Debt Row Holds Up Cruise Ships in Tobago 060612

Debt row holds up cruise ships in Tobago TRINIDAD (TG) -- Charles Carvalho, the agent for Carvalho’s Travel said he plans to take legal action against the Port Authority after allegations were made that he owes them up to $1.6 million. Three cruise ships booked under Carvalho’s Travel were turned away from Tobago last month and a potential 28 cruises ships next year are still unsure of docking until the issue is settled.

Carvalho’s Travel is responsible for 95 per cent of the cruise ships visiting T&T ports. In an interview, chairman of the Port Authority of Trinidad and Tobago Joseph Toney said Carvalho was owing $1.6 million and the cruise ship agencies abroad were contacted about the agent’s plight. “We explained to them what were the facts and they were informed why we took that action. He owes us money, that is our contention. Once he pays it is not a problem,” Toney said.

The Port Authority chairman said several attorneys representing the Port Authority were contacted for their advice. “This is an ongoing debt in our books for the longest while and we have called in the lawyers since all other efforts now have been in vain. He is owing between $1.2 to $1.6m. It is in the hands of our lawyers and we have written necessary pre-action protocol letters to his lawyers and we are waiting for them to respond and will determine what to do after,” Toney said.

He said other shipping lines under other agents would be accepted at the port. “The other shipping lines that are not with that agent can come in. We have no problem with that,” he said. He also said three cruise ships have since been turned away from Tobago.

Meanwhile, Carvalho said his clients in-

Three ships have been turned away because of a row between the Port Authority and a local leading agency. formed him they were contacted by the Port Authority and advised to switch to other agencies. “We are disturbed the port has been sending out letters to our clients. All have contacted me and said they will stay with me. They have been with me some 27 years.

My attorneys are dealing with it,” Carvalho said. He said his arrangement with Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines is now unsteady after the allegations of the debt were made.

“There are 28 cruise ships with Royal Carib-

bean Cruise Lines that are supposed to come in next year and this has made them shaky.

Why are they giving out letters to the cruise lines and asking them to deal directly with them?” he asked. Carvalho said one of the cruise ship agencies based in Florida, United States, contacted him concerning the letters.

“There is a saying in America that ‘you do not wash your dirty laundry in public.’

Continued On Page 2

PAGE 2 - WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2012 - TORONTO CARIBBEAN

Crackdown on Chaguanas businessmen - Corporation to demolish illegal car parks

Street and had erected signs and even paved the roadway for parking purposes.

The mayor said the borough recently surveyed the area and started building pavements and drains as part of the initial plan to expand Ramsaran Street into a boulevard.

Nagessar said with traffic congestion growing in the busy central borough he had no alternative but to impose harsh measures.

TRINIDAD (TG) -- The Chaguanas Borough Corporation is starting to crackdown on businessmen who are illegally occupying parts of Endeavor Road and Chan Ramlal Road. Chaguanas mayor Orlando Nagessar said yesterday the borough has started reclaiming lands at Ramsaran Street. He said businessmen had blocked parts of Ramsaran

Mayor Nagessar said some businessmen have gone as far as using Chan Ramlal Road as a private car park. He said after the surveys are completed, the illegal car parks would be demolished. Nagessar said a roundabout was planned at the western end of Endeavour Road in a bid to ease the traffic flowing from Caroni Savannah Road to Lange Park.

Cruise ships turned away by Port Authority Continued From Page 1 -- They need to deal with me. The cruise line is not their client, it is mine. I handle 95 per cent of the ships and 27 working relationships with cruise lines and everybody has their way of doing business,” he said.

“The port is double billing and overcharging for certain items. The Port Authority is delinquent with their outstanding invoicing.

We know what we will be owing based on the presentation. We requested to the port to present certain invoicing we owe so we can verify our records,” he said.

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Carvalho said the port charges $19,000 to $35,000 per ship for docking fees, head tax, passenger spending and other spending. “I rather pay them off and let them be in my debt,” he said. Carvalho said he received the pre-action protocol letters and the matter will be presently before the courts.

When contacted, Minority Leader in the Tobago House of Assembly Ashworth Jack was asked if the Government could “forgive” Carvalho’s debt. He said: “I don’t agree in forgetting the debt we need to make an arrangement. He (Carvalho) has called me

and I investigated. The Ministry of Tourism needs to talk to the companies and make other arrangements.

“It is unacceptable if someone was collecting money for the Government and not paying it to the Treasury. You can’t collect on behalf of the Government and use it for your own purpose,” he said. He said the Government and other stakeholders were working on other solutions.

“I heard of the problem and it is not insurmountable but he also has to pay his debts and we have to find a way to allow them to continue. “We must be able and there must be a way to do it. We have not worked out a solution as yet. Cruise ship season is in the winter but whether it is one or 100. As long as it does not affect the industry,” Jack said.

Transport Minister Devant Maharaj said Tourism Minister Rupert Griffith will be making a statement in Parliament this week and he did not want to pre-empt what the minister had to say. Attempts to contact Griffith proved futile.

Several pirates caught GUYANA (DW) -- Four pirates,who attempted to attack a boat with several fishermen off the Essequibo Coast, were Sunday captured by soldiers well placed sources said.

The source said the fishermen called for help and ran the boat into a mud flat and hid in some nearby bushes.

According to the Essequibo Coast source, the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) requested help from a helicopter working with an oil exploration rig.

The pirates were captured. However, the fishermen lost their catch and fishing gear.

The incident occurred around 9 AM off the mouth of the Pomeroon River.

Several months ago, pirates had attacked fisherfolk in several boats off the Essequibo Coast, badly beating a number of them and carting off their engines.

The captured men are said to be from the Essequibo Coast,

The fisherfolk were rescued days after their ordeal by police and soldiers.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2012 - TORONTO CARIBBEAN - PAGE 3

Fighting fire with dust masks and a leaking truck Portland dump burns for a week

The disgruntled firefighters, who were seen making their way to the disposal site, said they were only showing up for the umpteenth time, not because they were able to do anything to curtail the blaze, but because they have a duty to respond.

“Every day last week they call us to this dump fire and there is nothing we could do because we have no protective gear to fight the fire,” said another fire-fighter who also requested anonymity.

But the lack of equipment is not their only problem. The rough road leading to the dump results in damage to the water tank on their truck.

“So by the time we reach down there the water leak out,” one firefighter said.

JAMAICA (JA) -- For more than a week firefighters from Buff Bay in Portland attempted to battle a blaze at the Doctor’s Wood Disposal Site in the parish. The problem, though, is that all they were armed with were dust masks and a leaking fire unit which kept losing a significant volume of the most critical firefighting resource — water — long before it arrived at the location.

