The Silent Killer

Women empowerment has become one of the biggest movements in North America and African women living in the diaspora have proven to be the building blocks of the movement. With their pas sion for their work, resistance to medioc rity, and sure-fire way of turning heads when they walk in a room, African wom en are doing it in every way!

The fierceness of historical greats like: Queen Amina (North African Hausa people), Ana Nzinga of Mbande Ndogo, Nanny of the Maroons, and Shir ley Chilsom, only go to show that their power is not new. I myself take a lot of in spiration from these empowering wom en; they changed the world, because they were not willing to let others define them, their roles in society and what they could or could not do.

Our Woman Empowered feature has always been about women who, de spite several obstacles, have redefined and transformed their lives. One of the many things that I found incredibly in triguing about our featured Woman Empowered was her ability to see the positive in any situation, no matter how painful.

She has gone through a meta morphosis, turning her into an evolved version of herself that threatens the foundation of everything that she once thought of herself. Her emergence from the chrysalis reflects her realization of the constraints that were placed on her as an African-Caribbean woman living in the Western world. She has reclaimed her identity and sense of self, and the only question I had for her was, “How did she do this?”

Lola Fayola was born in Toronto, Ontario, and raised in the city of Rexdale. She went to school there until grade four. She grew up with an older brother and sister, and she remembers moving to Brampton was a huge transition for her family, and it jolted her reality.

“It was a huge transition for me. All I could think about was my life in Rexdale, the fun times you know. Then all of a sudden I was in the boonies. I asked to sleep over at my friend’s house every weekend. I eventually got used to Brampton, and I eventually stopped go ing to Rexdale, well definitely not as of ten.”

As a child, Lola was always de scribed as charismatic, trendy, and bold.

She loved beauty, arts and entertain ment.

“I told my parents I was going to be a doctor and own a hair salon. I also love dancing. I would be the choreogra pher for routines when my cousins came over. Entertainment was my passion. I used to do ballet, I did a little hip-hop, and I did a little African dancing. I did modelling as well. I would sing at events around the city. When I hit high school, everything changed. I became too cool for that. The one thing I did pursue was cosmetology.”

I had my first son when I was 20 years old, and although it was challeng ing I had to make sure that I finished high school; I wanted my son to understand the importance of school.

Throughout this time, I naturally was getting involved in relationships, and not ones that were necessarily good for me. I had to endure an emotionally abusive relationship, and I made some bad decisions when it came to men. I sometimes struggled with this, because I watched my parents have a beautiful, healthy relationship, yet it was a chal lenge for me. This wore on me, and deep ly affected me.

During all of this chaos, I had two more children, and I was still pursu ing the work that I did as a cosmetologist, but this was not enough for me.”

Lola did something that is diffi cult for many people to do, move past her limiting beliefs, those assumptions that she had developed about herself that af fected how she saw and felt about who she was, her abilities, and how she fit into the world. She also had to move past her attachment to these ideas about herself, the ones that could have held her back from making progress, taking action, and living her fullest life. That said she want ed more.

“I started working part time at a medical office, and then I began to work on building my own business. For six months, I worked quietly setting up “Lash Bar,” and in 2015, I opened my first storefront “Lash Lab Plus Inc.” Things were going well, and then the pandemic hit. Like many small businesses, I had to close. I had to move everything online, and started branding my own makeup and my own products.

I also started “Lingering Stilet tos” to empower women. It is hard to

walk away from toxic relationships, and I wanted women to embrace themselves. I wanted women to be able to express their sensuality and accept their entire beings. I want wom en to be in tune with every inch of their bodies. My adage is ‘Curves laced in lin gerie, soles (souls) love making in stilet tos.’ #loveherintimacy. Women know their beauty regardless of size, colour, and shape; it is about loving you and embodying love.”

Lola had found her groove, but there was still something missing; entertainment was in my blood, and for some reason, it had not left her.

“I felt like I had ac complished a lot of what I had set out to do, I realized I had to return to what I love.

Lola Lashade Lifestyle started during the pandemic. I needed to find a way to break into the arts and entertainment world. I had already been doing it quietly, but I wanted to really bring this side back out of me. It was time to create my own platform, so I met this gentle man (MC Afro), and we just clicked. He was a gate opener to this world. He helped me meet the right people and has taken the time to show me the ropes. I now have my podcast called Lola Lashade Lifestyle on AfroLive FM. I just launched October 5th, and it airs every Wednesday 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm.

My experience of creating is far different, much more enjoyable then I originally imagined, and I feel nourished and enlivened by it. Fear is part of the hu man experience, and our culture teaches us to push away, deny, run away from, and fight our fears. I’ve learned to listen, learn from and honour my fears. They have allowed me to tap into a source of wisdom and power that I never knew that I had.”

Written by Simone J. Smith Toronto Caribbean News

Photo Credit: Evermore Media

The information that we are presenting this week is not going to fit our govern ments vaccination-first belief system, and we hope that there are readers out there who are willing to open themselves to op tions that could possibly serve them bet ter than the ones being provided to them now. What this article will do is present science that proves the power of alterna tive medicine and backs up the concept of people taking responsibility for their health.

The span of time in which the influenza virus is at its most contagious is widely referred to as “flu season.” This period generally occurs during the colder months of the year. The reason for this is that in North America, and regions that experience seasonal weather, our cold seasons keep people indoors, and being around people can spread germs. That is why when one person in a house gets sick the whole house gets sick.

Duquesne University School of Nursing provided a breakdown of the “peak months of flu activity.” I know you

hear the mainstream media ramping up COVID-19 numbers again, so I share these to remind you that we have been dealing with flu season for years. This is not a new concept. The information below is over a 34-year period between 1982 and 2016:

February was the peak month for flu activity in 14 of the 34 flu seasons, making it the most common month for peak flu activity.

December followed February, with the highest flu activity in seven of the 34 flu seasons.

March is third, with flu activity peaking this month in six seasons during the 34-season period.

January was the least common month to facilitate peak flu activity, with the flu peaking this month in only five of the 34 flu seasons.

In 2016, research conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Pre vention (CDC) showed that a majority of US citizens catch the flu at least once per year. Fortunately, many public and private organizations work to limit the impact of the flu by actively promoting influenza awareness throughout the United States, and Canada. For some reason, the last three years there has been active report ing on flu numbers, in conjunction with a push for our citizens to get vaccinated. There are never preventative measures shared, just injection information. Have you ever wondered why that is?

During the earlier parts of the

pandemic, Joe Rogan was laughed at because he claimed that Ivermectin was a cure for influenza (COVID-19, the flu), and the government was not interested in presenting this to the public. When he caught COVID himself and received it as a part of a treatment course with Z-packs and vitamin drips for three days, people thought he was full of it and making things up. Turns out, this was more than an Internet rumour.

Flávio A. Cadegiani, MD, MSc, Ph.D. Cadegiani a board-certified endo crinologist with a master’s degree and a doctorate in clinical endocrinology re cently conducted a study that has been peer-reviewed and published online by the medical journal Cureus.

Conducted in the city of Itajai (Brazil), there were 88,012 patients who participated in the study. They saw a 92% reduction in the risk of death from COVID patients who received Ivermectin as a part of their treatment or as a preventa tive. They also received an 84% decrease when compared to those who were using the substance irregularly.

“The hospitalization rate was re duced by 100% in regular users compared to both irregular users and non-users,” the study stated.

