agree to become a members of the League of irresponsible financial economy managers, thy economic sins shall be forgiven. In return thou shall commit to henceforth use the money that you were previously required to pay to us to undertake development projects in your country. Thou shall also commit thyself never to fall again into such irresponsible behavior and heavy debts”.

After painstaking soulsearching and agonizing months of thinking and re-thinking, President Kufour and his Finance Minsiter Yaw Osafo Marfo decided that Ghana will accept the above edict of agreeing to join the HIPC League. So

Ghana’s financial sins were cleanly forgiven and as at the end of the 2001, almost ALL our debts owed to foreign countries were wiped out. The expectation therefore was that Ghana’s economy and finances were from then going to be soundly and responsibility managed. We did well for a while but after a few years, we forgot about our shameful admission to the HIPC League.

We started borrowing again toward the end of Kufour’s regime in 2007 and 2008. The borrowing spree intensified under the government of John Attah Mills from 2009 and has reached frightening proportions under the government of John Mahama from J u l y 2 0 1 2 t i l l n o w.

Up to 30 low-income sub-Saharan African countries had their debts reduced under the IMF and World Bank’s Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative, which was later supplemented by the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI).

An estimated $100 billion of debt was wiped out, easing countries’ onerous debt burdens, often the result of loans taken on by corrupt regimes. These had meant more being spent on debt service payments than on health and education combined.

A recent report by the World Bank shows that the debts of many Africa countries including Ghana are creeping up again, which could undermine the region’s growth boom.

As African states line up to join the growing club of dollar bond issuers, economists and analysts warn of a slide back into indebtedness that could

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undo recent economic gains and create a “Eurobond curse” to match the distorting “resource curse”. In 2007, Ghana became the first African beneficiary of debt relief to tap international capital, issuing a $750 million 1 0 - y e a r E u r o b o n d .

for domestic debt.

This disturbing situation led to a very impressive analysis of the state of Ghana’s economy by the former Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia on Tuesday March 25, 2014.

Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, an eminent economist In Ghana, Uganda, slammed the John Mozambique, Senegal, Mahama government for Niger, Malawi, Benin and the country’s spiralling Sao Tome and Principe, debt situation and high debt levels are creeping interest payments on back up. If all continue them. He maintained to borrow and grow at that the country’s debt current rates their debt situation has contributed indicators could be back to the cedi’s depreciation. to pre-relief levels within H i s l e c t u r e t i t l e d a decade . Ghana, which “Restoring the Value sold a new $750 million of the Cedi” lecture at Eurobond and bought the Central University back a portion of the 2017 College Miotso Campus issue last year, shows on Tuesday, revealed how growing debt levels the country’s 9.5 billion can threaten countries’ Ghana cedis debt stock fiscal dynamics. Ghana’s at 2008 had ballooned to stability and roaring 49.9 billion, representing e c o n o m i c g r o w t h , an increase of over 40 reaching 14.5 percent billion in five years. Dr in 2011, have made it Bawumia also warned that an investor favourite. the country’s economic “crisis” could soon land But the government’s Ghana at the doorstep inability to tame widening o f t h e I n t e r n a t i o n a l fiscal deficits has led Monetary Fund (IMF) to a deterioration in its for a bailout. Further debt ratios. Its debt now crunching down the represents just over half of numbers, Dr. Bawumia its GDP, from 32 percent said the current debt stock in 2008. An expanding represents 57.7 per cent of current account gap has GDP, and predicted that: hit the cedi currency, “Our debt stock will be which has weakened more 60 per cent to GDP ratio than 9 percent against the by the end of this year.” dollar this year, after a 24 percent slide in 2013. In This is a very grave a sign of waning market situation. In present confidence, yields on day Ghana however, Ghana’s sovereign debt one does not even need are higher than for any the brilliant and expert other African country analysis of Dr. Bawumia with an actively traded to see and understand that international bond, at our economy is in deep around 9 percent for crisis. However, instead i t s 2 0 2 3 E u r o b o n d of embracing these expert and over 20 percent analysis and do something

about the state of the economy, officials of the Mahama administration have only resorted to insults on Dr. Bawumia.

They have called him all kinds of names. It is very disturbing to always see President mahama and his officials refusing to admit the simple fact that every Ghanaian has a right to comment on significant issues affecting the nation.

President John Mahama himself jumped shamefully into the fray on Wednesday March 26 when he addressed the Chiefs and people of Akyem Abuakwa at Kyebi. The president s a i d , “ We d i d n o t borrow to drink or to eat; we borrowed to bring facilities such as electricity and water to the people of Ghana”.

He added that currently 75 percent of Ghanaians had access to electricity, an achievement that was chalked through borrowing. On a more serious note, President Mahama said: “Don’t let anyone deceive you.

This country is not retrogressing. We are moving forward and we will stay on that course”, he assured the gathering at the durbar. To that extent therefore the President sees no dangers and nothing wrong with continuous borrowing to increase our debt ratios even if that comes at the risk of economic collapse.

This is serious indeed and Ghanaians should watch out for the total collapse of the economy if the current carefree attitude of President Mahama and his government on the economy continues.

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The Ghanaian News March 2014

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Toronto jazz fest gets lifeline after gov’t slammed over grant choices

TORONTO - A community jazz festival in Toronto has been thrown a lifeline days after Ontario’s governing Liberals came under fire for cutting the event’s funding while doling out a grant to a concert series run by rap superstar Drake.

Culture Minister Michael Chan says in a statement that a $75,000 grant will

go to the Beaches International Jazz Festival -- a free event that has received that amount for each of the past six years.

The festival had its annual request to the Celebrate Ontario grant program denied this year, sparking calls for the government to stop funding giant corporations and celebrities such as Drake while cutting funding

to community events.

However, Chan says the Beaches festival had also applied this January to a different program, the Ontario Music Fund, and that money from that grant was approved earlier this week.

Multimillionaire rapper Drake has been awarded a $300,000 Celebrate Ontario grant to stage

his two-day OVO Fest in Toronto this summer -where admissions range from $66.50 to $750 for “platinum” tickets.

Meanwhile, Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, a sports giant estimated to be worth $2 billion, has requested $10 million from the province to expand and upgrade a soccer field in Toronto.

The Canadian Press

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March 2014

43

Is this the end of the microwave oven?

North America’s current obsession with foie gras, oxtail and all things haute cuisine has claimed its first victim.

ers, rice cookers, and other kitchen devices,” Telfordtells Quartz. “Generally speaking, there’s just more competition for countertop space these days. That’s bad T h e t a r g e t ? Yo u r news for the microwave.” m i c r o w a v e .

Others theorize that it could Sales of the small house- have been a myth that hold appliance, which took down the microwave. surged to popularity in the late ‘60s and early You may recall that scene ‘70s, are falling at a rap- in ‘American Hustle’ when id pace, reports Quartz. J e n n i f e r L a w r e n c e › s character accuses the The reason for this loss microwave of taking all of interest is the in- the nutrition out of food -creased popularity of, that belief, despite being dewell, actual cooking. bunked multiple times, is still held on to today, and is enough “The quality of micro- to scare health-conscious wavable foods carries a cooks away for good. pretty negative stigma,” Howard Telford, an indus- On the contrary, scientry analyst, tells Quartz. tists and nutritionists have claimed over and over again This makes sense, con- that microwave cooking sidering that sales of is actually your best bet frozen dinners have for retaining nutrients. also dipped since 2008. If you add a little bit of Quartz points out that water to the vessel you›re 90 per cent of American microwaving the food in, households currently own you›re essentially steaming, a microwave, which could which is one of the healthiest explain why sales are down cooking methods there is. (why buy a new one if the That being said, maybe the old one still does the trick?). death of the microwave isn’t But they also point to such a bad thing, after all. something else -- the unas- Maybe we’re finally growing suming toaster oven, which out of the fast-first, tastehas seen a whopping 80 per second phase, and movcent increase in sales in ing on to a point where it’s the last decade. Pair that OK if our food isn’t ready with the revival of the in 90 seconds or less, so slow cooker and pressure long as it tastes, well, good. cooker, and you’ve got a Because who wants soggy recipe for the microwave grilled cheeses and potato be nudged off of our toes from a box, anyway? precious countertop space.

“We’ve seen significant The Canadian Press growth in slow cook-

Canada exacts C$6.7 billion from public retirees for health costs OTTAWA (Reuters) Retired federal workers will pay more of their supplemental health costs under an agreement with the Canadian government intended to align the public sector with the private sector, Treasury Board President Tony Clement said on Wednesday.

Retirees’ contributions will rise to 50 percent of the cost of their health plan from 25 percent now. The supplement plan pays for drugs, eyeglasses and other items not covered by the general medical care plan that is free for all Canadians.

Low-income pensioners will not be affected.

The government will also require six years of employment, instead of two, to be eligible.

The new deal is projected to save C$6.7 billion ($6.0 billion) over six years, less than the C$7.4 billion flagged in the Conservative government’s February 11 budget, but it avoids the threat of a court challenge if Ottawa had tried to impose the changes through legislation.

“Now we have zero legal risk,” Clem-

ent told Reuters.

“I’m quite convinced that this in total puts our books in a better fiscal light... Those savings are now certain. There was a low-to-medium legal risk before.”

The broad lines of the changes had been announced in the federal budget, but agreement had not been reached with the unions and retirees. The package was sweetened with some modest improvements to current benefits, including eliminating a C$60 annual deductible for single individuals and C$100 for families.

The February budget charted a return to a balanced federal budget in 2015, partly through savings exacted from public sector unions.

Green Party leader Elizabeth May criticized the deal for retroactively changing retirement benefits that employees had signed up for when they joined the federal public service.

“Make no mistake. This is not fair,” she told reporters. “They caved to a gov-

ernment which said, ‘It’s my way or the highway’.”

Clement disagreed. “We bargained in good faith.

These were intensive negotiations, to be sure.

Both sides had to give a little bit. There’s no question about that,” he said.

Clement, whose department oversees the civil service, will now turn his attention to trying to reform the sick leave provisions in 27 federal government collective agreements, all of which must be renewed over the next year, leaving open the possibility of labor strife.

“I remain hopeful that we can come to a deal.

I think when the public considers sick leave issues, our position will be seen as a very reasonable position,” he said.

Asked if any further changes would be made to public sector pensions, he pointed out that in the last bargaining round the unions had already agreed to 50-50 sharing of the cost of pensions.

“That’s enough for now, and my focus is the sick leave system, which is badly broken,” he said.

44

The Ghanaian News March 2014

View Point

Community Concerns

How Teens/Young Adults Can Make Money At Home Is Your Teen/Young Adult At the Age that They Can Earn Some Income?

By Golda Abena Quayson

Allowing your teens do extra chores around the house and paying her/ him is not a bad idea.

In these case that it is a practise that we all work before we get paid. It is also an incentive as well as motivation to prepare them towards workforce.