The failure of other stations and State agencies to offer assistance days after the fire started, resulted in the blaze spreading over a huge section of the landfill, subsequently chalking up a significant cost to taxpayers which the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) is still tallying.

In addition, scores of residents in the nearby communities of Hart Hill, Windsor Castle and Dover are affected by smoke inhalation.

Last Thursday when the Jamaica Observer went to the dump, a firefighter who requested anonymity said he and his colleagues have been dispatched to the site repeatedly since May 25.

“The site manager call we down there, all two to three times a day, say the dump on fire, but sometimes we just go down there and look because we can’t do anything, while other times we take we chance and stand on top of the truck and spray some water on a little area because we don’t have any

protective gear to fight that type of fire,” the firefighter said.

For the last six months, he said, the 36 firefighters at the Buff Bay station have only been given a regular dust mask as the required breathing apparatuses were never refilled with oxygen.

He said last year the heat from the dump fire caused a female firefighter and a district officer to faint as they were not equipped with the required suit to fight the fires that are frequent on the site.

According to the firefighter, the fires have been deliberately set by scrap metal scavengers in a bid to separate the garbage from the metal which many persons are still stockpiling in anticipation of the reopening of the scrap metal trade, which was banned by Government last year.

The Sunday Observer saw scavengers sifting through the garbage despite the intense heat and smoke.

However, it was a battle in futility for the frustrated firefighters, as although such dump fires are never easily extinguished with water alone, the inadequate equipment rendered the firefighters powerless against the thick smoke and dust particles, allowing the fire to spread across a wider area of the large landfill.

According to another firefighter, the fire would not have spread as it did, had they received additional resources and units to fight the blaze, immediately after it was believed to have been lit.

“The NSWMA has a tractor that stays down here, yet every day dem call we to say there is a fire and when we don’t come dem call Port Antonio, and Port Antonio, which is in charge of us, say we fi come and we haffi come down here every day although we can’t do anything about the fire,” a fireman said.

He said since the week-long blaze, a lot of his colleagues had been stricken with respiratory ailments and were forced to call in sick.

“This fire is not an easy fire to fight without breathing apparatus and special gear and we need something to be done about it,” another firefighter said, adding that up until last Thursday the superintendent of the parish had not visited the site, despite the fire growing out of control.

Following the Sunday Observer’s visit to the site last Thursday, the firefighters said the superintendent visited the site and upon seeing the conditions under which they were working, requested some emergency air purifiers from the NSWMA. Continued On Page 4

Fraudsters selling bogus land documents GUYANA (DW) -- Minister of Housing and Water Irfaan Ali on Thursday announced that fraudsters are providing bogus transports for hefty sums of money.

The state-owned Government Information Agency (GINA) quoted Ali as saying that the group of persons, posing as housing officials and defrauding persons, has been infiltrated.

He did not say whether any member of the group has been arrested.

“They are taking transports and whiteout the original owners and information and they put the victim’s name in the transport,

photo-copy it and issue it as a transport… it is sad that persons within our society are still not heeding the ministry’s call to avoid themselves from being caught-up in these circumstances,” Minister Ali said.

He added that information has thus far revealed that two persons were victims, one of whom is an overseas-based Guyanese who paid more than GUY$1million.

“One of the suspect’s names was just given as Bradley, whilst the other was described as a person with plait hair…we are asking members of the public to be vigilant and to

desist from encouraging these fraudsters by participating in these fraudulent schemes,” the Housing Minister said.

The Housing Minister added that earlier in the year the ministry successfully infiltrated a group operating out of Eccles, East Bank Demerara. These persons were tampering with housing documents, titles and transports in an effort to defraud persons.

“A number of persons were defrauded by that group…the group was arrested and the matter is before the courts,” Minister Ali said.

PAGE 4 - WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2012 - TORONTO CARIBBEAN

Investors plan soccer stadium for Haiti shantytown HAITI (AP) -- A local sports hero, a New York real estate developer and a wellknown architect are teaming up to build a soccer stadium in Haiti’s notorious Cite Soleil, hoping to revive the seaside shantytown known throughout the hemisphere for its extreme poverty and gang battles.

The organizers also hope the stadium, scheduled to break ground within six months and due to be built by the end of 2013, will bring an initial 500 jobs and inject commerce into Cite Soleil, where politicians have long gone so far as to pay gang leaders to stir up trouble.

Foreign investors in Haiti have largely directed their efforts at rebuilding from a devastating 2010 earthquake, focusing their funds on Port-au-Prince and the overlapping cities that make up the capital and the country’s sleepy coastlines.

The arena will also host concerts and serve as a cultural center to foster a sense of community.

The current league and smaller clubs play their home games at the only official stadium in Haiti’s capital, the Stade Sylvio Castor in downtown Port-au-Prince. Until last summer, Its parking lot was used as a makeshift settlement for several hundred people displaced by the earthquake until city authorities paid some of them to leave even if they had no place to go. League organizers wanted to reclaim the stadium to resume matches.

Duval said it will also serve as the home to a new soccer league for some 350 players, independent of the Haitian Federation of Soccer.

The bulk of the new stadium’s financing will be provided by Delos, corporations and individual donors. The land, 12 acres in all, was donated by a banker, Duval said.

For the past 18 years, Duval has run the L’Athletique D’Haiti sports program from a field at the northeastern edge of Cite Soleil, giving some of Haiti’s poorest children life skills through sports. Some 2,000 youths participate in the program, which has been featured along with Duval in Sports Illustrated and ESPN.

On a recent Thursday morning, dozens of youths sprinted across several adjacent fields in pursuit of a soccer ball at L’Athletique D’Haiti. Just outside the cinderblock wall, a police officer waved cars past a checkpoint, his face masked so that gang leaders wouldn’t recognize him.

But ex-Haiti soccer star Robert ‘’Boby’’ Duval has masterminded the $5 million stadium project, which he says will address problems that predate the 2010 disaster. Developer Delos LLC and architect Carlos Zapata are working with him on the project in a slum on the outskirts of the capital, full of tin shacks and open sewage canals formerly shunned by investors, avoided by diplomats and at one point considered so dangerous that U.N. peacekeepers would only enter it in armored vehicles. ‘’Cite Soleil was destroyed way before the earthquake,’’ said Duval. ‘’This stadium is going to clean up Cite Soleil.... and I’m betting on it.’’

The 12,000-seat stadium will be called the ‘’Phoenix Stadium,’’ referring to hopes that the shantytown will rise up.

Duval said the introduction of a second soccer division will raise the quality of Haiti’s national league while providing a future for his budding professionals. ‘’Let me do my own thing so my kids can make some money,’’ Duval said at his nonprofit sports academy.