The people in this study were not the best candidates for this kind of study. If anything, they were some of the least likely to survive a bout with COVID (the flu). The regular users in this study were al

ready at an increased risk of death, as they were older and had a high prevalence of type-2 diabetes, as well as hypertension. For those irregular users, they saw a 37% reduction in their risk compared to nonusers. In this study, a regular user was someone who took more than 30 tablets over a five-month period.

The study stated that dosage was determined by body weight, however, “Most of the population used between two and three tablets daily for two days, every 15 day. Non-use of Ivermectin was associated with a 12.5-fold increase in mortality rate and a seven-fold increased risk of dying from COVID-19 compared to the regular use of Ivermectin. This doseresponse efficacy reinforces the prophy lactic effects of Ivermectin against CO VID-19.”

Cadegiani explains, “The ‘doseresponse effect’ is fully explained and proven here. An observational study with the size and level of analysis as ours is hardly achieved and infeasible to be conducted as a randomized clinical trial. Conclusions are hard to be refuted. Data is data, regardless of your beliefs.”

With this kind of proof, the fun niest thing is that the government and mainstream media will never share this with you. Science is telling us that Iver mectin was able to keep people alive and allow them to recover the proof is now ir refutable.

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“Conclusions

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refuted. Data is Data, regardless of your beliefs.” Science is now proving that Ivermectin will keep you alive!

Second annual Ontario Sickle Cell Summit 2022

• C: Committed to improving our ser vices to our constituents

• A: Accountable for our services, re sources, and behaviours

• G: Gain recognition as the provincial voice for sickle cell disease

• O: Openness and transparency in our services

The Sickle Cell Awareness Group of On tario (SCAGO) is the leading charitable patient organization providing evidencebased support to families with children, adolescents, and adults with sickle cell disease in Ontario. It had its beginning as Seed of Life Philanthropic Organization (SOLPO), which was launched on June 14th, 2005, in memory of Sunday Afolabi, a young man who lost his life to sickle cell anaemia. The website states, “It supports clinical research and engages in psychosocial research, health promotion, patient and care providers’ education, community awareness, and the development of best practices guidelines.”

The mission of SCAGO is to im prove the incidence of new sickle cell births and improve the quality of life of individuals and families living with sickle cell disease (SCD). The five main objectives of SCAGO are to fulfil the following:

• To educate the general public about sickle cell disease (SCD) and sickle cell trait (SCT)

• Provide psycho-social support to pa tients and families with SCD

• Reduce impacts of poverty on pa tients and families with SCD

• Provide a better understanding/ knowledge of the disease to individu als with SCD, their caregivers, and families

• Improve the quality of care and treat ment received by individuals with SCD

• Improve the quality of care and treat ment received by individuals with SCD

Each letter of the acronym SCAGO repre sents one of the five important values:

• S: Support patient and family-centred approach to the planning and deliv ery of our services

On Friday, November 4th, and Saturday, November 5th, 2022, SCAGO will be host ing a two-day virtual event. The theme for this year’s summit is, “Delivering Equity in Sickle Cell Disease.” It will feature presen tations and panel discussions with a focus on equitable care and sustainable effec tive treatment. Their partnerships include: McMaster Hospital, SickKids, University Health Network and London Health Sci ences Centre. The summit will provide an opportunity for health care providers, pa tients, caregivers, health system leaders, health policymakers, government officials, researchers, advocates and industry part ners to come together. These stakehold ers play vital roles in fostering a collabora tive spirit for new ideas and insights.

Participants in the summit will gain knowledge and a better understand ing of:

• The impact of racism on sickle cell dis ease

• Ways those community members and healthcare providers can address stig ma and other barriers to care

• Current curative treatments in sickle cell disease

• Hyperhaemolysis: what it is, how to treat it, how to prevent it

• Organ failure in sickle cell disease in different countries/settings

• Mental health and sickle cell disease

• Digital and behavioural interventions in sickle cell disease-using technology

• Quality standards for sickle cell dis ease for utilization in their clinical practice; and the ability to adapt ex isting care protocols to their clinical setting

Anyone interested in learning about the 2021 Sickle Cell Disease Summit can check the website: wwwsicklecellanemia.ca.

Registration for the 2022 summit and additional information can be seen on the website: sicklecellanemia.ca/summitregistration-2022

“Delivering equity in Sickle Cell disease.”

It has been so hard for you to complete your daily tasks; simple things like getting dressed, brushing your teeth, and even bathing has become a taxing experience. You have friends, who want to hang out, but you have not been in the mood; all you want to do is stay home and be by yourself.

While you were out shopping last week, another customer in the store hap pened to hit your cart, and you surprised yourself when you cussed her out. You were embarrassed by your own behav iour, but lately, you have not been able to get out of your head. To add to all of that, you don’t feel like eating, your sleep pat terns are off, and the slightest discomfort brings forth a flood of tears...

If you read that and identified with it, I want you to know that what you are experiencing is normal, especially with what we have had to deal with in the last two and a half years. What you might not want to admit is that you might just have been dealing with a mental health crisis, triggered by something that has happened recently in your life.

High levels of stress, worry, anxi ety and depression are impacting this generation like never before, and being in denial about it is not moving our com munity any further when it comes to our collective or individual healing.

I was introduced to the From In visible to Visible team, a group of AfricanCanadian therapists who culturally un derstand the threats that our community experiences daily. Daily they offer 50-min ute counselling sessions and 30-minute non-emergency check-in sessions. It is how this group of powerful individuals have decided to help the Toronto com munity by providing services to individu als who may not be able to afford a thera pist.

Last weekend, the From Invisible to Visible team had their first annual “Lib eration Healing: The Voices of Therapy Conference.” The focus of the conference was to support People of Colour to take control of their inner world using effective healing strategies and supportive therapy solutions. The From Invisible to Visible Team believes it is important that we con tinue to provide our communities with useful tips and strategies to help them on their wellness journey.

The conference was held over two days: Friday, October 21st, and Satur day, October 22nd, 2022. I had a chance to sit down with Carole Sandy (Founder, From Invisible to Visible), and we dis cussed the impact of this puissant initia tive.

“This started when God told me

to leave my position at a private organiza tion. As soon as I left, the idea of a pop up came up at the beginning of 2020. I heard request after request for Black therapists, so I thought of a way to provide that ser vice. We did our first pop up at a beautiful office space located at Yonge and Eglin ton. It was 40 minutes and attendees paid whatever they could.

The pandemic hit, and we had to start building our team virtually. I thought to myself, how do I provide therapeutic help to the community? We want to look at trauma and healing through our eyes. How do we recognize our trauma, and then how do we heal ourselves?

We can follow this up with a list of other questions: how do you sup port yourself from day to day? When you grieve, how do you grieve and how do you bring your ancestors into your grieving? We were very intentional in how people see themselves in therapy, and how they see their mental health. How can you ask yourself good questions about your men tal health history?

Racism impacts all of us, not just the Black community. It is not just our re sponsibility. Racism has impacted White people as well. All of our bodies have been impacted. It is why when we speak about racism with White people, they of ten seem uncomfortable. We have to sit in the discomfort first, and then talk about how we can all heal together. This is why liberation healing is important. It is a give and take. This is not a solo project. You can’t put all of the weight on an individu

al.