Some of these chores are buying groceries, babysitting, cutting the lawn, taking care of the garden, planting flowers, washing cars during summer time, tutoring your neighbourhood younger children, shovelling snow; taking trash to the curb, secure newspaper/flyers routes for distribution, organize a yard/garage sales.

There are so many areas that teens and young adults can tap into to make some income.

For example if your teens decide to shovel snow, they can work in teams/ groups or by himself.

They can go to every house in a good sized neighborhood charging 10-20 dollars per driveway, or 30 dollars a week for shoveling the snow. They can charge extra for unshoveled snow that has been driven on and very hard to remove. A neighbour may pay you in advance for a month if they know you, or if they like your work.

Another chore may be taking the trash to the curb if you live in a house. On the day before trash pickup, hit up all the houses on your street and ask for a dollar from each house to take all the bins out to the curb.

Don’t ask for any more than this; it’s a super simple job, so you have to maintain a reasonable cost-to-laziness ratio to get people interested. If it works on even twenty houses, that’s twenty bucks for almost no work. You might have even better luck in a retirement community or an area where a lot of elderly live. At times elders like it when a young person shows that she/he is interested in working, they end up giving you an amount you did not even request for.

paying them to come with you or if they drive, by giving them the list to do it. In this way, you are training your teen/young adult to be responsible for themselves and the whole family. As parent, this helps you to bond with your child as well as expose her/him to make good choices when it comes to food selections.

Again, you are introducing her/him to the art of cooking which is one of the most difficult practices of teens/ young adults. Most of our children these days want fast foods which are not all that healthy.

You can ask your teen to help you in the kitchen when you are cooking for a small allowance, by washing and cutting vegetables or fruits. This way teen believes she/ he is working to get paid rather than acquiring the skills of cooking but they will acquire cooking skills as a result. You will be surprised by how much they will learn within that time period they have been helping you to cook.

This will also cultivate their interest in eating at home. Since most teens and young adults prefer buying fast foods from with the little money they make either from the allowance the parents give to them or from their par time income, this process of cooking and eating together help them to develop the habit of saving instead of spending their money all the time on foods which they can easily make at home.

Other ways or earning an income is to secure babysitting jobs for your teen/young adults. They can babysit the young ones in your building or in your neighbourhood.

Teens need to get approval from their parents and Most teens dislike getting the other kids parents. groceries. As parents you Some of these children can encourage them by your teen can baby sit

are the ones they walk home almost every day from school with and live in their neighbourhood.

Tu t o r i n g i s a n o t h e r area to explore. If the teen or young adult is great at math, science, or talented at sports or games, they can virtually “sell” those skills in the neighborhood. They may even be able to get a weekend job officiating sporting events. If they are very good at a sport or a subject in school, find out what the local rules are for charging a small fee for tutoring.

Why not advertise your skills to those a few years younger than you? For example, playing an instrument or if you are a good dancer, teaching other children who may be interested in dancing.

Many parents are willing to pay a teenager to tutor their child in an area that needs development or learn how to play a musical instrument and other skills that will help their children to develop.

Organize and sell items at a yard/garage sale. Even if you don’t think you have anything lying around that anyone will want, you’d be surprised by how quickly a lot of little sales can add up. Empty out your closet, attic, or basement and gather together everything you don’t want. Put all the small-ticket items into groups to be sold at a yard sale, which you can advertise with street signs and on Craigslist.

My advice to teens and young adults are the following: Ask parents about savings account. Save what you earn, save as much as possible. Remember, a penny saved is a penny earned. Cut down on unnecessary spending, and you will have more money as a result. No one ever regrets having saved money. Balance out your immediate needs with longer-term goals.

This process will help our teens and young adults to secure savings accounts, learn to manage money and acquire work ethics, skills and finally be more responsible when it comes to applying these life skills later in life.

Doris Osei Bonsu, Crisis Counselor, Toronto

Handling and Coping with Feeling of Disappointment from your Adult Child

I sacrificed for years to make sure my son had the best education possible.

Now, he’s out of high school and working at a low level job and says he has no intentions of going to college.”

“My daughter never calls unless she wants something. Even then, she is rude to me!”

Those were the words of disappointed mothers.

What happens when in spite of all you have toiled to give your kids every advantage and every opportunity, they rather take the wrong turn in life? The wrong turn may involve so many things, some negative and disappointing; others not negative but not so positive either and disappointing all the same.

Their problems may be major – depression, addiction, trouble with the law, perhaps dropping out of college, not finding or holding down a job.

It can be very painful to realize that the child you worked so hard to raise is not living up to their potential. Even more heartbreaking is the realization that you may not have a very good relationship with them. Sometimes these issues can make you feel like you have failed.

As parents, we tend to think that if anything goes wrong with our kids, it’s our fault. Not only do we put such pressure on ourselves, we may also have even well-meaning family members (and the rest of society) sending us those same blaming messages. But it’s more likely that you did the very best you knew how to do at each juncture in your child’s life. Some things may have been more effective, and some less effective, but you did your best.

Examine your own Feeling I think it’s important to look at your own feelings in a more objective light.

Are you feeling frustrated because your child is in a potentially harmful situation, or because the choices he or she made don’t fit in with your goals for their life? Culturally, we tend to value social status over personal fulfillment and happiness. So, if your child opts to go into a career that makes them happy, but does not necessarily provide a good living, we can feel like they are underachieving. If you’re feeling this way, it might be helpful to take a step back and ask yourself which is better – having a child who is outwardly successful, or one who is inwardly happy? More importantly, whose life is it, anyway?

The reality is: this is now your child’s journey. Whether you approve of their career, their lifestyle, or their choice of life partner, it doesn’t change the fact that they now have the right to make their own choices. Along with that right comes the responsibility of those choices. This is what adulthood

is all about. No matter what kind of upbringing a person has had, good or bad, there comes a time when they have to take responsibility for their own lives.

Tw o P o i n t s t o R e m e m b e r : Aside from recognizing your feelings and acknowledging them, there are two important points to remember. It is important to realize that not everyone matures at the same rate. This means that despite the fact that 18 is considered the “legal” age of adulthood, not every person who reaches 18 is truly ready for all the challenges of living independently. This is an individual choice each family needs to make, and there is no right or wrong in this.

The second and probably most important point to remember is that people are continuously growing and changing.

Just because you don’t see the fruit of your efforts yet does not mean you never will or that you have failed.

One of the most inspiring examples to me is the story of a psychologist by name James Lehman. As a young adult, he was using drugs, stealing, and eventually ended up in jail. Yet, fast forward a few years later, he went to college, got his Master’s degree, and began a life-long career of helping troubled youth and their parents. I’m sure he would say to any disheartened parent, “Game not over yet!”

What does lessen the psychological pain is to find approaches that will let you move on so that you can be happy in your own right. The following are some tips: 1. Love the child you have right now and try not to lose hope if they aren’t doing well.

2. C o n t i n u e t o m a i n t a i n healthy boundaries.

3. Even if your child is an adult, he or she does not have the right to be abusive to you or anyone else.

4. Give them your support and guidance if they ask for it, but try not to force it on them.

5. Continue to help them in appropriate ways if you feel it is healthy and necessary to do so.

6. Give them the same space to follow their journey, just as you want others to do for you.

Also remember you are far from alone.

This has been going on since time immemorial. Remember the Bible’s Prodigal Son? It is, after all, your child’s life. Your relationship with them will be vastly improved if you are able to let go of your expectations for them while never losing hope in their potential.

The Ghanaian News

Ask The Doctor

March 2014

45

Lifestyle

By: David Yaw Twum-Barima, MD, MSc, FRCPC

This column is devoted to answering your questions on health and discusions of diseases which are common among the African Canadians.

Nutrition and Healthy Eating In this issue we will review two impotant nutritional issues.

1.. Is multigrain the same thing as whole grain? Which is the healthier choice?

Multigrain and whole grain are not interchangeable terms. Whole grain means that all parts of the grain kernel — the bran, germ and endosperm — are used. In contrast, multigrain means that a food contains more than one type of grain, although none of

them may necessarily be whole grains. The same goes for other variations, such as “seven-grain.”

Whole-grain foods are a healthy choice because

they contain nutrients, fiber and other healthy plant compounds found naturally in the grain. Look for products that list the first ingredient as “whole wheat,” “whole oats” or a similar whole grain.

While “whole grains” may signify one of many types of healthy grains, “whole wheat” labels the specific grain used.

Either term may identify a food that’s a good source of fiber, several B vitamins and minerals.

Healthy adults should eat at least three 1-ounce (28-gram) equivalents

Guinea’s Ebola outbreak: ‘There are far worse diseases out there ’Travellers should be more concerned about malaria and hepatitis A, experts say A recent outbreak of the Ebola virus in Guinea has renewed fears of a global contagion, but infectious disease experts say it poses little threat to travellers.

An outbreak of Ebola hemorrhagic fever in the west African nation of Guinea has revived fears of a global contagion, but infectious disease experts say Ebola poses little threat to travellers.

Although Ebola violently attacks the body, it kills up to 90 per cent of those infected and can only be transmitted via bodily fluids, which greatly reduces its ability to spread, says Jay Keystone, a travel physician and professor in the department of medicine at the University of Toronto.

“If we had a case in Canada we’d isolate the case, the patient would live or die, and we’d be highly unlikely to have it transmit,” says Keystone.

In terms of transmission, he adds, “there are far worse diseases out there.”

The biggest recorded outbreak of Ebola was in 2000 in Uganda, with 425 infected and 224 dying as a result, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

But large outbreaks like this have happened only about once per de-

cade, and most years the WHO records a handful of cases or none at all.

In comparison, according to the WHO, malaria kills 1.2 million people annually, while 100,000 to 120,000 people die every year from cholera.

The Public Health Agency of Canada has posted a list of 32 of the most prominent diseases travellers need to be concerned about.

Mark Tyndall, head of the division of infectious diseases at the Ottawa Hospital, says that worried flyers should consult a travel physician to find out if there are specific health concerns and precautions for the regions they plan to visit.

“We have quite a good network in Canada of travel clinics, and if people are traveling, they should take advantage of these places where people know exactly what [travellers] should be concerned about for different countries,” he says.

Here’s a look at some of the most infectious diseases around the world.

Food- and water-borne diseases Countries such as Mexico and Cuba are popular destinations for Canadian travellers, but visitors run the risk of contract-

ing food- and waterborne illnesses due to bacteria such as E. Coli, which can contribute to so-called “traveller’s diarrhea,” as well as diseases such as hepatitis A, which in extreme cases can lead to liver damage.

According to the Public Health Agency of Canada, E. Coliand hepatitis A thrive in “locations with poor sanitation or unsafe food handling practices.”

There are immunizations available for hepatitis A. As for those nasty E. Coli bacteria, Tyndall says “we can’t do much about that other than equip people with some antibiotics to take with them in case they get diarrhea.”