Federation officials didn’t return calls seeking comment.

‘’I can’t wait for the day that the (stadium) arrives,’’ 17-year-old student Jean-Gilles Fritznel said as he leaned against a goal post. ‘’I will have a hard time sleeping the night before, waiting for the sunlight to see it.’’

The director of a neighborhood youth program welcomed Duval’s project and hopes it will change the culture of violence in the shanty.

‘’Soccer players will be role models,’’ said 38-year-old Olerch Alexis. ‘’The youths will want to play soccer instead of pick up guns.’’

That such an ambitious project hasn’t happened before in Cite Soleil is ‘’mind-boggling,’’ said Morad Fareed, Delos LLC’s co-founder and managing partner.

The architectural plans for the stadium are still in the works, but Zapata said he wants to build the facility with left-over rubble from the quake. The site, on the northern side of Cite Soleil along a thoroughfare named Route Neuf, is filled with piles of rubble and gravel that Duval had trucked in to build the stadium. ‘’We want to use what exists,’’ Zapata, who designed the renovation of Soldier Field in Chicago, said by telephone from his firm in New York. ‘’We don’t want to import everything from another country.’’

Despite Cite Soleil’s international reputation as a no-go zone, Duval said he’s confident that soccer enthusiasts will be willing to venture there for matches. ‘’I’m not interested in having it in any place other than Cite Soleil,’’ Duval said.

Portland dump burns Continued From Page 3 -- As for the leaking tank, Ebanks said it is al But the firefighters said with that gift came a problem of a different nature as they have nothing to sanitise the equipment.

“When a man have on that over him mouth for six hours and a next shift come on we have to put on that same thing without it being sanitised and that not healthy for us,” the firefighter said.

Public relations officer at the Jamaica Fire Brigade, Emelio Ebanks however denied that the firefighters do not have breathing apparatus. A check with the superintendent, he said, revealed that the men did not have the gear on the day the Sunday Observer visited because they were sent to Kingston to be refuelled.

“They do have equipment and all units have breathing apparatus on them, but they had used them and so they were sent to Kingston to be refilled,” he insisted, adding that none of the stations would have an endless supply of breathing apparatus.

But although the firefighters are adamant that they have not had breathing apparatus in more than six months, Ebanks said it usually would not take more than one day for the oxygen tanks to be refilled and sent back to the stations. most impossible to stop every leak on a unit, and even if the tank was not leaking, water alone cannot put out such fires.

“When you are dealing with dump fires you

need heavy equipment, similar to what happened in Kingston (at the Riverton landfill earlier this year) to assist,” he said.

But such assistance did not come until late Thursday evening after the blanket of smoke began affecting residents, forcing the NSWMA to take in heavy-duty equipment to work throughout Thursday night into late Friday evening to contain the smoke.

Regional operations manager of North Eastern Parks and Markets, Tracey deMontagnac Fakhourie reported late Friday evening that 95 per cent of the fire had been extinguished after the agency brought in heavy-duty equipment and dirt to cover the area.

She told the Sunday Observer that the agency has not yet been able to determine the cost of containing the fire this time around.

“We have had these fires from time to time but we have never had it at this magnitude before,” she explained, adding that the fire had been burning for eight days.

The firefighters believe that two solutions to addressing the fire situation on the dump is for the police to arrest those responsible and for a roadway to be cut on the site to give the fire unit easier access.

“If they cut a road through it that would give us easier access to get to the fire at certain sections instead of having this whole 40 acres of garbage just spread out like that,” one fireman said.

London behaving like a ‘cry-cry baby’ - Trinidad PM

tion. You have to amend the Constitution first and it is only when we change that then you could put in the other arrangements.”

TRINIDAD (TG) -- Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar says Tobago House of Assembly Chief Secretary Orville London is trying to “bully” the People’s Partnership Government into approving “carte blanche,” two bills he submitted to her to establish internal self-government for the island.

Persad-Bissessar made the charge to thousands of supporters at the partnership’s second anniversary rally and launch of the Tobago Organisation of the People’s THA election campaign 2013 at Market Square in Scarborough on Saturday night. Persad-Bissessar was again serenaded by calypsonian Sugar Aloes on stage, who sang Tarrus Riley’s She’s Royal.

Aloes, whose real name is Michael Osuna, said before his performance that the song was dedicated to all the beautiful women of the world.

The calypsonian, who is a noted PNM supporter and UNC critic, made a shock appearance on the PP platform at their first celebrations on May 24 in Chaguanas.

Persad-Bissessar said London was behaving like “a cry-cry baby” in recent months. “Every day you open the newspaper, he is crying about something else,” she said. “He is crying about two papers (bills) he sent to me, he is crying (because) he wants to meet me.”

The PM then explained why she had to give the THA bills for the consideration and recommendation of Attorney General Anand Ramlogan. She noted that Ramlogan was the legal adviser to the Government. “So I send the two bills to the Attorney General to consider and advise.”

Persad-Bissessar said the bills were passed in the assembly, which was unconstitutional. She said it only Parliament can change laws relating to the Constitution and not the THA. “So they are in breach of the THA Act, they’re in violation of the Constitution of Trinidad and Tobago, and then want to bully the Prime Minister and bully the Cabinet to take it and pass it wholesale,” she added.

“I will not break the law of Trinidad and Tobago.” She said the AG had advised “that a new THA law cannot come before or at the same time as you are seeking to amend the Constitu-

She said the PNM was never interested in ensuring Tobagonians got internal self-government. She also noted that the THA bills, which were approved by the PNM-controlled assembly, did not even have the words “internal self-government” written in them. She said the THA bills were “inadequate and, in any event, it puts the horse before the cart...The THA bills must be influenced and informed by the Constitution reform and not the other way around.”

The PM said it was for that reason the PP Government put out a draft constitutional bill in its Green Paper to look at it. “Mr London has been trying to bully us, demanding that his two bills represent the will of the people of Tobago,” she said. “He says this is what Tobagonians want and the Government must just carry it to Parliament and pass it carte blanche. But his argument is totally false.”

She said she was advised that the people of Tobago “were never given an opportunity to examine, pronounce, comment or make recommendations on the two bills that I received from Mr London.” Persad-Bissessar said the reports from three separate teams, led by Tobagonians Reginald Dumas, John Prince and Christo Gift on the issue of constitutional­ reform “show clearly that the people of Tobago want internal self- government within the sovereign democratic Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.”

She said the PP Government is committed to ensuring Tobago gets internal self-government.