What was beautiful was talk ing about our ancestors; how do we cel ebrate them? It brought such warmth to the room. We could bring stories of hurt into the room, without it going too deep. There was a freedom to discuss trauma, and how we remembered our elders. How do we heal through breathing? How do we heal through drumming and dance? There were so many moments to sit in the peace of who we are without edits.

We doubt ourselves, we doubt our experiences, we have to show up strong, and as prototypes that are not necessarily who we are. There are so many different ways we as Black people show up, and we have to welcome all of us. Blackness is so rich and diverse. This way of seeing ourselves sometimes gets blocked.

We are trying to work with more organizations to open up more oppor tunities to discuss therapy, and mental health. We are intentional about edu cating people about therapy, especially those who have never considered thera py.

Therapy is something we have to create for ourselves, how it looks like, how it feels like. It is not for everyone, but we want to make sure that we are visible in spaces. I do a lot of healing circles, which are effective for those who have experi enced similar trauma.”

this is not up for debate!”

The Voices of Therapy Conference.”

In a recent EU hearing, Pfizer admitted that its injection was never tested for transmission, and to add insult to injury the company’s excuse was that “We had no time, we had to move at the speed of science to understand what was taking place in the market.”

After hearing this statement any one can conclude that all the rest of the statements surrounding this topic was simply an enormous hoax, but things just keep getting better.

The United Kingdom’s Office for National Statistics, which is the UK’s largest independent producer of official statistics and its recognized national sta tistical institute, has quietly released sub stantial data on the COVID injections.

This article will attempt to shed some light on the deaths caused by this so-called vaccine to all ages of human beings. Here are some of the numbers from the UK. Things were looking good at first as we see.

• 2,502.9 deaths over the year per 100,000 unvaccinated

• 1,330.1 deaths over the year per 100,000 with 1 dose less than 21 days ago

• 1,718.5 deaths over the year per 100,000 with 1 dose at least 21 days ago

• 265.6 deaths over the year per 100,000 with 2 doses less than 21 days ago

• 166.1 deaths over the year per 100,000 with 2 doses at least 21 days ago

This is the effect nearly everyone expects the COVID-19 vaccines to have. The data shows an over 90% reduction in the mor tality rate for those who took two doses. Keep in mind these are all-cause deaths. At the time there was a substantial like lihood that COVID-19 would have been the expected cause of death, for any un vaccinated death.

However, in May 2021 those vac cinated with one dose, started to have a higher mortality rate than those unvacci nated. In October 2021, those vaccinated with two doses started to have a higher mortality rate than those unvaccinated.

The study also revealed that in people aged 18-39 the vaccine seems to have had a negative effect from the start.

If this stat is any indication, then this data is all very alarming. A poorly functioning injection should still have at least a small positive effect, but in the case of this one, it seems like a no-win situation right across the board and the cost here is in human lives.

That was the UK now let’s have a look at the U.S.

A press release from the Florida surgeon general said, “Florida will now require all patients to be informed of car diac complications before they receive a Covid, mRNA, DNA altering vaccine, plus kids and men under 40 were told that the state recommends against the shots, based on adverse reaction data since it’s launched.”

In other countries, Taiwan is reporting that the number of deaths caused by the injection is way more than that of the disease it was meant to cure.

Dr. Naiomi Wolf said that she saw the Pfizer documents and she revealed, “They knew it from the month after the massive role out that this would not work, so the reason I say mass murder with such calmness is that 1,200 people are dead, four of them the day they were injected, but they still kept going. They knew in April of last year children’s hearts were damaged a week after this injec tion, and they kept going.”

According to Dr Roger Hodkin son, 20 million are already dead and two billion are injured worldwide and there is more carnage on the way.

Albert Bourla, Pfizer’s CEO is on video record lying all over the place say ing one minute that the injection stops transmission, then it has little or no pro tection, and then yes there is some pro tection.

Here is the link for both Pfizer’s CEO and Dr Roger Hodkinson who was mentioned above.

banned.video/watch?id=63474a7122b1b 90163af38b9

Dr. Naiomi Wolf said, “Just for the record, the Food and Drug Association aka FDA has records and evidence that these socalled vaccines are not workable, yet the depopulation game still flows freely.”

The late Dr. Valdimir Zelenko said before he died, “I see already that its checkmate, the only question is how much carnage, and what would be the body count of the innocent until we get to that point.”

New Heart & Stroke survey reveals more needs to be done to tackle “silent killer”

ing diagnosed at an earlier age. It also comes with a hefty price tag, as the an nual cost associated with high blood pressure is $13.9 billion.

As you read this today, I want you to take a moment to reflect on some ques tions; how much has your life changed since the start of the pandemic? How have your views on health changed? Is catching COVID-19 one of your top health concerns? Have you taken the time to make an appointment with your doctor? Have you noticed any oth er health declines?

What the pandemic has done is push to the backseat many of the serious health concerns that currently plague Canadians, and more specifi cally African-Caribbeans. The danger of this is that a serious health concern continues to be ignored, and it is the cause of mass hospitalization, and even more detrimental, death.

In an article titled, “Disparities in hypertension among black Carib bean populations: a scoping review by the U.S. Caribbean Alliance for Health Disparities Research Group (USCAH DR),”, a total of 455 hypertension re lated records, published between 1972 and 2012, were identified and screened. Overall, studies reported a higher prev alence of hypertension among Carib bean Blacks compared to West African Blacks and Caucasians. Hypertension and its related complications were highest in persons with low socioeco nomic status.

Last week I received a media advisory from the Heart & Stroke Foun dation reporting an increase in rates of high blood pressure (hypertension) and associated risks. These risks are a significant concern according to a new national Heart & Stroke survey of almost 1,000 health experts across the country. The health community identi fied lack of awareness, prevention, de tection and treatment –made worse by the pandemic – as essential areas for improvement to address hypertension.

Almost eight million adults in Canada are affected by high blood pressure (about one in four). This num ber rises as the population ages, but at the same time, more people are be

According to the survey, 8 in 10 health professionals are worried about high blood pressure in Canada as it is the number one risk factor for stroke and a major risk factor for heart disease. More than 7 in 10 health professionals worry that people do not understand what the condition is, or the risks asso ciated with it. Additionally, more than 7 in 10 health professionals expressed concern that people do not realize when they develop high blood pres sure because there are usually no warn ing signs – in fact it is often referred to as the “silent killer.”

“Hypertension is like an onramp to stroke and heart disease, so we have a tremendous opportunity here to catch people before they are too far down that road by raising awareness, supporting prevention, and improving access to screening and management,” says Dr. Patrice Lindsay (Director Health Systems, Heart & Stroke). “If we can pre vent high blood pressure or manage it through changes to lifestyle and medi cation, we can dramatically reduce stroke and heart disease.”

Canada used to be a leader in hypertension awareness, treatment and control, but unfortunately there has been a decline in these statistics over the last 10 years, especially for women.

The respondents to their sur vey acknowledged this trend: 7 in 10 identified a lack of high blood pressure screening practices and 6 in 10 noted inadequate treatment and control as areas of concern. Further, 7 in 10 health professionals are worried that the peo ple at highest risk for high blood pres sure are often those who face inequi ties, including barriers to treatment and support.

More than 7 in 10 health pro fessionals are worried that people do not realize when they develop high blood pressure because there are usu ally no warning signs, and that they do not understand what it is or the risks associated with it. Disturbingly, this awareness is lowest among younger adults.