Tyndall says typhoid fever, a bacterial disease transmitted through food or water contaminated with the feces of an infected person, remains a particular concern in many Asian countries. A typhoid infection typically lasts four weeks, and can include severe stomach pain, internal hemorrhaging and even fits of delirium.

A typhoid vaccine is available, although it is not 100 per cent protective, says Tyndall. cont'd on pg. 60

of whole grains a day as part of a balanced diet 2. If olive oil is high in fat, why is it considered healthy?

The main type of fat found in all kinds of olive oil is monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs). MUFAs are actually considered a healthy dietary fat. If your diet replaces saturated and trans fats with unsaturated fats such as MUFAs and polyunsaturated fats (PUFAs), you may gain certain health benefits.

MUFAs and PUFAs may help lower your risk of

heart disease by improving related risk factors.

For instance, MUFAs have been found to lower your total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels.

MUFAs may also help normalize blood clotting. And some research shows that MUFAs may also benefit insulin levels and blood sugar control, which can be especially helpful if you have type 2 diabetes.

But even healthier fats like olive oil are high in calories, so use them only in moderation. Choose MUFA-rich foods such as

olive oil in place of other fatty foods — particularly butter and stick margarine — not in addition to them. And remember that you can’t make unhealthy foods healthier simply by adding olive oil to them.

R e f : M o d i f i e d f ro m Mayo Clinic Housecall.

Dr Twum-Barima is a specialist in Diabetes and Endocrinology. He is associated with LMC Endocrinology and Diabetes at the Oakville location.

Appointments (by referral only) can be made by fax to 905 337 0044.

46

The Ghanaian News March 2014

Jesus Is The Answer Salon

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Tel: 905-683-9163 Gladys

416-569-2453 Doris Beauty Supply &

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Monday to Friday 10 am to 8 pm Saturday: Closed Sunday: 12 pm to 6 pm Call Christine @ 416-240-8388 2111 Jane Street #5, Toronto, Ont.

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10.00am 9.00am 8.00am 6.30pm 8.00am

- 7.00pm - 9.00pm - 5.00pm - 11.30pm - 7.00pm

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(in the Freshco/Swiss Chalet Plaza, 1 block West of Kennedy Rd. N)

Call Sister Vic

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Call Awura Abena 416244-8666 / 647833-4419

Call: Elizabeth 416-445-4446 1707 Jane Street 113 Ellesmere Rd., Scarborough, Ont. M1R 4C3

Call Us First The Ghanaian News 416916-3700

(Jane/Lawrence -opposite Laura Meat beside Dollar Joint)

All Star Beauty Supplies Tel: 416-438-8171 All Synthetic Weave * Ponytails * 100% Human Hair and Many More * Get Your Hair Braided at Affordable Prices 2357 Eglington Ave. E., Scarborough, Ont. (Kennedy/Eglington)

Looking For Barber Call Seaman 647-710-7611 Office or Salon Space for Rent with good condition

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♦ 100% Human Hair ♦ Relaxers ♦ Braids ♦ Gels * Brazilian Hair As Low As $39.99 Up To 20% Off On Wigs * Every Tuesday Wigs As Low As $20.00 * Lace Front Wigs Quality Products and Everyday Special

Tel: 416-244-3337 Fax: 416-244-3475 Sheridan Mall - Lower Level (near Winners) 1700 Wilson Ave. # 76 Downsview, Ont.

The Ghanaian News

Sell, Order or Ship Avon Product

March 2014

47

If you want to sell, order or ship Avon Product to Ghana or another countries * Roll-on * Perfumes * Creams * Lotions * Body Wash etc. For Special Discount

Call Gladys Saka @ 647-835-2874 Avon Representative

BOACHIE Import/Export & Financial Services . Income Tax-Personal/Business, (efile), GST Returns . Bookkeeping, Financial Services .Accounts Audits and preparations .We also shipping commercial/Personal Merchandise Worldwide. . Money transfers from Canada to Ghana on 24 hour basis.

Cell: 403 383 2275 Boachie

5103 44 Avenue NE, Calgary AB T1Y 2Z9

Alice Hair Designer Specializing in: Braids (All Types), Weaving, Haircutting, Hair Styling, Relaxing etc.

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Tel: 416-266-9221 Cell: 416-880-2144 3545 Kingston Rd., #8, Scarborough, ON, M1M 1R6

African Queen Afro-Caribbean Superstore Be Queen For A Day, Everyday!

Fashion * Jewellery * Hair Care * Skin Care * Groceries * Music & Videos * Health Call Doris Konadu Tel: 613-736-5369 Fax: 613-247-0684 2430 Bank Street, Unit #17 Ottawa, Ontario (Bank St / Huntclub Rd.)

NEW LOCATION: 3334-32 STREET NE (HORIZON AUTO CENTRE) INTERSECTION OF 32 AVENUE AND 32 STREET NE OUR PHONE AND FAX NUMBERS REMAIN THE SAME,

PHONE: (403)568-7602 FAX: (403) 568-7603 CITA, YOUR LAST STOP FOR YOUR BEAUTY SUPPLIES AND AFRICAN FOODS

48

The Ghanaian News March 2014

SIX STAR MOTORS 1406 Martin Grove Rd (Martin Grove/Rexdale) Specializing In: Air Conditioning Service Tune-ups, Brakes, Mufflers, General Repairs Service to all imports

STANDFAST AUTO INC. Certification - Imports & Domestic Vehicles * TUNE-UPS * MUFFLERS* BRAKES * OIL CHANGE

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Sam Auto Body collusion Repairs

(Jane & Highway 7)

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GENERAL REPAIR ON ALL MAKE & MODELS

Domestic & Import Contact: Sam

Paul Nsiah, Manager Tel: 416-746-3275

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Monday - Friday - 9:00am - 5:00pm Saturday 9:00am - 6:00pm

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Tel: 905-463-9835 Cell: 647-225-4223 Fax: 905-463-9836 227 Advance Blvd., Unit 18 & 19 Brampton, Ont.

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647-428-6837 172 Toryork Dr. Unit 9 North York, Ont.

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Oil Lube, Grease, brakes, Tune-Ups Electronic Ignition, Fuel Injection, etc 35 Taber Rd. #3, Rexdale, Ont.

M.S.B. Driving School Ministry Approved Course Provider

Out of City Road Test * Do Your 'G' Road Test Without Driving On Any of The 400 Highways * We Offer New And Nervous Drivers Until They Pass Their Road Test Contract (some conditions may apply) * Attend Our Classroom 25 hrs. Session To Get Your Certificate for Insurance Discount

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Complete general repairs to all foreign & domestic cars, Body and Custom painting Contact: Bismarck Bright or Nick Bright

Tel: (416)745-5690 Fax: (416)745-1514 16 Taber Road, Etobicoke, Ont.

The Ghanaian News

March 2014

49

Ghana Independence Day in Winnipeg

By Dr. Michael Baffoe, Winnipeg

The Ghanaian Community of Manitoba c e l e b r a t e d G h a n a ’s 57 Independence Anniversary with a GetTogether in Winnipeg on Saturday March 15, 2014. Special Guests

of Honour were Hon. Flor Marcelino, Minister of Multiculturalism, Province of Manitoba and Hon. Christine Melnick, former Minister of Immigration and MLA for Riel

The Giant Anniversary Cake Frank Indome, former President, Ghana Union of Manitoba

The kids were on stage to participate in the celebration Ace Drummer, Evans Coffieman, left and DG Kwabena Osei Bonsu and his crew, right

Community ladies grace the occasion in a splendid cultural way Community Elders and Guests

Community ladies on hand to serve out the delicious dishes

Community Cultural Troupe

A section of the large number of anniversary revelers

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The Ghanaian News March 2014

Ghanaians in Ottawa hold Independence Anniversary The Ghana Association of Ottawa held its annual independence celebration on March 8 th 2014 at the Tr a v e l o d g e H o t e l a n d Conference Center in Ottawa. Mr. Bismark Otoo, President of the Ghana Association of Ottawa in his opening remarks, introduced the executives of the Ghana Association, outlined the achievements of the association in the past year and identified what is to be done in the next year.

He advised members of the Ghanaian community to

participate in community activities. The Acting High Commissioner of Ghana, Mr Obeng Koranteng gave some remarks on the state of Ghana’s development.

Mr. Muhammed M. Adam, a journalist and a member of the editorial board of the Ottawa Citizen Newspaper gave a brief history on Ghana from independence till date titled ‘Ghana: The Past and the Present’. Mr. Adam talked about the progress Ghana has made despite political instability

in the 1960s till early 1980s.

There were fun quizzes and prizes for people who had knowledge about Ghana’s independence and other fun activities about the state. The President of the association took the opportunity to recognize Mr. Zack Ilboudo of the Institute of Modern Languages in Ottawa and Gatineau area for his exemplary community service. Music was provided by DJ Khalid.

Do you want to Experience Dominion Living, having Authority Over the Affairs of LIFE, Just As Adam and His Wife Enjoyed?

Join Pastors Ebow & Hannah Essel at Dominion Miracle Center in Pickering and Toronto Branches. With their Practical and indept Teaching, God will lead you into an Experience of Dominion Living

Contact us at 905-427-8877, 905-706-1360 for our Pickering and Toronto Branches Pickering- 1698 Bayly St. # 2,3.

Intersection Bayly / Brock Rd. Time: 10 am Toronto 268 Eddystone Avenue Time 2pm – 4pm

Pastors Ebow & Hannah Essel

The Ghanaian News

March 2014

51

Ghanaians in Montreal celebrate Ghana’s 57th Independence Anniversary

By staff Reporter, Montreal The Ghanaian community in Montreal, Quebec, celebrated held two events on the 14th and 15th of March, 2014 respectively to mark the 57th anniversary of Ghana’s independence. On the evening of Friday, 14th March 2014, the community held a thanksgiving and prayer service for the peace and prosperity of Ghana at the Ghana Presbyterian Church for. The service, organized by the Ghana Christian Council of Montreal in collaboration with Ghana-Canada House Inc., began with a video showing the declaration of independence by the late Dr. Kwame Nkrumah.

The sermon and prayers focused on thanking God for the relative peace and prosperity Ghana has been endowed with.

The anniversary celebrations were on Saturday, 15th March 2014, the community held the 57th Independence day

celebrations at the Dollard des Ormeaux Civic Center. This annual event was organized

by Ghana-Canada House Inc. and Ghana Youth Movement of Montreal (GYM) with support from t h e Gh an a Christian Council of Montreal.

There was an official opening address by the Interim President of Ghana-Canada House, Mr. Gerald Arhin.