She added that Tobago will get its fair share after there was constitutional reform in T&T. The theme of Saturday’s rally was “Putting Tobago first.” She said Ramlogan wrote to London on two occasions last year seeking his collaboration on the matter but the THA chief declined.

She said instead London publicly “demanded that the central government carry out his legislative agenda, taking the two bills unaltered and pass them carte blanche in the Parliament.”

Persad-Bissessar later said she wanted to assure London “that the work and contributions which came out of the process (constitutional reform) would receive the fullest and most detailed consideration of the Law Reform Commission as the process evolve from the Green Paper stage to the White Paper stage which then goes to make the law of the land.”

The PM said former prime minister Patrick Manning and Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley never really wanted internal self-government for Tobago. She said the PP Government “will make sure that we do not prevent Tobago from getting internal self-government...we will not give up on this commitment to you.”

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2012 - TORONTO CARIBBEAN - PAGE 5

PAGE 6 - WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2012 - TORONTO CARIBBEAN

Vegetarianism by nature – A yogic perspective of the body. Many eat to feel full - hardly focusing on the daily requirements of the body.

Geeta Maraj Contributor A wholesome natural diet is beneficial in obtaining a healthy body, increased disease resistance and prolonged life expectancy.

As yoga settles into being a social norm in today’s society, vegetarianism equally is no longer frowned upon as an unfamiliar dietary preference.

Vegetarianism, once misinterpreted, as an inadequate dietary form is now the new preference of patients who have suffered from cardiac and hypertensive setbacks.

Now it has become commonplace that meat eaters tend to over compensate their daily protein requirements while having inadequate vitamin and mineral supplements in their diet.

The body requires food for two main reasons, to absorb energy needed to function properly and secondly, to repair body tissues. It is a known fact that overeating is not a path to healthy living. The body requires a small percentage of carbohydrates, fibers, fats, proteins and minerals daily. However, we tend to eat a diet high in protein while neglecting the other essential requirements

In the case of meat eating, the body only requires a small percentage of protein daily (0.8g/kg of body weight). The digestive system works very hard when it has to break down an over consumption of this food group. Uric acid, which is a by product of protein digestion gets stored in the tissues of the body as it is unable to break down and eliminate large amounts of it. This buildup of uric acid results in ailments such as, joint problems, arthritis, rheumatism, gout, headaches, and nervousness. Similarly, inadequate minerals and vitamins in a diet can give rise to health problems particularly osteoporosis, organ damage and a lack of energy.

It can be argued that a meat eater has a much stronger, robust body but equally lacks endurance and they are more likely to tire mentally under pressure. Vegetarians tend to have a more complacent demeanor. Without patience and tolerance we become easily fatigued or angered. This can result in complications, such as heart disease, hypertension and depression.

An additional reason for abstaining or curbing meat-eating urges is based on ‘fear factor’. When an animal is shown affection and love, it responds positively. Similarly, when an animal is about to be slaughtered, it is afraid and sad. This fear factor at the

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point of being killed is transferred as negative energy to the consumer. Hence, it is not uncommon to feel tired, bloated, or moody after eating such a meal.

The soul purpose to all food consumption is that we seek mainly ‘vegetable energy’.

This form of energy, when not obtained first hand, as in vegetarianism, must be acquired secondarily through animals that feed on vegetation. It is for this reason that livestock and fish are eaten as opposed to the flesh of solely carnivorous animals such as, lions, tigers and jackals.

Man by nature is designed to consume a vegetarian diet. Our teeth are designed for mastication as opposed to ripping and tearing. Similarly, the intestines of the digestive system are very long (approximately 23’ or 7 m) and riveted, providing for slow digestion and maximum extraction of nutrients. Long digestive tracts are common to all plant-eating animals, as opposed to carnivorous animals, which are very short and smooth.

The choice of one’s diet, similar to one’s breathing pattern, usually determines the quality and personality of such a person. A calmer personality tends to prefer ‘sattvic’ or purer foods. Sattvic food refers to food in its natural form that has not been processed or cooked in any way. Such foods bring purity and calmness to the mind and emotions,

while maintaining a healthy body.

Worldly, materialistic people tend to prefer ‘rajasic’ or stimulating foods. This category tends to be foods that are hot, spicy and salty. The effects of a rajasic diet include nervous and circulatory disorders, such as, high blood pressure, hardening of the arteries, arthritis and uric acid diseases.

A tamasic diet consists of meat, poultry and fish, as well as stale or rotted foods. A tamasic diet is mostly consumed by people who are easily overcome by negative emotions (anger, greed, frustration) and who become easily unmotivated. Chronic ailments of a tamasic consumer include cardiac problems, stroke, depression, anxiety and weak bones.

In the United Kingdom where there are a very large percentage of vegetarians (7 to 11%), it is not uncommon to be given reduced insurance premiums for such consumers, as their choice of diet predicts their level of health.

While meat eating can be a ‘quick fix’ to one’s craving followed by a prolonged feeling of fullness, in reality it does more harm than good to the body. Vegetarians rarely have to worry about the inadequacies of bulk, fiber, minerals and vitamins in their diet. They may have fewer choices when eating out but at the same time this prevents the additional criteria for obesity and destructive health choices.

T&TCB warns against rebel T20 series

TRINIDAD (TG) -- Plans by a local promoter to stage a series of matches using the local national cricket team against three overseas sides may have to be scuttled because of international Cricket Council laws prohibiting unauthorised competitions.

Cricketers who also participate in matches which are not pre-approved by the T&T Cricket Board stand the risk of facing severe penalties ranging from suspension to being banned from playing for the national team. A leading cricket board official said yesterday that they had received reliable information that a local promoter was planning a quadrangular tournament involving T&T, top Indian Premier League side Mumbai Indians, a South African team and a side representing the English counties.

However the concern was raised that quite apart from not receiving official sanction, the local players being approached to play, the T&TCB and the promoter could be subject to severe penalties by the ICC. Baldath Mahabir, an executive of the T&T Cricket Board said that in order for a private promoter to stage a tournament using bona fide regional cricketers, approval must be first sought from the T&T Cricket Board.

He said the promoter and the cricketers were subject to ICC rules and anyone in breach of the established laws would be “subject to sanctions” which could mean that they will be ineligible for selection on the national and Test teams. Mahabir said however that there was a 30-day window during which a promoter could apply for approval to stage

a tournament and he is optimistic that the correct procedure will be followed by all parties.

The WICB document titled “Responsibility and approval for cricket in the West Indies” which has been in effect since August 1, 2010 states under rationale and requirement for the approval of matches: It is the absolute right and responsibility of the WICB to retain control over cricket matches and events played within the region.