The survey revealed that dis ruptions to people’s lives, including their ability to access health care during the pandemic, impacted their blood pressure, and put them at an even

higher risk.

More than 8 in 10 health pro fessionals believe lifestyle risk factors (eg, lack of physical activity, unhealthy diet, not managing stress) that nega tively affect blood pressure increased due to the pandemic, and more than 6 in 10 believe equity-deserving (mar ginalized) groups are facing an even greater increase.

Eight in 10 health professionals are afraid there has been an increase in undiagnosed new cases and that more people with existing high blood pres sure have not been adequately manag ing and controlling their condition due to the pandemic; this is not surprising due to the documented decrease in doctor visits.

Over half of health profession als are concerned that more people have developed high blood pressure than would have normally been the case during the pandemic due to: in creased lifestyle risk factors, lack of regular in-person check-ups, increase in stress and inability to prioritize exist ing health conditions due to other chal lenges and concerns.

What needs to be understood here is that high blood pressure can be better prevented, detected and con trolled in Canada, yet not enough is be ing done. The improvements that can be made include: better awareness and education, ensuring access to regular care and follow up with health profes sionals, more routine blood pressure screening in the community, better prevention, and addressing the social determinants of health.

I learned that there are not enough services and supports in place to detect, monitor and manage blood pressure in Canada. Seven in 10 health professionals are worried about the lack of high blood pressure screening practices, and 6 in 10 health profession als are worried that high blood pres sure is not being adequately treated and controlled.

The Heart & Stroke Foundation is working actively: funding research, raising awareness, providing informa tion and resources to support people to know and control their blood pressure, advocating for and supporting change across health systems, and working in partnerships across the country with key stakeholders such as Hypertension Canada.

The health professionals sur veyed identified several key areas to

best support people who have, or are at risk of developing high blood pres sure:

• Ensure access to regular care and follow-up with health professionals

• Ensure access to routine blood pressure screening in the commu nity and/or by primary care includ ing pharmacists and community para-medicine

• Address the social determinants of health (e.g., education, literacy, in come, shelter, social supports, ac cess to nutritious foods and physi cal activity)

• Increase public awareness of the importance of monitoring blood pressure

• Ensure access to culturally safe and appropriate lifestyle modification programs and supports

• Ensure universal access to medica tion, including high blood pressure medications

I want to note here before we close that the responsibility does not only lie on our health professionals; YOU have to start to actively take care of your health. Here are actions everyone can take to prevent and manage high blood pres sure:

• Know your numbers – check or get your blood pressure checked regu larly

• If you are diagnosed with high blood pressure and prescribed medication, take them as pre scribed

• Be active for at least 150 minutes per week

• Eat as healthy as possible including lots of vegetables and fruit, whole grains and protein foods

• Limit highly processed foods and avoid sugary drinks

• Be smoke-free.

• If you drink alcohol, limit yourself to small amounts

• Manage your stress (This last one is of the most importance)

We are not out of the woods yet com munity; yes, COVID-19 might be under control, but a silent killer lurks, and we need to stay aware, stay active, and stay alive!

Do we feed the world, or protect the world from asteroids?

mental disaster, filling the earth’s atmosphere with debris for years. Nothing could grow in such an atmosphere, so these dinosaurs died in time. Such an event can happen again and that is one of the reasons NASA and many other global agencies study the stars daily to see how celestial objects motion works, and looking for objects of interest.

The Dart struck the asteroid hoping to nudge it off-orbit. NASA is studying how they can protect earth from future collisions with asteroids. Knowing there are danger ous threats in advance is the essential ele ment studied by NASA. Dimorphos has been known and studied for decades, but what about objects coming into our galaxy for the first time? Scientists have documented known asteroids for many years, knowing: what part of the sky they will appear, how long they will show themselves to us, and what path they will proceed too. Can scien tists manage celestial collisions successfully?

Questions arise however, about rarely seen objects:

How can humanity predict and defend

earth from rarely seen objects

2. With space being filled with humanities various objects such as: spacecrafts, sat ellites and space junk, can these objects act like the Dart, deflecting foreign ob ject towards the earth?

3. Can scientists locate and act upon a fu ture threat in time?

4. Earth’s problems demand monetary in vestments, yet the cost of scientific stud ies competes with these same efforts. Feed the world, or protect the world from asteroids?

Why do humans wish to explore space? Per haps we want to understand our place within the universe? Space exploration expands our technology, creating new industries while fostering peaceful connections to other na tions. It is our curiosity and innovations that may well preserve and protect our world.

Other dangers surround us. Our sun has potential threat meters also. Earth’s protector, the layer of atmosphere known as the ozone layer, acts as a filter from damag ing gases, chemicals and the sun’s solar ra diation. Earth’s ozone is under threat from

within, affected and depleted by earth’s self- created CO2 emissions and pollution. As the ozone layer thins out, the sun’s radiation warms out planet. Solar flares (Coronal Mass Ejections) have increased in intensity, affect ing the earth’s electrical grids and communi cations. The more radiation we are exposed too, the greater medical, environmental and social threats placed upon humanity.

While the earth absorbs 50% of the sun’s radiation directly and indirectly, our at mosphere absorbs only 15% of this radiation. That is a problem. Decreased ozone levels leave people and the environment under threat. Medical conditions like cancer de velop in regions where the ozone thins. Ex cessive droughts in other regions challenge humanity in their ability to keep our regions inhabitable.

The globe is under attack from within and outside of our atmosphere. The challenges humanity is facing cannot be ig nored. Studies in every scientific pursuit will be necessary, and with it the funds needed to maintain and protect our futures.

And the winner is… The Chef Collective brings back their popular Underground Chef Battle Series

Co. (AMT Gastroguss Pans, F. DICK Knives and ProfBoard Cutting Boards). They were able to bring back their popular underground chef battle series at the Toronto restaurant Boehmer (93 Ossington Ave.) on Monday, Oc tober 17th, 2022.

Surrounded by hungry, boisterous food fans, Chef Jerome Robinson, Chef Sam Medeiros and Chef Imrun Texeira competed in an action-packed battle to win the compe tition title, prizes and bragging rights. Let’s take some time to learn a little bit about our chefs:

in Vietnamese, Cantonese, Italian and Indian restaurants while abroad.

She returned to Toronto to work at La Palma Restaurant, where she became a Sous-Chef at age 23, and then their Chef de Cuisine at age 26. She is known for creating dishes using highlight ingredients and tech niques from different cultures and cuisines. When it comes to food, Sam’s passion re volves around highlighting the simplicity of ingredients, while pairing them with fun and interesting techniques.

nine winner Chef Erica Karbelnik, grill master Chef Robert Rainford, restaurateur and Iron Chef Canada season six winner Chef Paul Boehmer and Canada’s premier cheese ex pert Afrim Pristine, judged the dishes and an nounced the winning chef that evening.

Prizes up for grabs included:

• Grand Prize: Two round-trip tickets to Lima, Peru with Copa Airlines plus $1,000 CAD spending money

As I walked into the venue, I was greeted by the enticing smell of onions, caramelizing in olive oil, or maybe it was butter. It’s the smell of the promise of delicious things to come, the start of countless dishes in many cuisines. It’s the smell of the slow breakdown of sugars and proteins and their recombination into hundreds of other flavourful compounds that add complexity, sweetness, and savouri ness to any dish.