He called for unity among community members. Series of cultural dances representing the various regions of Ghana were performed by local youth members under the organization of Ms. Cecilia Clement, who was also the chairperson of the 2014 Independence Day organizing committee. The keynote address was delivered by his Excellency, Mr. Kwasi Obeng-Koranteng, acting High Commissioner of Ghana to Canada. His address focused

on the increasing visibility of Ghana and the high regard in which Ghana is held by the Canadian government and establishment. Following the Speech by the His Excellency, there was a skit performed by members of GYM to showcase the history of Ghana. It had

a narrative of the history as well as impersonations of the various members of the “Big Six” which was well received.

Interspersed throughout the night’s festivities were dances by numerous groups such as Erica and Co., Josephine and Co as well as a Hiphop/Hiplife

dance group from Toronto.

There was a fashion show featuring the latest in Ghanaian fashion. The closing act by the Keteke Drum and Dance group of Montreal.

The two DJs for the night were DJ Khalid of Montreal and DJ Bizzy of Toronto.

52

The Ghanaian News March 2014

Ruff n Smooth Storms Alberta

By Staff Reporter, Edmonton and greet them at the On Saturday March newly open facility for 22nd 2014, the city of Ghanaian Edmontorians, Edmonton was stunned Ghana House whereby with a fabulous showcase the President of the of fantastic performance Association, Mr Ameyaw from hiplife superstars, expressed gratitude Ruff n Smooth live from for them coming to Ghana, West Africa represent and being the to commemorate the first group from Ghana celebrations of Ghana at to gr ace Edmonton 57 years of Independence. with such excitement.

The benefit concert a t t r a c t e d o v e r 5 0 0 Mr. Bonsu, CEO of Afro people at the Portuguese Entertainment said the Cultural Center. It was outstanding response organized by event from the community planning specialist, of various nationalities Afro Entertainment in was incredible and looks conjunction with Mon forward to bringing more Amie Restaurant, which exciting events to the was also in support of the capital city of Alberta.

Sinkunia Community The evening consisted of D e v e l o p m e n t a live fashion show from Organization that helps Tounkara Fashions with build schools in Ghana. hair showcasing from Swagger Studios. The The artists performed opening acts included s o m e o f t h e i r h i t s Liberian superstar 2C, i n c l u d i n g D a n c e Lay-z, Fab, Mc Theo, and for me, Naija baby, P-Rhymes(Cameroon) Beautiful, Azingele, and more. Fans got Photo credit courtesy a chance to also meet o f To p e A d i n k u l e .

The Ghanaian News

th

March 2014

53

Ghanaians Celebrates 57 Ghana Independence in Calgary

By Margaret Adu Boateng, Calgary On March 8 th , 2014, the Ghanaian Canadian Association of Calgary (GCAC) celebrated the 57th Ghana Independence in Calgary. This memorable day was attended by Constable Jeff Munday, from the Calgary Police Services, some members of the Nigerian Canadian Association, Grenada Association and many more.

The new elected president of the GCAC, Margaret Adu, called on the Ghanaian Community to work comprehensively together to build a strong a n d u n i t e d c o m m u n i t y.

Danielle Nyarko, a grade 12 student who is planning on becoming an environmental engineer, was the keynote speaker. She inspired the crowd especially the youth with her achievements and expectations.

The GCAC, awarded, Awurama Oteng, Jasmine Banahene, Abena Oteng and Kendrick Ankama for being on honour roll. This was to encourage the entire youth to excel in their education. Four (4) others were also recognized for their

excellence in community services, Rev Fred and Veronica McNeil, Mercy Agyeman, Joseph Mensah and the Adehyemanmma Cultural group The Adehyemanmma Cultural Group entertained the crowd with a traditional dance Adowa, hip pop dance and a drama entitled “Agyewaa in Canada part 2�.

The vice president of GCAC, Margaret Osei Boateng

expressed her deep sense of appreciation to the special guests, sponsors and the entire

Ghanaian community for coming together as united people, in bringing honour to our

mother land Ghana. The MCs for the occasion were Gloria Mensah and Kwasi Yeboah

54

The Ghanaian News March 2014

FASHION Spring to summer fashion

By Beni Boo Fashions This spring is all about bright colors, edgy graphics, and tons of accessories! Check out how the celebs are wearing the trends, and find out where you can score the best pieces of the season and twist it into your own personal style.

True style is not about having a closet full of expensive and beautiful things — it is instead about knowing when, where, and how to utilize your collection.”

For some reason, there has been one piece of fashion advice I’ve always seemed to cling to over the years “three piece” rule that required the sales people to always incorporate a third article of clothing in addition to their top and bottom. Whether it was a jacket, vest or scarf, the point was that it gave the outfit a sense of “put-togetherness” and sophistication that allowed them to look styled and intentional rather than too casual and appear like a lazy dresser.

Bright Dresses First springtime mode of action: trade in your bulky sweaters for bright, flirty sundresses! Go for ones in a vintage cut, African print

by Beni Boo and geometrics.

For those times when it does get a little cooler especially this season let your go-to be a nice scarf. Also I love the look of mixing unexpected patterns like stripes and floral and then add my favourite neutral jacket to tie in everything together our vice versa the neutral under piece with some nice Afrocentric blazer Jacket.

Honestly my new hobby aside from the designing of fab clothes is finding new ways to mix and match unique pieces the I already have in my ward-

robe and wear pieces of clothing intended for something else/season. Example layering a top over maxi dresses and adding a statement necklace from Victorious Me’ to complete my “three piece rule” and going out looking fab so gone on –give it a try; it can be fun to double (and triple, quadruple, etc.) up on accessories. Sometimes it good to combine multiple necklaces to gain a more eclectic and bauble-y look.

Some few things to wear this season Straw Fedoras Ditch you tukes and rock fedoras hats which come in different shapes colors and styles and look. This makes both ladies and gentlemen look put together with a cool sense of style Flouncy Skirt ! This spring it’s all about above-the-knee lengths and plenty of volume to twirl in kind of skirt and not mini-skirts Bright Jackets Whether you go for a blazer or a moto jacket, or a bomber style, this spring’s coats are all about bright colors and fun patterns, and African prints blazers.

Now the When or How To a Job Interview “Your wardrobe should complement your skill set, never detract — or distract — from your assets,”. “The smallest detail can set you apart from your competition. It’s essential that you appear professional, capable, and confident without going overboard.”

When Out Shopping Why worry about your old duds when you are shopping for new ones, right? “As wonderful as this excursion may be, it’s possible you’ll be surrounded by many mir-

rors and a halo of hideously unflattering fluorescent lighting,” so atleast Choose adorable lingerie. It doesn’t have to be ultra-sexy, but you want to look your best as you slip in and out of your new clothes.

On a First Date “We all get a little rush of excitement at the prospect of buying a brand-new outfit for a first date, but this is not the time. “You’re much better off wearing clothes, shoes especially, that you’ve already tested and feel much comfortable in and the man or the woman be the only thing new.

For Brunch with the Girls/ or going out for the night or to that party you’ve been invited to If you think Sunday brunch with your besties is an opportunity to take a break from looking fab, you’re giving your pals too much credit.

“We all sneak in the ‘up-anddown’ glance. “You don’t want to seem as though you’re trying to outshine anyone ... but always look fabulous.”

Everywhere

Else

Ok so don’t let Fear of breaking the ‘fashion rules,’ fear of violating some long-

forgotten tradition, or the basic fear of looking bad,” put a block on what to wear.

If you are still wondering what you should wear to a formal dinner, a gallery opening, a therapy session (yes, it matters), or a dreaded office party etc... the read the next issue which will include some vivd tips on the men as well...

By: Beni Boo (Fashion Designer, Fashion Editor & Image consultant) Photog by : imajphotos Model: Whitney A

Ghanaian News is now online Check it out www.ghanaiannews.ca

The Ghanaian News

March 2014

55

In Memoriam of the

Late Mr. William Okrah a.k.a. W.O. July 11, 1945 - April 19, 2013

Late Mr. William Okrah a.k.a. W.O.

On Tuesday 19th April 2013, the icy hands of death touched you as you were called home by our maker Almighty God. Your death created a vaccuum very hard to be filled.

We sincerely believe that you are resting in the bossom of the Lord up above there keeping a watch over us. You were such a loving father, uncle and brother. Your entire family and friends as well will miss you beyond description.

As we celebrate the first anniversary of your death all that we can profess is that may the good Lord be with you till we meet again. Rest In Peace Willie Remembered by children Tina, Helena Grace, Friends and the entire family

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The Ghanaian News March 2014

The Ghanaian News

March 2014

57

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The Ghanaian News March 2014

Paperless clearing system reaches all customs entry points

cont'd from pg. 30 using

the

platform.

Although GCNet seeks to eliminate trade related paper documents, declarants can still print copies of their declarations and obtain printed receipts for duties/ taxes, fees or port charges paid.

Responsibility of importers and freight forwarders It is in this vein that the GCNet has appealed to importers and Freight Forwarders to migrate on to the TradeNet electronic system by April this year to facilitate clearing at the Tema port.

The importers and Freight Forwarders need to change to web-based platform to be integrated into the Customs clearing platform to automate their operations. This will mean that business owners need to set-up their offices with the required computer hardware.

The Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority has also had cause to complain about the growing number of unregistered declarants who operate without computers and any form of electronic systems and therefore could not be hooked onto the customs electronic clearing platform.

An Assistant Commissioner of Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority in charge of Import and Export, Mr Wallace Akondor, said such operations posed challenges for the full implementation of a paperless system and therefore advised clearing

agents to open offices, use computers and hire qualified persons to work for them where necessary, saying “you cannot do business without adhering to rules that go with it.”

handing over their documents to clearing agents without taking into consideration their credibility had also contributed to some difficulties of eliminating unregistered persons from the system.

The Manager in charge of TradeNet, Mr Jonathan Ofori, has stressed that the presentation of inaccurate details on imported goods had made the use of the system unattractive, saying some importers either under pretence or ignorantly, gave wrong descriptions to their imported goods causing difficulties in the processing of the documents.

He said the practice had led to inefficiencies in clearing processes, counter-productive to the purpose for which the ‘TradeNet platform was developed – solely to facilitate seamless clearing at the ports.

“This will enable you to put in controls, monitor transactions and pre-clearance processes to feel the full benefits of the electronic system,” Mr Ofori explained.

GCNet plans more information sharing through notices and interactions between the systems operators and the importers to ensure they remained abreast of the new measures.

Benefits

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GCNet also operates an i-Transit service, which fixes electronic tracking devices

The Tema Branch Manager of the GCNet, Mr Jimmy Allotey, was of the view that the practice of importers just

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60

The Ghanaian News March 2014

Ethiopia Orthodox Church takes roots in Ghana

Guinea’s Ebola outbreak: ‘There are far worse diseases out there cont'd from pg. 45

The Ethiopia Orthodox Tewahedo Church will take firm roots in Ghana with the establishment of a branch of the church in Ghana after the acceptance of a fact-finding report that recommends that it is apt to have the church in the country.