Mahabir recalled that last year several top local cricketers were advertised to participate in a T20 tournament in Miami, USA but they could not take the field because the promoter did not have the approval of the WICB. President of the T&T Cricket Board Azim said on Saturday that any application to stage matches especially involving the T&T team and leading overseas clubs will be closely scrutinised. He said all efforts will be made to ensure the laws of the game are observed and that promoters live up to their end of the bargain and not bring the game into disrepute. “The T&T team has established itself as a leading brand in T20 cricket and we will be guarding that brand with the same dogged determination which has played a crucial role in elevating our cricket to world standard,” said Bassarath. He said he has heard of the plans of the private promoter and gave the assurance that all steps will be taken to ensure the ICC rules are enforced and that the administration of the game locally is not compromised in any way.

Permaul, Thomas rescue WI ‘A’ with half-tons

away the top order and threatened to run through the middle and lower order on a good batting surface at Kensington Oval.

Permaul demonstrated his maturity with an outstanding knock of 66, while Thomas played some classy strokes in 57, as they added 92 in two hours to propel the hosts to 252 all out at the close.

Pacer Shami Ahmed (3-43) and leg-spinner Rahul Sharma (3-73) finished with three wickets apiece, while new-ball bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar picked up 2-42.

Permaul, known more for his left-arm spin, smashed six fours and two sixes off 94 balls in 142 minutes at the crease while Thomas punched eight fours in an innings spanning 104 balls and 131 minutes.

BARBADOS (CMC) -- Captain Veerasammy Permaul and wicketkeeper Devon Thomas both struck cavalier half-centuries as they combined to pull West Indies ‘A’ out of dire straits with a superb eighth-wicket stand on the opening day of the first four-day match against India ‘A’ yesterday.

The pair came together with the home side reeling on 126-7 after India’s bowlers blew

Earlier, the West Indies had a slow pre-lunch session and went to the break at 43-3. There was a mid-innings revival between Nkrumah Bonner, who made a patient 25 off 94 balls and left-hander Jonathan Carter, whose stroke-filled 35 came off just 47 balls and including seven well-struck boundaries.

India’s bowlers were led by Shami Ahmed who combined with keeper Wriddhiman Saha for all three of his wickets.

Ottleys take Preysal into T20 finals TRINIDAD (TG) -- Preysal Sports Club’s “cinderella run” at the TTCB 2012 T20 Festival continued on Friday night, when they reached the finals of the tournament, with a comfortable victory over First Citizens Clarke Road at Guaracara Park in Pointea-Pierre. Preysal’s opponents in Saturday night’s title match was Queen’s Park, the defending champion which defeated last year’s runners-up PowerGen, in their semifinals by seven wickets. PowerGen posted 106 for three off 13 overs and Queen’s Park made it easy, reaching 110 for three.

Preysal’s young talented Ottley brothers Kjorn and Yannic, took them to the finals after a wretched season that saw them being demoted from the Premiership division, but reaching the T20 finals has ignited the sleepy village of Preysal once again.

Chasing 136 runs for victory after Clarke Road scored 135/5 in their allotted 20 overs, the Ottley boys with their father Beade pacing the perimetre of the ground, added 86 runs for the second wicket to put their team on course. The left handed Kjorn, who would go on to win the man of the match award on the night, slammed 79 not out off 48 balls with seven fours and three sixes.

Skipper Yannic got 39 off 49 balls with three fours. Earlier, the Preysal bowlers were very stingy and always kept the Clarke Road boys in check. Opener Nicholas Alexis scored a pedestrian 31 off 51 balls at the top of the order and was not able to take advantage of the power play. Jamaican Danza Hyatt scored a more fluent 36 off 38 balls, as pacer Strassark Sankar 1/20, Videsh Sookhai 1/20 and Ryan Austin 2/34, were excellent. Towards the end of the innings, Clarke Road for a boost from national under-15 wicketkeeper Nicholas Pooran, who gave them a fighting chance. Pooran ended unbeaten on 42 off 22 balls with four sixes.

SCORES: 137/5 (20) (Nicholas Pooran 42no, Nicholas Alexis 31, Danza Hyatt 36, Ranga Latchana 15, Ryan Austin 2/34) vs Preysal Sports 138/5 (20) (Kjorn Ottley 79no, Yannic Ottley 39). Preysal Sports won by 5 wkts. Man of the match – Kjorn Ottley.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2012 - TORONTO CARIBBEAN - PAGE 7

PAGE 10 - WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2012 - TORONTO CARIBBEAN

Caribbean Pot: Caribbean Pumpkin Rice

Chris De La Rosa Contributor Ingredients 2 cups diced pumpkin 2 cloves garlic 1 medium onion 1 scotch bonnet pepper 2-3 sprigs fresh thyme 1 teaspoon salt *see note below 2 cups brown rice (long grain) tablespoon olive oil (veg oil or butter) 1/4 teaspoon black pepper 1/2 teaspoon grated ginger 3 – 3 1/2 veg stock *see note below Notes: By using the whole scotch bonnet pepper in the dish I got the flavor and not the heat. Break open the pepper near the end if heat is your thing. I used vegetable stock as I wanted to keep this dish vegetarian and I also wanted a mild stock which wouldn’t over power the pumpkin. You’re free to use chicken or beef if you prefer, but be aware that the overall flavor of the dish will be changed. I used Calabaza (Cucurbita moschata), also known as West Indian, Cuban, or Caribbean pumpkin, but I think butternut squash would make for an excellent substitution. Be aware that a lot of stock comes loaded with sodium, so if you’re not familiar with the stock you’re using, add half the salt and adjust near the end of cooking.

Peel and dice the pumpkin into 1/2 inch cubes, dice the garlic and onion and grate the ginger. Then in a deep pot, heat the oil on a med/high heat and add the diced onion, garlic and the thyme.

Now add the grated ginger and black pepper to the pot and give it a good stir. After cubing

the pumpkin do give it a good rinse under cool water and drain. Now you can add the diced pumpkin pieces and give it a good stir.

With your heat at a med/low setting, allow this to cook for a couple minutes to infuse all the wonderful flavors. As this cook, be sure to wash your rice by rinsing under cool water, until the water runs clear. Basically all you’re doing is… place the rice in a deep bowl and cover with water, now using your hands do a sort of massage motion to allow the grains to work between your fingers. You will notice that the water will go cloudy… pour out and repeat until you have clear water. usually 3-4 times.

With the rice now washed/drained, add it to the pot and stir. Pour in the stock, add the salt (remember my note above) and plop in the scotch bonnet pepper into the pot.