In a room filled with hundreds of boisterous industry members and food lov ers, Chef Jerome Robinson, Chef Sam Me deiros and Chef Imrun Texeira competed in an intense one-hour live culinary battle, with hosts Chef Joe Friday and Chef Devan Raj kumar keeping the jam packed room enter tained, and the energy high.

In partnership with Samurai Media, The Chef Collective was proudly supported and sponsored by SYZL, St. Lawrence Market, Mezzacorona, El Dorado Rum, Carib Brewery, Egg Farmers of Ontario, Medium Rare Chef Apparel, Meyers Natural Foods and CookUP

Chef Jerome Robinson

Based in Toronto, Chef Jerome Robinson is a beloved chef, a restaurateur and an on-air cooking expert for the Marilyn Denis Show. He is currently the owner and chef at The Heartbreak Chef, which specializes in deca dent comfort foods like fried chicken sand wiches and mac and cheese. A familiar face and name in Toronto, Chef Robinson has been on the culinary scene for years with his catering company and participating in To ronto food festivals including TasteToronto’s Brunch Fest.

Chef Sam Medeiros

Born and raised in Toronto, Sam Medeiros knew the moment after graduating from George Brown Culinary School that she wanted to learn about different types of cui sines first-hand. She helped open a small bis tro in Grignan, France, moved to Hong Kong where she became a Tournant for a Restau rant Group with 17 restaurants, then worked

Chef Imrun Texeira

Based in Toronto, Chef Imrun Texeira has worked in some of the world’s best and most influential restaurants, including: three-Mi chelin Starred Noma in Copenhagen. He was a semi-finalist on Food Network Canada se ries Top Chef Canada Season 8 and a finalist on the Food Network Canada series Chopped Canada Season 3.

Most recently Chef Texeira launched Wanderlust, a personal chef service based in Toronto focused on providing fine dining blind tasting menus.

Chef Texeira is an advocate for better work conditions and mental health support for those who work in hospitality through his role as Ambassador for The Burnt Chef Proj ect. He also shares his love and knowledge of food by working with kids, teaching them food literacy and culinary pathways.

Using a secret ingredient, the three Toronto chefs had to create two original dishes in just one hour. An esteemed indus try panel, including: Top Chef Canada season

• Second Prize: Vitamix prize package in cluding a Vitamix A2300, Food Processor bundle, Immersion Blender and blend ing accessories

• Third Prize: Anova Culinary prize pack age including an Anova Precision Oven and Anova Precision Cooker Pro

In an exciting, and tenacious battle, Toronto’s Chef Sam took home the champion title. The Chef Collective is excited to announce that it is taking its culinary battles across Canada in 2023. They will feature local chefs and the battles will pop up in cities across the country. 2023 tour updates will be an nounced on The Chef Collective social chan nels.

“We’re thrilled to re-launch The Chef Collective battle series in Toronto this fall, and to continue providing a platform for chefs to showcase their incredible culinary talent,” said Chef Joe Friday, founder of The Chef Collective. “Our high-octane series is a must-attend event for anyone who appreci ates culinary art and enjoys a good battle.”

REPORTER

Most Black women have heard the same stereotypes their whole adult life, such as “Black women are always angry.” Direc tor of feature-length documentary, The Myth of the Black Woman, Ayana O’Shun, looks at these stereotypes and speaks to over 20 women on their experience with their identity.

The film explores three stereo types placed on Black women: the hyper sexual Jezebel to the lovable Nurse to the sassy “Bitch.” Experts say the Black com munity is the minority most affected by stereotypical images created centuries ago.

The women interviewed in the film are all acclaimed leaders in their fields. Their compelling stories are sup ported by never-before-seen archival footage from the 1800s to the present day.

The film had its World Premiere at the Toronto Reelworld Film Festival on Saturday, October 15th. It was a part of the official and exclusive selection of only 10 feature films that competed for sever

al awards, including Outstanding Feature Film and the Audience Choice Award.

O’Shun is excited for audiences to see her documentary since before Reelworld, only her team had seen the film.

“I’m super excited about the Reelworld Film Festival, because it’s the first time we’re going to have real time feedback of a general audience. So, I’m so looking forward to that. The people from the team who saw it, they were re ally excited about it. And what I liked is that even White males, who were doing the sound, for example, they were telling me that even then they were touched by the film, because they realize things that they did not know about Black women, and even about women in general.” said O’Shun.

O’Shun’s sister, Bianca, was the producer of the film, and she shares how difficult it was for them to secure funding to finish the film.

“I’m so happy I was with her and that I was not by myself. Because it was a struggle to do the film and secure financ ing from the get go. And when we de cided to do the film with or without the financing, some people told us yes, they would work with us as technicians still. All the women who were interviewed ac cepted to talk about their lives, and they really opened up their lives to us. So, I was really, really honored to have them. And to have feedback from Bianca, it was perfect. Later on, we got some financing

to finish the film, but it’s been something and I’m exhausted, but now I’m better,” said O’Shun.

For the last few years, many proj ects by Black artists and filmmakers have been made to empower the Black com munity and share images that go against what the media puts out.

“I’m aware that my film is only a drop in the ocean. It’s only one film among many other that are taking place right now to uplift Black women. The women in the film were interviewed in Montreal, but they all come from differ ent backgrounds. Some are from here from generations to generations, others are from the Caribbean, or they’re from Africa, or they’re from Europe. And for me, it was really important to have this richness of background, because we are everywhere. We’ve been everywhere for centuries. So, I do hope that this film will propel a lot of discussions, a lot of con versations.”

Social media has made it possi ble for Black women around the world to come together and be a support system for each other.

Now we’re talking about build ing groups on the internet, for all wom en to have a space to be able to share all these stories, and to have a space for healing. There are so many resources and it’s important to hold ourselves account able for the well-being of the group, to help each other move forward. So, for me, the film is a tool for that as well.” said

O’Shun. One of the stories a woman shared in the film was about her col league inviting her to his home to ‘teach his White wife how to have sex because Black woman are good at it.’

“She is a doctor in psychology, at McGill University, which is a top univer sity in Canada, and one of her colleagues asked her to teach his wife how to be bet ter in bed. No respect for the stature of this woman, she was reduced to a sexual character, because she’s Black.” said The Myth of the Black Woman Director.

O’Shun would like to see more Black storytellers in the film industry.

“Who’s better than us to tell our stories with the more nuances because we’re leading the stories. So that’s what I would like to see, more Black storytell ers,” said O’Shun.

O’Shun talks about why she named her film “The Myth of the Black Woman”.

“The myth is actually the three stereotypes, but the aim of the film is to break the myth. We are complex. At the end of the film, I hope people see that Black women have 1,000 stories to tell. There are millions of stories, and there are millions of Black women out there with all their complexities,” said O’Shun.

The Myth of the Black Woman is currently going through its festival run before it will be available for audiences to watch online. 5/5 Stars

It is hard to make sense of what is go ing on in this world. As a journalist, I have to sift through pages and pages of research, fact finding and determining what to present to the Toronto Caribbe an community. One thing that I do know is that the powers that be are not telling us everything. There are critical pieces of information that must be shared in the case that it could affect a member of our community, communities living in Cana da, and communities around the world.

In my recent fact finding quest, I came across some literature that I found disquieting. Apparently certain COV ID-19 vaccines could increase suscepti bility to HIV. This was a warning raised by a group of researchers who in 2007 learned that an experimental HIV vac cine had increased in some people the risk for infection with the AIDS virus.