When approval is given, a priest and a monk will be sent to the country to take charge of the liturgy and spiritual needs of the community of a deacon, baptised and non-baptised members of the church.

In an interview with Public Agenda, KesTesfa Michael, a priest of the Ethiopia Tewahedo Orthodox Church who came to the country to undertake the fact-finding, said, barring any unforeseen circumstances, the report that he would submit to the Archbishop of the Continent of Africa, AbunaYacob, would lead to the setting up of the Ghana branch of the church. Kes Michael was sent to the

country by Archbishop of the Diocese of England, Abuna Enthons.

to be contacted to prepare the grounds for the founding of a branch.

“The prospects look good for the formal establishment of the church in Ghana. There are many people who really need the church here,” Kes Michael said, before departing to London on March 19, 2014 after a twoweek stay in the country.

By then, a Mahiba, a group of members and potential members of the church which study the Bible and take care of their social needs, and an appropriate building for liturgical services would have been put in place for a priest and a monk to come and live in the country.

He said copies of his report would be given to the Secretary of the Arch-diocese of the Continent of Africa and it would be discussed at a meeting of the Holy Senate of the church before a final decision would be taken whether to set up or not to establish a branch of the church.

He said when it is approved that a branch be set up, the next step is for the Christian Council of Ghana and AmdeTsion, an elder of the church whose untiring efforts resulted in the fact-finding mission,

During his visit, Kes Michael conferred with Rev. DrKwabenaOpuniFrimpong, the SecretaryGeneral of the Christian Council and other clergy; met with members of the Ethiopia World Federation and Rastafarians; and held services with members of the church.

He also featured on several Accra-based radio stations to explain the theology, philosophy and doctrine of the church.

One of the few pre-colonial Christian churches in Sub-Saharan Africa, the Ethiopian Orthodox

Tewahedo Church has a membership of between 40 and 45 million people, the majority of whom live in Ethiopia.

Thus, it is the largest of all the Oriental Orthodox churches. The church is a founding member of the World Council of Churches. Tewahedo is a Ge’ez word which means’being made one’ or ‘unified.’ The word refers to the Oriental Orthodox belief in the single unified Nature of Christos (Christ).

That is the belief that a complete, natural union of the Divine and Human Natures of Christ into one is self-evident in order to accomplish the divine salvation of humankind. This tenet is opposed to the ‘two Natures of Christ’ belief (unmixed, but inseparable Divine and Human Natures, called the Hypostatic Union) which is held by the Roman Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox churches. Public Agenda

Insect-borne diseases “Vector-borne” diseases — or diseases transmitted by insects and ticks — affect millions of people every year.

Malaria, the most deadly vector-borne disease, kills more than 1.2 million people annually - mostly African children under the age of five, according to WHO. Insect-borne diseases such as malaria and dengue fever are typically found in subtropical countries and are transmitted by mosquitoes.

Both diseases can produce headaches, joint pain and vomiting, but the latter can develop into dengue hemorrhagic fever, which can lead to significant blood loss.

There is no effective vaccine for either disease.

Airborne diseases For many people, the most frightening diseases are those that are transmitted via the air.

Spread by coughing and sneezing, measles is one of the most contagious viruses known to science.

Measles, which produces a fever and severe rashes, kills an estimated 122,000 children every year, according to the U.S.-based Measles & Rubella Initiative. Most North Americans are immunized as children

against measles, but it remains a major concern in India and southern Africa.

Tuberculosis, another airborne disease, killed 1.3 million people in 2012, according to WHO. It is a leading killer of people with HIV. TB is caused by bacteria that typically affect the lungs, leading to chronic cough, fever and weight loss. Travellers can be vaccinated for TB. Diseases transmitted by bodily fluids or blood Although Ebola gets a lot of media attention, the Lassa hemorrhagic fever is far more prevalent, says Jeffrey Lee, an assistant professor in the department of laboratory medicine and pathobiology at the University of Toronto.

The Lassa virus, which is endemic in west African countries such as Sierra Leone, Guinea and Nigeria, infects between a quarter to half a million people a year and kills nearly 10,000 people annually, Lee says.

“With Ebola, we have these [small] outbreaks, but the Lassa virus is definitely more of an emerging virus,” he adds.

As with Ebola, there is no vaccine for Lassa.

Like Ebola, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is transmitted by bodily fluids — typically through unprotected sex or the sharing of dirty needles. HIV can develop into auto-immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), which weakens a person’s immune system to the point where the body can no longer fight off infection. Although the death rate of HIV/AIDS has dropped significantly in the past decade, it still killed an estimated 1.6 million people in 2012, according to WHO. HIV is a worldwide health concern, but Tyndall says that given the public awareness of it, he says he “can’t remember seeing a return traveller who contracted HIV.” He acknowledges that “there’s a lot of risky behaviour that people engage in,” but when it comes to HIV, he advises travellers to simply use common sense.

“Whether you’re in Canada or Nairobi, you probably don’t want to have unprotected sex with people you don’t know.” CBC News

The Ghanaian News

March 2014

61

Let's Think Family - By Rev. Dr. Samuel Kisseadoo

Eight primary tests of true spirituality – Part 1

These are days when spirituality is among the top themes on the agenda for mankind, in addition to highlights such as the economy, politics, technology, security, sexuality, marriage, and family. We wish to remind ourselves that two major kinds of spirits operate in the universe --- 1) The Holy Spirit or Spirit of God, also called The Spirit of Jesus, plus angels of God. 2) Satan, and demonic spirits or spirits of evil and darkness. There is also a human spirit that lives in all human beings, giving life to the soul that lives in us to give life to our body. Many people claim to be spiritual, and try to convince us that they are spiritually powerful. But, no matter the miracles, revelations, or great words and mysterious performances, if the spirit is not originating from the Lord Jesus Christ and can be tested to be genuine by the Bible, then it is NOT a true Spirit of God, but of the devil that is disguised in several deceptive forms.

Such a spirit will ultimately land the person in hell after death if the one is not saved by the Spirit of Christ and delivered from that evil deceptive spirit. Those who follow such a person will finally end up like him or her.

The more disturbing cases have to do with thousands of Believers (Christians) and their leaders in thousands of churches

and in our communities, who do not know that God’s ultimate plan is for all genuine Christians to be truly spiritual in line with scripture. Lack of real spirituality is the reason for ungodliness in churches and among Christians; low and ineffective performances of many Christians in leadership positions and for pastors, ministers, evangelists etc.; and un-loving or apathetic character of several Christians. Many of us, however, do not know or understand who a spiritual person really is. Let us explore this concept on a small scale and get a workable idea, with a focus only on Christians without delving deep into the entire subject. I have concluded on at least eight primary tests for the spirituality of a Believer or Minister of the Gospel.

1) HOW YOU TA K E P E R S O N AL CRITICISM. There are two kinds of criticisms: A) Unjustified criticism. Jesus said, ‘Offences will come’ (Luke 17:1), so expect them.

Attack on you shows that there is respect for you -- you’re being noticed

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Just like Jesus did, forget it and move on, so far as your conscience is clear --- 1 Peter 2:15, 16. B) Justified criticism. Such criticism has some truth behind it --- always remember that you are frail mortal human who will by all means make some mistakes, no matter how hard you pray, try and obey. This where many partners make mistakes in their courtships and marriages, and church leaders do the same, by refusing to accept justified criticism for change. The best thing to do as a truly spiritual person is to accept it. Don’t resist discovery of negatives about yourself. You block spiritual growth and fruitfulness if you do that. There is always room for improvement. Proverbs 11:14.

2) HOW YOU TALK ABOUT YOURSELF. Are you self-dominating?

Are you always desiring or trying to be in control of everything and everybody everywhere, and dominating all conversations? Forcing to be heard, noticed, admired, praised, and rewarded at all times. Our primary enemy is not the devil; our chief enemy is self.

When self is broken and submitted to the Spirit of God, the devil and your enemies can’t easily work or oppose you and win.

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the Lord at all times, and attributes every success or victory and achievement to God’s grace. A real spiritual person aims at God’s glory in all that he or she says and does.

TO BE CONTINUED

By Dr. Samuel Kisseadoo.

E-mail: kisseadoo@msn. com. Website for resources: www.fruitfulministriesint.com. My first Facebook Account (DrSamuel Kisseadoo) is full, but there is space on my

new Account (RevDr. Kisseadoo) for new friends; or you can like my Community Page: FM Int. Inc. Tune in to JOY 99.7 FM in Accra, Ghana to listen to Dr. Kisseadoo’s weekly broadcast “Hope For Your Family” on Sat. 5:30am-6am (Ghana time). Access on Internet with MYJOYONLINE. COM. Use my name to search RedLeadBooks. com and get a copy of my encouraging book: “Facing And Fighting Through

The Storm”, and other books from Amazon.com or RedLeadBooks.com.

Call me in Virginia on 1-757-7289330 (or call 020-8126533 in Accra or 0275-353802 in Kumasi, Ghana) for free counseling, prayer, books, speaking engagements, and messages. In Ghana, call Tigo 545 and follow the prompts for daily motivational messages of Dr. Kisseadoo. Permission granted to freely share but with acknowledgement.

One Reason Why Cocoa is Good for You Devon JarvisWe’ve heard about a jillion times that dark chocolate is good for you, but new research being unveiled this week at the National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society may help shed light on the reason why.

A research team spearheaded by Maria Moore, an undergraduate student at Louisiana State University, created a model of the human digestive process using stomach and intestinal enzymes, and sent through three types of cocoa powder (an ingredient in chocolate), paying careful attention to the way the components of cocoa powder were broken down by gut bacteria.

See more: Look Better Naked Among the results: The small amount of fiber in cocoa powder is broken down into short chain fatty acids, which are ben-

eficial to colon health, study author John W. Finley, Ph.D., a professor of food science, and the Director of Food Innovation at Louisiana State University, told SELF.

bacteria in your stomach churn up the cocoa powder and ferment it, they turn components of it into anti-inflammatory compounds that may benefit your heart. Cool, right?

But even more interesting was what happened to the polyphenols in the cocoa. “These very complex, large molecules are broken down in the gut into intermediate-sized molecules, and then further broken down to small molecules that are readily absorbed,” Finley says. “In previous studies, we’ve found that these materials help prevent inflammation in cardiovascular tissue. So the bottom line here is we’ve kind of explained one pathway by which cocoa is probably protective against cardiovascular inflammatory diseases.”

See more: 5 Simple Steps to Cellulite-Free Skin In other words, when the

Now, it’s important to note that this research was done on cocoa powder and not dark chocolate -- we’ve seen a lot of other research about how dark chocolate is good for you, but Finley, Moore and their team looked only at cocoa powder, which is one ingredient in dark chocolate. But that doesn’t mean you can’t apply their results to your daily life. In fact, we’re kind of obsessed with the way Finley says he adds cocoa powder to his diet: “I put it on my oatmeal in the morning with strawberries,” Finley says.