Bring this up to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cover the pot to cook off the liquid and get the rice nice and tender. Here is where this can become a bit tricky, as the brand of rice you use may have a bearing on this part going forward. After 22 minutes of my rice simmering away I noticed that the rice grains were almost all the way cooked and I still had some liquid. So I turned up the heat and burned that off… remember to stir or it will stick to the bottom of the pot. If you like you rice creamy, give it a bit more time cooking to really plump up the rice. The texture and consistency of the final pumpkin rice dish will depend on your own liking. Remember to remove the whole pepper from the pot. Check for salt and if you want a blast of heat, do burst open the pepper.. but be warned.

Tip: add a pinch or nutmeg and/or allspice (pimento berries) to really give this a wicked flavor infusion.

More recipes online - caribbeanpot.com

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2012 - TORONTO CARIBBEAN - PAGE 11

Natural Remedies do they exist? Periodontal Disease Trish Browning Contributor As we advance in life and our bodies begin to get tired from the years of abuse we find ourselves starting to pay closer attention to treatments that are less invasive or ones that will not compromise us further.

When I see the long list of possible side effects and warnings that are attached to the prescription slip that comes with chemically manufactured prescriptions, I wonder if the benefit will out weigh the risk.

The most popular treatment for chronic pain is prescription medications, but these often have adverse side effects ranging from nausea to fatigue, and can cease to be effective once a patient builds a tolerance to the drug. Acupuncture has been used as a form of natural pain relief and cure for many chronic conditions for over two thousand years. Patients have claimed acupuncture has proven effective in treating ailments such as neck pain, migraine headaches, arthritic pain, and even depression.

Herbal remedies offer another time-tested alternative to conventional therapies, providing

natural pain relief to sufferers without many of the unwanted side effects of conventional medicines. There are usually several herbal treatments for a particular condition. The downside of herbal treatments is that they often take longer to achieve noticeable results; the upside is that you are not introducing manmade foreign compounds into your body, and run less risk of side effects or damage to your overall health.

Dr. Matthew S Weekes

BSC DDS MTh DMin

Contributor

With people becoming more aware and looking towards natural alternatives, you can find products that are affective in addressing many chronic condition such as Diabetes, Arthritis, Back Pain, Breathing Conditions, Acne, High Blood Pressure, High Cholesterol, Crohn’s Disease, Sciatica Pain etc. Natural remedies are available. You just need to inquire and you can find some good quality products.

Periodontal disease affects the majority of people over the age of 35 in different degrees of severity.

It is not uncommon to find that certain natural remedies are just concentrated doses of certain plants or vegetables or a combination of both.

So if you are like the growing number of people who look towards to a more natural alternative, spend some time researching and visit the health food store. They have mountains of information. Pay attention to the labels. If you can buy it in the health food store it does not means that it is 100% good. You still need to exercise caution. Referral marketing companies are now producing high quality products many of which are producing some astonishing results.

The early stage is called gingivitis and in some cases may begin at a young age.

The stages can range from mild to advanced. The progression is more rapid depending on one’s oral hygiene, medical health and quality of bone. Periodontal disease, if left untreated will result in early loss of teeth.

Because this disease is usually painless in its early stages, it is important to know the early signs. Very often the color to the gum at the base of the teeth becomes red and may bleed when brushing. More severe symptoms are swollen gums, pus between the gums and teeth, loose teeth, changes in the position of teeth resulting in pain when biting down, and bad breath. If you experience any of the above symptoms see your dentist.

You are responsible for your own periodontal health. To prevent or control this disease it is essential that you brush and floss correctly and often, scrutinize your mouth, and have regular dental checkups.

It is an inflammatory disease that mainly starts in the gums and gradually spreads to the bone surrounding the teeth.

Contributing factors include poor oral hygiene, a diet high in sugary or starchy foods, clenching or grinding teeth at night and the use of some medications.

In our office we are proud of the excellent results we have received in the treatment of periodontal disease, orthodontics, implants and general dentistry.

interests first.

By booking an appointment at our Brampton office you will have the benefit of my experience, dedication, motivation and a considerate friendly team that puts your

To book your appointment, call 905 458-1055

What you always wanted to know about supplements

Monique Bartlett Contributor The supplement industry makes over 40 billion dollars. The surprising fact is that it is largely unregulated. Have you ever asked yourself the question, “Are supplements really necessary?

Well the answer is, it depends! There is no magic pill and no magic bullet, however approximately 95% of fitness results from proper training, nutrition and rest. Supplements can help to optimize performance and body composition. This is just a small list of some of the most popular supplements. I would suggest referring to your doctor to help you make the right decision.

What is protein?

The short answer is that it is strings of amino acids bonded together that are found naturally in meats and dairy. Protein is responsible for building bodily tissues and regulating cellular processes. It is said that protein enhances muscle growth, accelerates recovery from exercise and enhances immune function. If you exercise, you need more protein! Protein is available from many different sources including milk, eggs and soy. Get the majority of your protein from whole foods and supplement for the balance. Protein can help increase your lean muscle mass. Protein supplements can

be more beneficial than whole foods pre and post-exercise. Whey protein can help optimize delivery to muscles. Pre-workout - consume protein within half an hour of workout. Postworkout - consume protein as soon as possible after a workout.

What is caffeine?

Caffeine is an alkaloid that acts as a central nervous system stimulant. It is one of the most consumed drugs in the world. It is said to improve mental alertness, increase fat burning, increase endurance and improve muscular power. It is also said to help increase oxygen intake, increase cardiac output and improve power output. It is important not to over do your caffeine intake, as there have been reports of dizziness, headaches, nervousness and insomnia. Caffeine is an effective means to increase exercise performance and reduce body fat levels. Peak levels of activity are reached within an hour after ingestion.

What is CLA? CLA is a polyunsaturated fat found in meat and dairy products. It is said to accelerate fat loss, increase lean body mass and reduce hunger. Many studies have found that at best, it provides moderate weight loss. The average weight loss is approximately 5 pounds over six months and then levels off. It seems to work better for the obese. CLA may promote insulin resistance that sometimes leads to diabetes.

The cost vs. benefit may not be worth it.

What is Creatine?

Creatine is a nitrogenous compound comprised of three amino acids: arginine, glycine and methionine. It is synthesized naturally in

the liver and kidneys with over 90 percent of creatine stores found in the skeletal muscle. It is said to increase power output, strength and muscle size. Creatine is said to provide significant improvements in strength and power and significant increases in muscle mass. Creatine may cause bloating, but that seems to be the only main side affect. It is effective for those looking to increase strength, power and/or lean muscle mass.

What is it L-Carnitine?

L-Carnitine is a compound synthesized in the kidneys and liver from two amino acids: lysine and methionine. It is mainly used as a fuel. It is said to increase resistance to muscle fatigue and accelerate recovery from exercise stress.