Acquired (or secondary) immu

nodeficiency is one of the major causes of infections in adults. These immuno deficiency disorders affect your immune system partially or as a whole, making your body an easy target for several dis eases and infections. When immunode ficiency disorders affect your immune system, your body can no longer fight bacteria and diseases.

Let’s dig into this a little more. The researchers warned of a “cautionary tale” from efforts to create an HIV vac cine over a decade ago, where a promis ing vaccine candidate actually increased the risk of some men catching the virus.

The vaccine made use of a modified vi rus — called adenovirus 5 (Ad5) — as a vector to transport some of HIV’s genetic material into the body.

They don’t know how the vac cine increased the risks of HIV trans mission, but a conference convened by the National Institutes of Health recom mended against further use of Ad5 as a vector in HIV vaccines. Interestingly enough, the one Dr Anthony Fauci was lead author of the paper outlining this position.

Ad5 is used as a vector in some COVID-19 vaccines; there are four such candidates that have undergone clini cal trials in various countries around

the world, including the U.S., with two in large scale phase 3 trials on-going in Russia and Pakistan.

The researchers stressed the need to understand the role Ad5 might play in increasing the risks of HIV in vul nerable populations before developing and deploying vaccines using the vec tor. Something that has not been done when administering this vaccine is pro vision of informed consent documents that should reflect the “considerable literature” on the risk of HIV acquisition with Ad5 vectors.

Official data made available by the U.S. Government and Centres for Disease Control strongly suggests that fully vaccinated Americans may be de veloping Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome or a similar disease that is dec imating the innate immune system, but they are not alone. The UK Government made data available and the Govern ment of Canada suggests the vaccinated population in both of these respective countries are also developing the debili tating condition.

There are also reports of a num ber of common cancers usually associ ated with AIDS that have been reported to VAERS as adverse reactions to all vac cines (including the COVID-19 vaccine).

The reports show a huge increase in 2021 and in 2022 so far, with the vast ma jority being attributed to the COVID-19 injections.

The average number of com mon cancers associated with AIDS be ing reported as adverse reactions to any vaccine between the years 2000 and 2020 equates to 21.3. The total number of common cancers associated with AIDS reported as adverse reactions in 2021 was 430. This represents a 1919% increase

There was a huge increase in reports in 2021 and in 2022 of acquired immune disorders, including AIDS, that have been reported to VAERS as adverse reactions to all vaccines (including the COVID-19 jabs).

The average number of acquired immune disorders being reported as ad verse reactions to any vaccine between the years 2000 and 2020 equates to 31. The total number of acquired immune disorders reported as adverse reactions in 2021 was 386. This represents an 1145% increase.

Are we really to believe that this is just an unfortunate coincidence?

Award-Winning Director, Ayana O’Shun aims to break stereotypes that have confined Black women for centuries with new documentary, The Myth of the Black Woman

Warning rose by a group of researchers in 2007 that an experimental HIV vaccine increased the risk for infection with the AIDS virus

The first time that you got pushed; it was a sign. You ignored it; chalked it up to a bad day. The next time for some reason, even though they said sorry, it felt intentional. You become used to the occasional cuss out, slap, sometimes even a punch, It is just a part of life.

It is interesting; for some of us reading this, it might just be a regular day for you. You have ignored this behaviour for so long, so if you can ignore a prob lem then chances are it isn’t bothering you THAT much. Ignoring this problem has led to serious challenges in your life, some of which have become hard to face.

Now, I want you to consider that there are people in the Caribbean commu nity who continue to ignore big emotional ly packed problems that arise in their lives. Problems like: splintered relationships, abuse, hurtful words, misdeeds, misunder standings, undeserved criticisms, bashed reputations, and fractured friendships.

In 2021, a survey on the prevalence of domestic violence was carried out in five CARICOM Member States. The reason they

did prevalence survey data is because ad ministrative data never fully gets the depth of incidence and prevalence of domestic violence or intimate partner violence. The statistics drawn from this survey were star tling; it was revealed that:

• 39% of the women in Grenada have experienced some form of intimate partner violence over their lifetime, and 12% stated that they had experi enced it within the past 12 months

• In Jamaica, 39% stated that they expe rienced intimate partner violence in their lifetime and 13% said theirs was current

• In respect of Guyana, 55/5 of the women surveyed said that they expe rienced violence in their lifetime, and 25% of them have experienced it with in the last 12 months

• Suriname reported 48% of the women surveyed experienced it in their life time and 11% was current

• In Trinidad and Tobago, the figures stood at 44% for women who ex perienced violence in their lifetime and 11% of women said that it had happened to them within the last 12 months

Located in New York City, the Caribbean Voice is engaged in suicide and abuse pre vention across the Caribbean and Diaspo ra, and utilizes a range of free services and initiatives including: research and info dis semination, sensitization, prevention train

ing, counseling, advocacy, networking and collaboration building, online panel dis cussions, outreaches, and an online quar terly magazine.

The Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research defines change agents as: “Individuals who formally influ ence or facilitate intervention decisions in a desirable direction.” It is within this framework that The Caribbean Voice (TCV) is launching Project Change Agents (PCA) to tackle domestic violence specifically and violence in general in the Caribbean.

The project aims to involve schools, ministries of education, the media and other stakeholders in a process that will hopefully result in young people be ing identified and trained to become antiviolence change agents in communities across the English-speaking Caribbean (all 17 nations), with special focus on domestic violence. They want to equip these young people with skills sets to address sexual abuse, child abuse and hopefully sub stance abuse.

At the crux of the project is an es say contest on the topic: What would you do to eliminate domestic violence? The plan is to secure the support of ministries of education in these nations with respect to getting domestic violence on the curri cula for the 2023/24 school year enabling students to engage in research within their communities. This will provide them with the information they will use to write their essays during the 2023/24 school years.

TCV will provide prizes for regional winners as follows:

• First prize: US$3,000 plus a certificate and a plaque

• Second Prize: US$2000 plus a certifi cate and a plaque

• Third Prize: US$1000 plus a certificate and a plaque

They had a “Fundraising Virtual Concert of Hope,” an on-going series of concerts that bring performers from across the Caribbe an and Diaspora. This concert was on Oc tober 22nd, 2022 from 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm, and was aired live on Facebook.

This concert had everything: steel pan, Chi nese dancing and a host of chutney, Bol lywood oldies, reggae, soca, R&B, spoken word performances, tassa drumming, Afri can drumming, folk songs and much more.

In addition to Project Change Agents, TCV is also organizing the re-launch of the global Caribbean Voice Awards in the form of a gala that also includes a cultural component and a banquet, and to mark Global Mental Health Awareness Month, TCV is organizing a virtual panel discussion on October 28th, 2022, 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm EST.

Toronto Caribbean Newspaper would like to congratulate The Caribbean Voice for taking action on a topic that is sensitive, but must be addressed. WE can not let this continue into the next genera tion.

Sexism, racism and discrimination; Patricia Jaggernauth Quits CP24 and files human rights complaint against Bell Media

It was truly a sad day in the history of broadcasting in Canada when main stream media reported that popular To ronto TV personality Patricia Jaggernauth filed a human rights complaint against Bell Media. The news was reported on Friday, October 7th, 2022, and it sent a shockwave through the media industry. The weather specialist, remote reporter, and co-host of CP24 filed a complaint with the Canadian Human Rights Com mission on Wednesday, October 5th. Her warm bubbly personality made her a well-known reporter on the Toronto scene

In the complaint, Patricia alleges that she experienced a “systemic pattern” of rac ism, sexism, and discrimination and that she was “treated as a token and a com modity.” She mentioned that during her eleven years stint with Bell Media, she has been consistently overlooked for promo tions and did not earn a living wage. The fact that she was not able to obtain a fulltime contract while her White colleagues moved quickly up the corporate ladder showed that racialized workers were not fairly compensated.