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For All Your Events Coverage Call The Ghanaian News 416-916-3700

62

The Ghanaian News March 2014

PLACES OF WORSHIP DIRECTORY HOLY ALPHA & OMEGA CHURCH

Ghana Methodist Churches in Canada ( SOCIETIES UNDER THE GHANA METHODIST CONFERENCE)

We invite you to worship with us The Superintendent Minister-In-Charge

Church Service: Sunday Worship: 10.00a.m. - 12.30 p.m.

Wednesday Bible Studies: 6.00p.m. - 7.30 p.m.

Friday Prayer Meeting: 7.00p.m. - 9.00 p.m.

JESUS Loves You

invites you to worship with us Prophet John Mensah

869 Wilson Avenue, North York, Ont.

Tel: 416-638-5990 / 416-419-6671

EVANGEL

ASSEMBLY OF GOD CHURCH

Toronto Society

Place of Worship: 19 Penn Drive, North York, Ont. (off Finch Av./Milvan)

416-743-4555 (Office) 905-216-2323 (Residence) Day and Time of Worship: Sunday: Bible Class Meeting: 41 10:00 a.m. - 10.30 a.m.

Church Service: 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

Jericho Hour Prayer Meeting 8:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.

Friday: Bible Teaching/Prayer Meeting 8:00 p.m. - 9.00 p.m.

Saturday Organizational Meeting: 6.30 p.m. - 9.30 p.m.

Sunday Brampton Prayer Meeting 8:00 p.m.

Calgary Methodist - 403-603-2864 Edmonton Methodist - 587-336-1223 Ottawa Methodist - 613-823-2291

1245 Martin Grove Road, Rexdale, Ontario, M9W 1L4

Tel: 416-242-7950 Fax: 416-242-8573 Church Activities

Pastor in Charge

Rev. Milton Offei

Sunday School: Church Service: Sunday Evening: Wednesday Bible Studies: Friday Prayer Meeting:

10a.m. -11:00a.m.

11a.m. - 1:30p.m.

7p.m. - 8:30p.m.

7p.m. - 8:30p.m.

7p.m. - 9:00p.m.

Disciples Revival Church Healing & Deliverance Centre Rev. Dr. & Rev (Mrs) Charles Mantey Foundes/Senior Pastors

416-614-7771

In Montreal at: Place of Worship: 6870 Rue de Terreborne, Montreal, Que, H4B 1C5

Day and Time of Worship Sunday Divine Service: 12:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.

Friday Prayer Meetings: 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.

Contact: Rev. Emmanuel Ohene Gyimah - 514-542-0871 SERVICES ARE CONDUCTED FOLLOWING THE TRADITIONAL GHANA METHODIST LITURGY. PLEASE COME AND JOIN US. WE HAVE A PLACE FOR YOU. GOD RICHLY BLESS YOU

CHRIST REDEEMER CHURCH

Pastor-in-charge: Pastor Eric Amoah Tel: (416) 748-1242 Cell: (416) 300-9970 Church Services Sunday Service: Bible Study: 10 a.m.-11a.m.

Worship Service: 11a.m. - 1p.m.

Wednesday: Bible Study 6:30p.m.-7:30p.m.

Friday Night Prayer: 8p.m.-10p.m. Pastor Eric Amoah Location: 4 Racine, Unit 9

Email: info@disciplesrevivalchurch.org www.disciplesrevivalchurch.org

SUNDAY SERVICE - Morning - 10:00 am

Senior Pastor & Founder: Rev. Augustine Adu-Anane BRE, M.Th. CPC

Senior Associate Pastor: Rev. Eleanor Adu-Anane BRE, ECE

Wed: Bible Study & Prayer: 6:00 pm - 8:30 pm Friday: Youth Service 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm Friday: Adult Intercessory Prayer - 7:00 - 9:00 pm Do visit our website and sign up for the Pastor's monthly newsletter

(Kipling/Rexdale)

Peace Light Ministries

Mid-Week Service

For deliverance & healing, come to Disciples, a Church that caters to your needs

Very Rev. Dr. Emmanuel Asare-Kusi

TIME OF WORSHIP

Rev. Augustine Adu-Anane

Wednesday: Bible Study 7:00 - 9:00 pm Friday: Group Prayer Meeting 8:00 - 11:00 pm Sunday: Christian Education 9:30 am - 10:30 am Sunday Service: 10:30 am - 12:30 pm

Tel: 416-839-1662 / 647-892-9412

www.disciplesrevivalchurch.org

LOCATION: 100 Penn Drive, Unit #3, North York, Ont. M9L 2A9

30 Gordon Mackay Rd, North York, ON, M9N 2V6

Happy are those who work for PEACE, for God will call them His children Mtt: 5:9

The Ghanaian News

FOOD FOR LIFE

March 2014

63

Bringing the Gospel to our Community By: Rev. Joseph Osei-Amoah THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, THE PERFECT SACRIFICE! “The old system in the law of Moses was only a shadow of the things to come, not the reality of the good things Christ has done for us. The sacrifices under the old system were repeated again and again, year after year, but they were never able to provide perfect cleansing for those who came to worship. 2 If they could have provided perfect cleansing, the sacrifices would have stopped, for the worshipers would have been purified once for all time, and their feelings of guilt would have disappeared. 3 But just the opposite happened. Those yearly sacrifices reminded them of their sins year after year. 4 For it is not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. 5 That is why Christ, when he came into the world, said, “You did not want animal sacrifices and grain offerings. But you have given me a body so that I may obey you. 6 No, you were not pleased with animals burned on the altar or with other offerings for sin. 7 Then I said, ‘Look, I have come to do your will, O God — just as it is written about me in the Scriptures.’ “8 Christ said, “You did not want animal sacrifices or grain offerings or animals burned on the altar or other offerings for sin, nor were you pleased with them” (though they are required by the law of Moses). 9 Then he added,

“Look, I have come to do your will.” He cancels the first covenant in order to establish the second. 10 And what God wants is for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all time.” (Hebrews 10:1-10 New Living Translation) Once again, Easter will soon be with us and we will celebrate the supreme sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God made for humanity. We live in the time when the things of God are fast losing their spiritual significance.

The Apostle Paul by the power of the Spirit of God predicted: “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.” (2 Timothy 4:34 NKJV) What seemed to be a tragic event that took place at Golgotha, a hill outside the walls of Jerusalem, the crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth some two thousand years ago,

rather paved the way for sinful humanity to be reconciled with the holy God, his Creator.

Chapter 10 of the Letter to the Hebrews in the New Testament explains why the Lord Jesus who claimed to be the Son of God was crucified as atonement for the sins of humanity. That act made it possible for a holy God and sinful humanity to be reconciled. The Letter to the Hebrews deals with the true identity of Jesus of Nazareth as the Son of God whom the Father addressed as God and future Ruler of the Kingdom of God on earth in perfect righteousness, “But to the Son He says: “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of gladness more than Your companions.”

(Hebrews 1:8-9 NKJV) The entire 39 verses of Hebrews 10 speak of the repeated animal sacrifice of the Old Testament under the Mosaic Law which could not take away sin but only served as a covering for sin to prevent divine judgment till the better sacrifice was offered once and for all to atone for sin.

The Son of God was born as human; thus providing Him with a body to offer the perfect sacrifice once

to atone for sin-(Hebrews 10: 5-7). He offered Himself as the Perfect High Priest as predict by King David according to the Greek translation of the Old Testament of Psalm 40:6-8. This act of God is beyond human comprehension.

This is what the Lord Jesus Himself declared; “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16 NKJV T h e O l d Testament sacrifice was imperfect because it provided only a covering for the sins of the people prevented immediate divine judgment but was unable to remove the guilt of the sinner therefore, the Old Testament system was looking forward for Christ’s perfect sacrifice (Hebrews 10: 3-4). The believer in the Lord Jesus Christ is made perfect

Tel: 905-495-1936 Fax: 905-495-1937 This is a loving and caring Church that preaches and teaches the whole counsel of God. A place where the word of God is backed by strong anointing to bring Salvation, Healing and Deliverance to all people who believe on the LORD JESUS CHRIST

CHURCH ACTIVITIES: Sunday Search the Scriptures - 12 noon - 12-45 p.m.

Church Service - 12:45 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.

Fridays - 7:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.

Rev. Dr. Stephen Ofori-Darko

Bible Study, Intercession & Deliverance

interrupted by death, Christ ever lives, “by so much more Jesus has become a surety of a better covenant. Also there were many priests, because they were prevented by death from continuing.

But He, because He continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood.

Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.”

(Hebrews 7:22-25 NKJV). The Lord Jesus immediately intercedes for them before the Father the moment they pray to atone for sin. This is a wonderful privilege enjoyed by believers in Christ. If you are not His follower, why not try Him now; He never fails.

He cares for you because He died for you. Accept Jesus now as your Savior.

(Read Romans 10:9-10 for direction)

Living Word

Assembly of God Church (Affiliated with P.A.O.C.)

139 Millwick Drive Toronto, Ont. (Steeles/Islington) Tel: 416- 741-6285 Fax: 416- 741-0133

Email: livingwordag@bellnet.ca

Redemption Faith Church

Invites you to worship with us at 1485 ALBION ROAD (Albion/Kipling)

through faith in His death on the cross. While the Old Testament priest had to offer repeated sacrifice each year for the people to be pardoned, Christ’s single sacrifice was sufficient for all people of all time. After accomplishing this great work of redemption, Christ sits at the right hand of God Almighty interceding for those who have trusted Him as their Savior.

The writer of Hebrews mentions other benefits those who have received Jesus as their Savior enjoy. Among other things, they have the privilege of entering the very presence of God through prayer at any time. In fact believers are encouraged to pray always and not to lose heart-(Luke 18:1). They have passed from eternal death to life (John 3:16) Unlike the Old Testament priests whose ministry for the people was

Church Activities

Senior Pastor: Rev. Joseph Osei-Amoah

Sunday Early Morning Prayer: 8:30 a.m.

Sunday School: 9:30 a.m.

Worship Service: 10:30 a.m.

Tuesday Prayer: 10:00 a.m-12 noon Wednesday Bible Study 7:00 p.m.-8:30 p.m.

Friday Prayer 7:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m.

(Last Friday of the month “All Night Prayer”): 7:30 p.m.-12 mid-night Youth Service (Fridays): 7:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m.

Departmental Meeting (Every other Sunday): 7:00 p.m.-8:30 p.m.

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The Ghanaian News March 2014

Ghana Calvary Methodist United Church, Toronto 65 Mayall Avenue, Toronto Ontario, M3L 1E7

Tel: 416-614-6110 647-341-7305 Email: gcmuc.org Invites all Christians to join us to worship and glorify the Living God

Worship Schedule:

Sunday Church Service/Class Meetings: 10:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

Friday Prayer Meeting: 7:00 - 9:00 p.m.