The majority of studies show no significant ef-

fect on either exercise performance or fat loss.

What is it Arginine?

Arginine is an essential amino acid. It is responsible for increasing levels of growth hormone. It is said to increase strength, increase lean body mass, enhance fat loss, suppress tissue breakdown and improve muscle recovery. The majority of studies show little or no improvements in exercise performance, body composition or muscle development.

As with everything, buyers beware and do your own due diligence. Are supplements right for you? Depending on what your exercise goals are, you may or may not need them. Only you and your doctor may know the answer.

PAGE 12 - WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2012 - TORONTO CARIBBEAN

Developing your competitive advantage JG Francoeur Contributor As a business leader, one of your most important tasks is developing your people.

Your people are one of your main advantages; they will drive your business/project to success. And it is up to you, as their leader, to develop them and prepare them to be superior performers and contributors.

Jack Welch former CEO of General Electric, was quoted in a Business Week article espousing this same sort of thinking: “We have found what we believe to be the distilled essence of competitiveness. It is the reservoir of talent and creativity that can be found in each of our people.

That essence is liberated when we make people believe that what they think and do is important – and then get out of their way while they do it.”

Nothing is as unique as a person. With the right mix of innate intelligence and a nurturing environment, who knows what each individual is capable of achieving? It’s up to you to extract each of your team member’s abilities, and find a way to combine everyone’s specific talents for a competitive advantage.

The right people on your team are you best assets – but not all people are an asset. The first step is to establish who your ideal employee is. What qualities do they possess?

What behaviors do they exhibit?

Some employees will demonstrate leadership qualities. It is your duty to recognize and develop those people. There are two types of leaders: those who are born and grow as natural leaders and those who have developed their leadership skills. Neither type of leader is better than the other, but there is one simple truth that you must know.

Leaders will lead either with you or against you. Therefore, it is best to discover early which people on your team have natural or developed leadership skills and inclinations.

How do you identify a leader? There are several tactics that people use to identify leaders, but it comes down to paying attention to their actions.

For example, if you have a crisis situation, notice who takes charge and jumps in to help. If there is a fire drill at the office, who takes over and helps coordinate the exit?

This is the person (or persons) you want to call on as your assistant leaders.

Along with identifying leaders, working with people’s passion is extremely important. I call this “finding and knocking on their passion door.”

Essentially everyone has a passion door, something that really makes him or her tick.

People will work eight hours a day for a leader they respect, 10 to 12 hours a day for someone they like, but they will work relentlessly for something about which they are passionate. That being said, here is a success principle: No matter what type of team you are building or what project you are working on, everyone on your team could be and should be in line with their passion.

Once you find a way to incorporate their passion into your vision, you will without a doubt greatly increase your chances of success.

Often times, incorporating a person’s passion into your vision is not difficult. For example,

Immigration matters: 19 local CIC offices CLOSED Marva Kollar Contributor Gone are the good old days when you were able to walk into local Citizenship and Immigration Canada offices for immigration assistance in Canada. Basic services that so many Canadian citizens and permanent residents have taken for granted for decades are simply gone!

Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) appears to be first in line of Canada’s Eco-

nomic Action Plan 2012 budget crunch. British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island were among the 19 local CIC offices closed as of June 1, 2012, in an effort to “to reduce Canada’s deficit to achieve an ongoing savings of $5.2 billion”.

Local CIC offices handle applications such as: work and study permits, extensions of work, study and visitors visas, sponsorships, permanent residents in Canada, new and renewal of permanent residence cards, loans for the right of permanent residence fees, applying, renouncing, revoking and resuming citizenships, etc.

Additional local CIC offices across Canada that remain open will no longer provide walk-in service. Front counter service has

also been eliminated Canada-wide and individuals will only have access to CIC offices by appointment.

As of June 1st, thousands of files previously processed at the closed locations in Kelowna, Nanaimo, Prince George and Victoria will continue processing at other Canadian CIC offices.

Similarly, in Quebec local CIC offices have been closed in Gatineau, Québec City, Sherbrooke and Trois-Rivières.

In Ontario, local CIC offices have been closed in Barrie, Kingston, Oshawa, Sault Ste Marie, Sudbury and Thunder Bay. Ontario residents are bearing the brunt of these closures. In comparison to other provinces and territories, Ontario lost 32 percent of the overall local CIC offices closed.

British Columbia and Québec represents 42 percent of this service cut while the other provinces and territories combined lost 26 percent of the overall local CIC office closures.

It is believed that with so many local CIC offices closing in Canada, job cuts, the increase in workload at other local CICs are reasonably expected to bring about longer

if you know Sam’s passion is writing and his current position is data entry, you must find a way to get Sam into a creative role where he can write. One way to do this would be to ask him to write you team’s e-newsletter.

Or, Sam might be interested in report writing, which would be ideal if your team needs to prepare regular activity reports.

Now this process of identifying each person’s passion door may take some time.

But it is well worth the effort. You cannot expect to move everyone on the team to a new task, but with continuous effort you can shift people to positions that leverage their passions. Most importantly, by utilizing this process you will see your team’s efficiency, effectiveness and demeanor skyrocket.

In closing, always remember to compliment the people around you for their efforts, not just results. This will keep their passion doors open to you and the other members of the team!

Get a FREE copy of MESSY Manager at www.messymanager.com JG Francoeur, Author of MESSY MANAGER – 11.75 Principles to 2x Your Sales + 3x Your Profits

processing times if not a backlog with Canadian applications.

South of the border, the Canadian Consulate located in Buffalo New York has also been closed and applicants may see an increase in Immigration Hearings held by video conferencing as file transfers are based on capacity at other local CICs; not according to the applicant’s geographic zone.

Nonetheless, CIC has gone technologically savvy which many believe will eliminate the anticipated backlog, however; others claim that this method of conducting hearings lacks the humanitarian or compassionate component. Some also fear that this may lead to a greater increase in deportation.

Local CIC office closure or not, no automatic financial immunity is granted. Permanent Residence loans must be repaid to re-enter Canada.

To learn more about the new measures in place for individuals in remote areas, applications sent after June 1, 2012, or for urgent processing due to an emergency situation contact Marva@WoodbridgeImmigration. com.

Your Horoscope - June 2012 Aries Horoscope (March 21-April 20): The deep information flowing into your mind will impact your home and foundation (where you “dwell”) and your sense of creative well being. Therefore, the questions you must ponder are, “Where do I dwell, with whom, and why?” “What are my creative endeavors and how do they influence my security and ability to nurture?”