Patricia resigned from her posi tion with Bell Media on Tuesday, October 5th, 2022. She told CBC News about her time at CP24. She states, “I’m the girl liv ing in metro housing that got out. I’m the one that was never supposed to succeed. I knew that I loved people, I loved the com munity, I loved conversation, and where I was working provided that - but not ever on a contractual basis, always as a fill-in. How come I’m always good enough to fill in but never good enough to invest in?”

She was restricted to working only two days per week and as a fill in for

absent colleagues when necessary. They even went further by preventing her from working outside the company for extra supplemental income.

She shared her personal sto ries on Monday, October 10th, 2022, in two Instagram reels. She thought she had attained her “dream job, “ but dur ing her over eleven-year career, she was overlooked for promotion. She states, “I received hardly any raises and no pro motions or opportunities over my eleven years. CP24 would give me opportunities, filling in for White colleagues, weather and hosting.”

She stated that she only received one raise, which works out to about $14. She asked management many times for a raise, but was denied. The “ toxic” work environment caused many colleagues to take mental health leaves or simply re sign. “The environment was terrible for mental health. Even for the most posi tive.”

In her second Instagram reel, she states, “There remains a severe gender and race wage-gap at CP24. Where are

the Black individuals on this show? When a Black person would be present on this show, it was like, filling in. No permanent Black representation on CP24,” she ex presses. She subsequently experienced an emotional breakdown in the video and started to sob. She states, “I am heartbro ken to walk away from you, my loyal and supportive viewers.” She mentioned that she ultimately had no other option but to launch the racial discrimination human rights complaint against Bell Media.

A Bell Media spokesperson sent an email to CBC News which reads, “We do not comment on matters involving current or former staff members, but can confirm that Bell Media takes allegations of any potential discrimination very seri ously, and are committed to a safe, inclu sive, and respectful work environment where employees can thrive. If a matter is brought to our attention where an em ployee did not feel adequately support ed, a process is triggered to review and address when required.”

This system has created a very unhealthy relationship between the industry and the FDA

The FDA, obviously, has to work with the industry, and that’s good, but when the FDA starts getting taken over in many ways by the industry, that’s not good.

The FDA is an agency of the Public Health Service, and first and foremost, the FDA is in operation to help protect public health, primarily by ensuring that compa nies: prove the safety and efficacy of drugs/ devices, manufacture them properly, and market them appropriately.

approval, and insurance companies will typ ically not pay for their use. As a result, inves tors cannot afford to ignore the workings, or the prevailing mood, of the FDA when con sidering investments in this sector.

During the pandemic, the public learned about the downside of one of the FDA’s industry-friendly workarounds — the Emer gency Use Authorization (EUA), a shortcut that allowed the FDA to rush an unapproved vaccine in production, and then directly into the global community.

This was done even though there were early and widespread safety concerns. The infrastructure and capacity to review the available information so rapidly is due in large part to the funding from user fees. User fees are a viable way to shift some of the financial burden to manufacturers who stand to make money from the approval and sale of drugs in the lucrative U.S. market.

The FDA also has a secondary man date to help foster innovation in healthcare by working with industry and academia to find better ways to evaluate safety and effi cacy, and to respond to innovations in medi cine.

What many of us are not aware of is that one has to be very cautious when -through a combination of being funded di rectly by the industry, which are pro-indus try as opposed to pro-consumer -- it starts moving in a way that is very favourable to the industry.

In short, the FDA effectively gets to decide who is even allowed to compete in the market. It is illegal to sell a drug or device with advertised medical claims without FDA

The pharmaceutical industry’s in fluence gets exerted in a number of ways. 10 years ago, their direct funding exerted the influence, paying cash right up front for FDA review [with the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA)]. So, in many ways, the FDA started looking at industry as their client, instead of the public and the public health, who they should be protecting.

A second way in which the industry influence occurs is by having leaders in the drug division who refuse to take a stand. The attitude of leaders there is, “avoid conflict” and avoiding conflict means doing what the industry wants.

A third way in, which the industry’s influence has been allowed to grow consid erably, is the absence of congressional over sight. Up until 12 years ago, whenever the FDA would make a mistake, they would have to explain what went wrong.

It appears that the FDA can, will and does change the rules on the fly when it

feels that it must. Many companies have pre sented what they felt were complete data packages, designed in cooperation with the FDA and with the agency’s needs in mind, only for the FDA to tell them later that they need to perform additional studies. While these new studies are sometimes requested to answer questions raised by the clinical trial data, the FDA also sometimes appears to use them as a stalling tactic or a means of ruling out even far-fetched safety risks.

What has happened is the FDA has become weak and ineffective, unable to protect its citizens from the next dangerous drug. There are some signs that the pendu lum may be swinging too far in the direction of the manufacturers.

This system has created a very un healthy relationship between the industry and the FDA, where the FDA says, “We have to be nice to these people, because they are paying our bills.” It’s developed an un healthy sort of client relationship between the government and the industry, which has resulted in some drugs (COVID-19 vaccine) getting approved that shouldn’t have.

Linden King receives The Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Pin and Medallion for outstanding community service and dedication to Canada

ership roles.

He serves as the Chair of Mayor Crombie’s Black Caucus City’s Anti-Black racism strategy, which was formed in 2021 after the death of George Floyd. As a result of ten community consultations between May and June 2021, a Black Community Engagement (BCE) Report, “First Steps: A Community-Driven Report on Making Mis sissauga More Equitable for Black Commu nities,” was released in April 2022.

aison for The Toronto Caribbean Carnival and a strong supporter of the carnival arts.

It is fitting that Linden King is the recipi ent of the Platinum Jubilee Pin and Plati num Jubilee Medallion. The first award is in recognition of the Queen’s 70th anni versary of her Majesty’s ascension to the throne and was given based on his com munity work. He received the Jubilee Pin from Sonia Sidhu, Member of Parliament for Brampton South on Friday, October 14th, 2022. On Sunday, October 16th, he received the Jubilee Medallion from the Honourable Senator Victor Oh. He was one of sixty recipients to receive this Medallion for dedicated service to community and country.

Linden continues to have a pro foundly positive impact in his many lead

Linden also serves as President of Safe City Mississauga and currently Chairs The United Way Greater Toronto Black Community Advisory Council, is a Board of Director with the Canadian Mental Health Association Peel Dufferin, and is an advisor at the Region of Peel Community Safety and Well-being System Leadership Table.

He also served as: Co-Chair for the Peel Region Police Black Community Ad visory Group, Chair for The Liberty Silver Foundation, and Vice Chair for The Con gress of Black Women Mississauga Chapter Non-Profit Housing Inc., Director for the Mississauga Arts Council, and advisor with The Ontario Trillium Foundation, HaltonPeel Grant Review Team. In addition, he was the Community and Stakeholder Li

Linden has received numerous awards and recognitions for his commit ment to volunteerism and leadership. In 2015, he was recognized as a Top 100 Black Canadian Role Model and received the Gordon S. Shipp Memorial Award as Mis sissauga Citizen of the Year. In addition, he has received the Outstanding Commu nity Service Award from the Trinidad and Tobago Association of Ontario, as well as the Volunteerism and Community Service from Guyana’s 50th Republic Anniversary Committee in Toronto. Linden has also re ceived Civic Awards of Recognition from the City of Mississauga for the Arts for his commitment to volunteerism. He was one of four to be acknowledged as a Black change maker in the GTA during Black His tory Month.