Bethel Prayer Ministry Int'l

Do you desire to experience the power and the presence of God demonstrated in your life? Do you want to experience the marvelous work of God's grace in your life?

Then, Bethel Prayer Ministry International would like to invite you to visit their church where the word of God is preached powerfully to release the power of God in your life.

Pastor Dennis Awuku COME AND YOU WILL BE BLESSED Senior Pastor Res. 416-740-6963 Church 416-642-0390 Worship Hours: Sunday Service: 9am - 1pm Tuesday 9am - 2 pm Consultation Wednesday: 7pm - 9p.m.

Friday: 9pm - 12 pm Saturday (Prayer Warriors) 6pm - 8pm Location: 52 Carrier Drive, Unit 12, (Albion/Hwy 27)

Contact:

Very Rev. De-Graft Semie Obiri (Calvary Methodist)

Saturday Auxilliary Minister Youth Musical & Computer Rev. Samuel Victor Mpereh Lessons Fellowship Meetings Choir Practice, Singing Band Practice 647-770-8440

Venue of Worship

Etobicoke, Ont., M9w 5S5

Harvest Christian Church Invites you for a wonderful time with the Lord

Worship Hours Sundays (Mornings) 10 - 12:45pm Wednesday (Bible Study) 7 -8:30 pm Friday (All Night Prayer) 8-10:30pm

65 Mayall Avenue, Toronto, ON (Route: Through Jethro Road or Haymarket Road, off Wilson Ave. between Weston Rd. and Jane St., or walk across bridge from Chalkfarm North)

Rev Moses Sarpong

Come and Experience the power of the Word Join us at 196 Toryork Drive(Corner of Weston/Finch)

Tel: 416-743-2507

Tel: 416-614-6110

Email: gcmuc.org

It’s Harvest Time So Reach Out And Make A Difference

It’s A Great Commission!

The Ghanaian News

“Pull Efforts Together to Support the Development of our Motherland, Ghana”

March 2014

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cont'd from pg. 34

beautifully both the national anthems of Canada and Ghana at the function! Other youth who showcased Ghanaian rich culture during the celebration included Gyamfuwaa’s young Adowa Dancers and the Awuraba Papabi group of young girls from the Toronto Ghana Methodist Church.

The keynote speaker was Osabarima Sasraku Dr. La Kumi. He used his address to educate the gathering on the great sacrifice that our forefathers led by Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah made to win freedom from British colonial rule for our then new nation in 1957.

He then challenged all Ghanaians to be inspired by the spirit

from Justice Barnes of Ontario Superior Court, retired Justice of the Peace Dogbe, Dr. Awafo and Dr. Tay Mr Emmanuel Duodu, (medical practitioners) the Executive Secretary who were all present of GCAO, made a a t t h e f u n c t i o n . passionate appeal to the chiefs, pastors Prayers for the nation and associations in Ghana and the Ghanaian the Toronto Ghanaian communities around community to come the world were offered together to furnish a by Rev Obiri and Rev resource centre for Kusi of the Ghanaian our youth! Space has Clergy Association of already been donated Toronto A cake was b y t h e A p o s t l e s cut by the dignitaries Continuation Church. present to crown the celebration of the The issue of acquiring 57th Independence a community centre A n n i v e r s a r y o f for the Ghanaian o u r m o t h e r l a n d , community in Toronto Ghana in Toronto! was also brought to the fore in the goodwill T h e M C s f o r t h e m e s s a g e f r o m t h e occasion were Mr. chiefs at the function. E y i a h a n d L u c y O t h e r g o o d w i l l Crenstil, both staff of m e s s a g e s c a m e the Ghanaian News

of our forefathers to sacrifice to develop our nation Ghana wherever we are!

THE APOSTLES'

CONTINUATION CHURCH INTERNATIONAL (CANADA) North American Headquarters: 10 Belfield Road Toronto, Ont., M9W 1G1 Tel: 416-247-6629 Fax: 416-247-5308

Lighthouse Assembly of God Church Lead Pastor: Isaac Takyi De-Graft SUNDAY: 9:00am-10:00am 10:00am-11:00am 11:00am-1:30pm

Prayers School of the Light Joint Service

Other Weekly Opportunities: Tuesday- (Time with the Holy Spirit) 10:00am-12:30pm (At Church) Wednesday- (Bible Studies) 7:00pm- 9:00pm (On Phone

647 722 5570 Access code 731 297#) Friday- (Time in His presence) 7:00pm-9:30pm (At Church) Every First Friday is a Special Youth Service 7:00pm-9:30pm (At Church) Every Fourth Friday is Half Night Service 8:30pm-12:30am (At Church)

LOCATION:

42 Steinway Blvd. Unit 1&2

(Hwy 27/Steeles) Toronto, Ontario, M9W 6Y6

Tel: 416-740-1200 Fax: 416-740-6435 Email:

lighthouse@lighthouseag.caWebsite: http:/www/lighthouseag.ca

Power of Grace Chapel Int'l Invites all Christians, Non-Christians and members of the Resurrection Power Tradition to join us worship the Great Jehovah

Apostle Charles Anokye-Manu

SERVICE TIMES:

Worship Service Bible Studies Service All Night Service Deliverance

Toronto

Cell: 647-921-2414

Montreal Assembly

10 Belfield Road Tel: 416-247-6629

378 Cremazie East Montreal, Quebec, H2P 1E5

Scarborough Assembly 1632 Midland Ave., M1P 1C2 Tel: 416-288-1333 Pastor In-Charge: Pastor Ohene Kena Contact: 647-281-5303

Tel: 514-271-9083 Pastor-In-Charge: John Arhin

Contact: Res: 450-687-4916 Cell: 514-654-6178

Immanuel Assembly of God Church, Scarborough

350 Deerhide Cres, North York, ON Rev. Joe Bonnah Days And Time of Worship - Divine Worship - 10a.m. - 1p.m.Pastor-in-charge - Bible Studies 7p.m. - 9p.m.

- Prayer / Deliverance - 7p.m. - 10p.m.

Contact Lines: Tel: 416-321-2796 (Pastor's Res) 289-981-1547 (Church)

- Sunday 10:30 a.m.

Wednesday 9:00 p.m.

- Friday 9:30 p.m.

- Saturday 4:00 p.m.

Worship With Us At These Branches In Canada

Place of Worship:

Sunday Wednesday Friday

Website: www.apostlescontinuation.org

Rev. Douglas O. Ansah Pastor-in-charge

Sunday School: 9:30am -10:30am Church Service: 10:30am - 12 noon

LOCATION Don Montgomery Community Centre 2467 Eglinton Ave. E. Scarborough, Ont., (Kennedy/Eglinton Subway Station) For more info contact:

647-880-4216

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The Ghanaian News March 2014

Burger King Baby finds birth mom 27 years later after Facebook campaign, gets long-awaited hug cont'd from pg. 27 four hours and exchanged contact information. Deprill said they plan to meet again.

and, after giving birth in her bedroom, felt she could not take her newborn to the hospital because she would have to answer questions.

Waldron had his staff prepare for the reunification with flowers, chocolates and boxes of tissues. Deprill, who had launched the search with the blessing and encouragement of her adoptive parents, was accompanied by her adoptive mother and her youngest son, 7-month-old Jackson.

“We are definitely going to have a relationship,” she said.

Deprill declined to address the circumstances of her abandonment, referring those questions to Waldron.

The attorney said the woman said that, as a 16-year-old, she was raped while travelling abroad and became pregnant. The woman said she hid the pregnancy from her parents

Rev. Raymond Baah Abekah

“It was one of the most emotional, joyful, dramatic, exciting things I’ve ever seen,” Waldron

said, adding there’s no doubt in his mind that his client is Deprill’s mother.

“If you sat there for five minutes and heard them and watched them and observed them and looked at them, you would know,” he said.

The woman had decided about six months ago to launch her own search for the daughter she gave up.

Deprill said her birth mother expressed regret during their tearfilled meeting. She said she forgave her “110 per cent, absolutely.”

The Canadian Press

Lead-acid batteries from Ghana successfully recycled

New Light Chapel International 190 BOVAIRD DRIVE, UNIT 12 @ HWY 10, BRAMPTON

You have been to Calvary for pardon, but you have not been to Pentecost for power.

We invite you to worship with us and experience the Pentecostal power in your life.

WORSHIP SCHEDULE. Sunday - Divine Worship 10am- 12pm Wednesday - Bible Study 7pm - 10pm (Call ahead) Friday Prayer Meeting 7pm - 10pm (Call ahead)

Rev. Kwaku Asare

For information call: Rev. Kwaku Asare

905-654-7364, 905-840-2012, 416-270-6822 GHANAIAN CATHOLIC CHURCH ST. ANDREW’S PARISH 2547 KIPLING AVE. TORONTO ONTARIO M9V 3A8

MASS TIMES: 2:00pm – 4:00pm ON THE 1ST AND 3RD SUNDAY OF EVERY MONTH.

cont'd from pg. 40 the highest international environmental standards.

This should ensure that serious, properly run companies are not subject to competition from unscrupulous profiteers.”

will be better linked with recycling structures in industrialized countries.

The project only addresses locally generated scrap and thereby clearly disassociates itself from the illegal Information on the “Best t r a d e i n h a z a r d o u s of Two Worlds” project w a s t e a n d e - w a s t e .

June 2012 and May 2015 and is sponsored by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) under the r3 program.