Libra Horoscope (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Great discipline will be needed concerning your work and the light you provide others seeking care and tending. You will need to bring all of your will into alignment with your heart. When this occurs love will make contact with you and everything becomes easier in your life.

Prayer helps, too. Then balance emerges out of chaos.

Taurus Horoscope (April 21-May 21): The household and family are all that matter. Or should. A garden would enhance your growth. Dusting and sweeping do, too. On the other hand, you may feel best tending to others, especially the elderly, the housebound, or a young child.

While caring for others your personal history comes into focus. Insights fall about like stars from heaven. Pick them up and ponder them a bit.

Scorpio Horoscope (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): The New Moon offers you new mental realities which, if contemplated, brings forth your next religious encounter influencing a creative endeavor deeper than you’ve experienced before. Don’t worry about finances. They are hidden behind ideals that only you can manifest. If your love for humanity deepens, then your work in the world will also.

Gemini Horoscope (May 23-June 20): Something shifts concerning your financial situation. This impacts your group identity and sense of home security. A new structure is needed and will be initiated at the New Moon. Are you thinking of moving or simply shifting your possessions about? Study the Aquarian Laws and Principles for appropriate action.

Cancer Horoscope (June 21-July 20): A deep state of contemplation will bring about a new state of self identity should you take the time to ponder on how you love, who, and why.

This will later influence your presence at work and accelerate service to others.

Your mind is changing in so many ways.

It will take time to understand how much.

Sleep helps.

Leo Horoscope (July 21-Aug. 22): It’s possible that a dream state provides a new way of nourishing yourself. It will rise up out of the depths of your needs in mysterious ways. It will allow you to understand who you are at present since you’ve changed much in the past year. Then you will strive to inform others through a new creative art form. You will recognize this as synthesis.

Virgo Horoscope (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Sometimes intimate interactions take the form of chaos and conflict. But if you think of chaos/conflict as creative, as the first steps before harmony, then conflict is easier to understand and work with. Two people create a pair, which means opposition, which creates synthesis. Think on this and draw triangles over and over.

Sagittarius Horoscope (Nov. 22-Dec. 20): The new identity that has been seeking you as relentlessly as you have been seeking it, is about to explode in full force.

Take time to observe this lest it pass you by like a mothership in the night. Long walks in new shoes helps, too. Thinking about a new home again?

Think golden.

Capricorn Horoscope (Dec. 21-Jan. 20): There will be a feeling that hindrances have been released from your deepening into yourself and this affects your contacts with the outer world. Careful with all communication. Though you may understand yourself, others may not.

Slow down, observe what others need.

Then provide an atmosphere of care to family. This revitalizes your intimate relationship.

Aquarius Horoscope (Jan. 21-Feb. 18): You need restful quiet time in order to prepare for things to come. You also need to be out and about in the community and tending to professional, religious, and philosophical affairs. You’re quite busy and may need to handle various inner and outer journeys simultaneously. Remain calm and you will be able to do it all.

Pisces Horoscope (Feb. 18-March 20): You are changing. Your home is changing. Your daily work is expanding relative to the love you bring to it. All of this reflects on your service in the world and how you are recognized. If you stumble, pick yourself up and continue on. There is no failure. Set goals. Read “Treatise on White Magic” by the Tibetan.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2012 - TORONTO CARIBBEAN - PAGE 13

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Highway 407 to be Extended to the East

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2012 - TORONTO CARIBBEAN - PAGE 15

“Stop the 407 ETR’s Abuse of Power” received an e-mail from a Mr. Grant Lewry that he forwarded from the Premier after his meeting with him on March 8th, 2012.

Tammy Flores Contributor Premier Dalton McGuinty made the official announcement on May 24th, 2012 that the 407 ETR Consortium, Ferrovial and SNCLavalin has been awarded not just the build and design of the extension of highway 407, but the operations and maintenance of it for 30 years.

For the past 2 years I have been asking questions about this extension, attending open houses and meetings with residents who were concerned about its construction. The answers given from the Province were very vague. I questioned about how billing would be handled and by whom and got exactly the same answer that we are all receiving now.

“Highway 407E expansion will be owned by the Province and the Government will set toll rates & retain all revenues generated by tolls”. Is that a satisfactory answer?

NO! When you dig a little deeper and you realize that billing is part of the operations that the 407 ETR Consortium will still be handling, the Province has to reveal more details about how they will be addressing the already existing billing issues. The group

In the e-mail it was stated, “ I am going to fix the issues with the 407 ETR. I first must apologize, for the hardships you and your group have endured throughout this long drawn out ordeal ... Upon reading through the piles of paperwork you gave me from Ms. Flores, we have concluded that there was wrong doing on the part of us, the 407, and the Ministry of Transportation... The public does not know that in the 407 act, we can make changes, if we suspect that they are not playing fair with the people of Ontario. There was in my opinion, definite invoice suppression. There are mechanisms in place for us to step in and make them accountable for their actions; we have been lax at doing that... I must ask total confidentiality until I notify you”.

We have kept silent about this e-mail until now. We were really surprised to hear Premier McGuinty’s announcement that he was awarding the contract to this consortium, as we did not hear anything from him with respect to how he was stepping in to hold the 407 ETR accountable for their actions. Instead it appeared to us that he was rewarding their actions by granting them the contract for the extension, even lending his reputation by making the announcement for “the people’s highway” from their maintenance yard.

I showed up to hear the announcement and was escorted off the property as the 407 ETR

said it was private property and the public was not invited.

Since then we have asked what the Premier has been able to accomplish for those of us that have suffered hardship because of the predatory practices of the 407 ETR. We are waiting for the Premier’s response. Also, we asked for the Premier to schedule a meeting with Mr. Jodie Parmar before the summer break. Jodie Parmar was the architect behind the Concessions agreement and tells us there are things the Premier could do that would bring in approximately $1Billion dollars to the Province and some long overdue relief for Hwy 407 drivers in regards to tolls and service standards. The Premier was quoted as saying that Jodie Parmar was a “gentleman ... committed to the public interest and had some savings in mind that would

benefit the public at large.” Since March 22nd, 2011, 3 requests have been sent to Premier McGuinty to have this meeting with Jodie Parmar. We are hoping that the Premier schedules this meeting before the summer break.

We want to know the social/economic impact driving on this highway has had on you.

Please write to Stop the 407 ETR’s Abuse of Power, 75 Bayly Street, PO Box 14524, Ajax, Ontario, L1S 7K7 or email us at 407AbuseofPower@hotmail.ca You can also find us at www.407etr-abuseofpower.com If you would like to keep up to date with what’s happening on a daily basis, please join our Facebook group “Stop the 407 ETR’s Abuse of Power” or you can follow us on Twitter @407AbuseofPower.

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