The project partners: science and industry

Contacts at the Oeko-Institut:

The consortium working on the local implementation is made up of the Oeko-Institut, Johnson Controls, other industrial firms and competent partners in Egypt and Ghana. This cooperation combines the strengths of all involved, including leading competence in metal recycling and processing, environmental research, project management and a strong local presence. The project will run between

Dr. Matthias Buchert Head of the Infrastructure & Enterprises Division Oeko-Institut, Darmstadt office Phone: +49 6151 8191-0 Email: m.buchert@ o e k o . d e

New recycling structures are being set up in Ghana and Egypt and tested in pilot operations together with partners from industry, with the goal of increasing local value creation. The pilot schemes have to comply with international social, health and safety standards and should create jobs locally. Components that cannot be recycled in the region in an efficient and environmentally-sound manner are to be exported to specialized high-tech refineries in Europe. In this way, both countries

Further information on the project is available on the resourcefever website

Andreas Manhart R e s e a rc h e r i n t h e Sustainable Products & Material Flows Division Phone: +49 89 12590077 Email: a.manhart@ o e k o . d e

Transformation Centre

Assembly of God Church, Mississauga

Join us on Sundays for worship at: Venue: Meadowvale Community Centre, Mississauga

Address: 6655 Glen Erin Drive Main Intersection: Glen Erin Drive and Aquitaine Avenue Room: Youth and Seniors

Time: 10.00AM-1.00PM

CONTACTS; FR. ALEX OSEI CSSp (Priest-In-Charge) - 416-266-6787 FR. ANTHONY ADUSEI CSSp 416-266-6787 REV. MR. JOSEPH OWUSU AFRIYIE - 905-970-0824

Contact: Pastor Isaac K. Bonful Tel: 289-814-5482 Email: transformcentreag@yahoo.ca

"...Be transformed by the renewing of your mind..." Romans 12:2a

The Ghanaian News

Christian Hope Ministry Int'l Invites You All To Come Worship With Us

Apostle-in-charge: Apostle Twumasi Ankrah

"And these signs will follow those who believe, in My Name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues, they will take up serpents, and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them, they will lay hands on the sick , and they will recover. Amen (Mark 16:17)

"COME AND EXPERIENCE THE POWER OF GOD"

Gospel Action Ministry Location: 135 Oakdale Rd. (Back door)

GHANAIAN ANGLICAN CHURCH OF TORONTO 1796 Lawrence Avenue West (Jane & Lawrence) Sunday: Bible Study - 2pm-3:00pm - 3pm-5:00pm Sunday Worship Tuesday: Teaching/Prayer - 7pm-9:00pm Thursday: Prayer Meeting 10:30am-12noon Friday: Prayer Meeting - 7pm-9:00pm Saturday: Group Meetings - 3pm-7:30pm Rev. Fr. Gabriel Opoku Ware Priest-in-charge

Res: 416-901-3932 Cell: 647-624-4044

Bro. Donald Amo (People's Warden) 647-979-9247 Sis. Monica Akrofi(Priest's Warden)416-748-8246 Sis. Beatrice Asare(Secretary) 416-745-8148

Welcome Home Evangelistic Ministries Affiliated with the Evangelical Church In Canada

Snr. Pastor & Founder: Evang. & Prophetess Winnie Manu BRE, M. Div.

Worship Celebration Services

Senior Pastor: Rev. Peter Awuah

Tel: 416-836-9235, 416-667-8637

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Tel: 647-344-6726 Cell: 416-200-2453 TIME OF WORSHIP: Sunday 10:30 am - 1:30 pm Tuesday 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm Friday 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm Apostle Twumasi Ankrah

VENUE: 1177 Finch Dr. #20, North York

March 2014

Rev. Peter Awuah

Service Schedule Sunday: Church Service 12:30 pm - 3:00 pm Tuesday: Prayer Meeting 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm Friday: Bible/Prayer Meeting 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm Last Friday of the month: All Night Prayer Meeting 11:00 pm

St. John's Anglican Church Ghanaian Congregation

VENUE: 2125 WESTON RD., WESTON ONT. Priest-in-charge: Rev. Michelle Childs-Ward , Incumbent 647-234-8229 Rev. Fr. Jojo Eduam Entsiwah, Associate Priest 647-400-7055

Sunday: Bible Study - 1:00 pm - 1:30 pm Regular Service: 1:30 pm - 3:00 pm Isaac Aborah-Sei - 647-859-9922 Daniel Oteng - 647-891-4211 Evans Ackah - 647-403-6385 Dwomoh Abebrese - 647-774-0747

Sunday Worship Celebration: 10 a.m.

Friday Prayer Meeting / Discipleship Group: 8 p.m. - 10 p.m.

Last Sunday of Every Month: Healing Service

Place of Worship

236 Queen Mary Drive Brampton, ON L7A 3L3

Contact Info: Tel: 647 210 7057 Fax: 905 495 4789 Website: www.whemtoday .org

Email: info@whemtoday.org

Healing Service: Last Sunday of every month at Cheyne Middle School. 236 Queen Mary Dr. Brampton.

Glory Pentecostal Ministry of Toronto Pastor-in-charge: Rev. Rockson Owusu Atwima - 416-708-7742

Invites all Christians and Non-Christians to join us to worship the Almighty God WORSHIP SCHEDULE Sunday Regular Service 11:00 am to 1:30 pm Tuesday Prayer and Healing Service 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm Friday Prayer Night 9:00 pm to 11:00 pm

PLACE OF WORSHIP 230 Eddystone Ave., #207, North York, Ont. M3N 1H7 We are more tan our conquerors Romans 8:37 "Come and see the manifestation and the power of the Holy Spirit at work"

Praise Temple of Christ International Snr. Pastor: Apostle Osei-Bonsu

336 Gary Ray Drive @ Signet Worship Schedule Sunday Worship - 10 am - 12:30 pm Wednesday - Bible Study - 7 pm - 9 pm Friday - Prayer Meeting - 8 pm - 10 pm Second and last Friday of each month All Night Prayer Meeting 8 pm - 12 midnight

For information call: Apostle - 905-487-6658 Emmanuel - 289-400-7626 (cell)

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The Ghanaian News March 2014

Around the Ghana Sports Scene

with Jonathan Annobil

Ghana is 50th in World and 3rd in Africa in latest FIFA Women’s ranking U-17 Women’s World Cup: Ghana 3:4(PSO) Italy: Italy Oust Gritty Maidens On Penalties

Black Queens are ranked 3rd in Africa Ghana’s Women’s team are ranked 3rd in Africa and 50th in the Word in the latest rankings released by FIFA on Friday.

The Black Queens dropped two places in the latest rankings which is released every quarter.

Ghana is behind Nigeria and Cameroon on the African rankings having garnered 1459 points in the period under review.

The world football governing body considered 142 matches to reach its conclusion which sees USA maintain its lead in the world rankings for

the sixth consecutive year.

The Black Queens are however likely to gain more points

by the next quarter once they account for Ethiopia in the next round of the Africa Women’s Championship qualifiers.

Black Stars face punishing schedule of SIX MATCHES in two months to qualify for 2015 AFCON Black Stars face a punishing schedule of SIX MATCHES between September and November this year to qualify for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations.

This means the Black Stars will plunge into the tough schedule of matches immediately after the World Cup which will also exact its energy from the players.

Ghana will be involved in the qualifiers which will start from September 5th to November 19th 2014.

There will be seven groups comprising four teams each.

The top two teams in each group qualifies directly to the

tournament with the best 3rd place finisher also qualifying along with host Morocco.

Ghana will only be involved in the last qualifying phase for the tournament but the prospect of playing six matches in just two months will exact energy out of the players while also competing for their clubs in Europe.

The preliminary phase of the qualifiers will be played before the top African footballing countries will join the final phase of the qualifiers.

The draw for the preliminary phase will be held on the 27th of April 2014 but the top 21

teams listed in a special CAF rankings will be excluded.

The ranking are based on performances of teams at the last three editions of the AFCON, the qualifiers of these last three AFCON editions as well as the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers drawing a by for the first phase of qualifiers.

Ghana lies 2nd on the rankings with 38 points behind Nigeria.

The final draw for the tournament will be held on November 26th 2014 in Morocco.

The 2015 Africa Cup of Nations will run from January 17th to February 7th 2015.

Ghana’s Right to Dream Academy launched its state of the art training facility at its base in Old Akrade on Friday.

The facility which includes eight modern training pitches is christened the Mantrac Centre due to the machinery and logistical support offered by Mantrac Ghana in the construction of the site.

Right to Dream through its partnership with Mantrac Ghana since 2012 have now finished the construction of four standard pitches and four eight-aside pitches for the use of the inmates.

Officials from Mantrac Ghana and the Ghana FA, former players; Stephen Appiah, Augustine Arhinful, Anthony Baffoe and Joe Addo attended the brief ceremony to officially launch and christen the training facility.

Founder of the academy Tom

Vernon reckoned the huge impact the facility will have in the production of the best talents in the country.

“We are very grateful to Mantrac Ghana for providing us with the support in the construction of this facility,” he said at the launch.

“Right to Dream is noted for producing top quality talents not only in sports but in academia as well and I believe this facility will go a long way into adding further value to the graduates we produce here.”

Ex Ghana captain Stephen Appiah who was blown away by the facility called for more corporate involvement in the provision of

the requisite infrastructure.

“I am very much impressed by this facility. I mean in our time we didn’t have something like this but we turned out quite fine in our careers,” he said.

“In the absence of the vibrant colts in our days, academy is the way to go and for them to be successful they need the facilities.

Ghana momentarily kept their FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup dreams alive when Ernestina Abambila scored in the 90th minute to level the score at 2-2 and force Italy into penalties to decide their quarter-final match-up. The Europeans came out top from the spot 4-3 to set up a date with Spain in the semi-final.

Ghana made a dream start to the match, scoring less than four minutes into the encounter with the game’s first shot on goal. Naomi Anima intercepted an Italian clearance and sent the ball wide out to Lily Niber Lawrence, who then put in an exceptional cross, finding Jane Ayieyam at the far post waiting to head past Francesca Durante.

Italy were not startled by the Ghanaians’ quick start, however, and equalised four minutes later. Lisa Boattin sent in a free-kick from midfield and Gloria Marinelli rose above the crowd inside Ghana’s penalty area to send a looping header back across goal and beyond the reach of Azume Adams, who could only watch in disbelief as the ball settled into the back of the net.

lead when they were awarded a penalty in the 17th minute and Manuela Giugliano made no mistake firing past the diving Adams. Italy missed a penalty in the second-half, which would have likely put the game out of reach. However, Ghana continued to press on and Abambila rewarded the Africans’ perseverance with a wellstruck free-kick in the 90th minute that slipped just over the Italian wall and past Durante’s outstretched arms.

The referee ended regulation mere seconds later, forcing penalties to decide a winner.

Ghana converted their first penalty through Ayieyam, and Italy stumbled as Boattin’s effort was saved. Italy caught up in the second round when Ghana missed but Giugliano levelled matters for the Europeans. Vida Opuku converted Ghana’s penalty and Flaminia Simonetti scored Italy’s thirdround kick, but it all fell apart for the Africans in the fourth round when Abambila missed her shot and Annamaria Serturini put the Italians ahead. Gladys Amfobea scored Ghana’s third penalty but Italy secured passage to the semi-finals when Marta Vergani slotted home to seal the 4-3win.

The Europeans capitalised on a chance to double their

For All Your Events Coverage

“And therefore I hope more companies come on board to give the facilities we need to develop football in the country.”

Call The Ghanaian News

Right to Dream Academy founded in the late 90’s is regarded as Ghana’s premier football academy for the production of several player who ply their trade dominantly in Europe.

416-916-3700 / 416-88-9161

The Ghanaian News

March 2014

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The Ghanaian News March 2014

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March 2014

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Ghanaian News Radio Ghanaian News Radio on CHIN 1540 AM and 91.9 FM Broadcast simultaneously Sundays 5:30 pm – 6:00pm News, Music and Announcements Tel: 416-844-9161 info@ghanaiannews.ca Web: www.chinradio.com

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