I interviewed Linden on Tuesday, October 18th, 2022 regarding his most recent awards. He was particularly grate ful for the Platinum Jubilee Medallion. “I feel truly blessed to be recognized in such a significant manner for my extraor dinary contributions towards the better ment of communities and country.” His

track record of selfless dedication shows how important community work is to him. He reiterates, “Volunteerism ranks highly among my values with a particular focus on the least advantaged. I find gratitude in community service without expecting anything in return.” He mentioned that “Compassion, Empathy, and Authenticity” are three leadership skills that he has ac quired from his years of tireless commu nity service.

Linden knows the importance of being a servant leader and a positive role model to youths. He believes it is impor tant to “Find something that you are pas sionate about and get involved. My philos ophy is to be part of the decision-making process to help make a difference.” As a change leader and visionary thinker, Lin den is interested in the future. He states, “It is vital for leaders to help mentor and in still the values for future generations to be prepared for success and transitions when necessary.”

Given the emphasis on diversity, inclusion, and equity (DEI) in organizations and institutions, he believes that lack of inclusion and diversity are two challenges that must be overcome.

Golden Delicious is an uplifting, funny and profound film which captures the com plexities of coming out queer in an Asian Canadian family. It is the first feature film from director Jason Karman, producer Kristyn Stilling, and writer Gorrman Lee.

In this coming-of-age drama for the digital age, Jake Wong is caught be tween his father’s expectations and his own burgeoning desires. Set against quint essential East Vancouver cityscapes, the film reveals the trials (and humor) of the emerging self and builds into a portrait of what family means as they all fight to find happiness and live their lives authentically.

The film is an official selection of Telefilm Canada’s 2020 Talent To Watch program. Golden Delicious premiered at the Vancouver International Film Festival in early October, and recently at the Reel

world Film Festival in Toronto, where it won Outstanding Feature Film and a 25K cash prize. The lead actor, Cardi Wong, won Outstanding Actor, Gorrman won Outstanding Writer, and Karman won Out standing Director in the Feature Film cat egory. This is the film’s first festival awards.

Karman, Stilling, and Lee created the film with the desire to carve out the space for underrepresented people and communities to tell their stories.

“I think that both of us are totally in awe of this whole experience. We have a pretty small team and we made this for a really low budget. We weren’t sure how au diences were going to react or what it was going to be like when it went out into the world. And to have the festival run we’re having, and the type of interest we’re hav ing in the film, it has been extremely excit ing, meaningful, inspiring, and a whirlwind for Jason and I.” said Stilling.

The actors in the film were phe nomenal and really brought their char acters to life. Karman says that for some of the actors this was their first substan tial role. The warmth and passion they all brought to their role hooked you in more.

“Our cast was very generous. For many of them, this is their first feature where they have a substantial role. They committed a lot of their time and energy

and put a lot of faith in us. And that was really precious and meaningful to me. So, I wanted to make sure that we accurately captured their performances, and the work that they’ve done leading up to that.” said Karman.

The excellent and heartfelt story was also brought to life by the detailed and stunning shots captured by Cinema tographer Alfonso Chin.

A part 2 of Golden Delicious is definitely needed as it would be awesome to see how each character grows on their new journey. Karman would be interested in having a part two of the film after the festival run, although no script for a Gold en Delicious 2 exists yet.

The Director shares some achieve ments of the film and gave shout outs to a few crew members as well.

“I could say that our crew was very close to achieving gender parity, which was important. I also want to shout out to our Filipina composer Mary Ancheta. Be cause music is such an important piece of this film. It’s because of her the film sounds the way it does. I also want to shout out our Sound Designer, Justin Aucoin who worked tirelessly on this as well to just to bring it to life. Sound is 50% of the picture.” said Karman.

Golden Delicious included scenes

of the main character, Jake Wong getting bullied by the captain of the Basketball team. Karman talks about the impacts of bullying on young teenagers.

“I work as an educator in a couple of film schools in East Vancouver. And I’ve seen the impact of social media and tech nology on young minds, it creates high anxiety, it alienates and amplifies emo tions, while also at the same time connect ing people and exposing them to new and exciting ideas. I think the biggest concern, or the biggest feedback that I got from stu dents is that it’s overwhelming.” said Kar man.

“And there’s this idea that your online profile has to be perfect, as well. So those two things cause paralysis. What do you want to put out there because you’re constantly being watched and judged by what you post and what you say? How do you form an identity when you are almost not allowed to fail? I hope that at the end of the day, audience’s takeaway to be more forgiving, and empathize with people, be cause we are only human beings.”

For more information on the film and which film festival you can catch it at next, visit www.goldendeliciousfilm.com

Candace Owens threatens to sue George Floyd Family, George Floyd’s family suing Kanye West, and Balenciaga ends relationship with the rapper

Champs podcast.

During the podcast, West also made misinformed comments on the death of George Floyd by claiming Floyd did not die by having former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin kneel on his neck, but by a fentanyl overdose.

been surrounding Kanye West in recent months, people and organizations have been urging companies who have worked with West to sever their business ties with him.

per.

This year rapper Kanye West has been at the centre of many controversies.

So far West had been banned from performing at the 2022 Grammy Awards, he re-ceived a one-day suspen sion from Instagram after making racist comments towards The Daily Show host and 2022 Grammys host Trever Noah (who had voiced concerns over the rapper’s con duct) and had continuously trolled ex-wife Kim Kardashian and her now former exboyfriend, comedian Pete Davidson.

The controversy does not end there as West continued to stir up more controversy this month.

The rapper recently received backlash from many celebrities after spending more than three hours making insulting comments towards different ce lebrities and going on an antisemitic rant while he made an appearance on a nowremoved episode of Revolt TV’s Drink

On October 18th, 2022, the family of George Floyd announced their plan to file a $250 million lawsuit against West, his business partners, and associates for the comments he made on Floyd’s death.

Roxie Washington, the mother of Floyd’s only daughter, filed the lawsuit and will be suing for harassment, defamation, misappropriation, and inflicting emotional distress.

Lawyers representing the fam ily also issued a cease and desist letter to West for his comments and said they were a “Repugnant attempt to discount George Floyd’s life and to profit from his inhumane death.”

While fentanyl was found in Floyd’s system, a toxicology report did not identify it to be part of his cause of death.

Chauvin, who was found guilty of violating Floyd’s civil rights and has been convicted of murder and manslaughter in Floyd’s death, is currently serving a 21-year federal sentence and a 22 1/2-year state sentence, which will be served concurrent ly.

Due to all the controversy that has

As of Friday, October 21st, 2022, one of those companies recently decided to part ways with the rapper.

The French luxury fashion house Balenciaga became the first company to sever ties with West after the rapper made a series of anti-Semitic comments and mis information on the death of George Floyd.

According to a statement sent to the Women’s Wear Daily, Kering, the par ent company to Balenciaga, provided a statement them with a short statement saying: “Balenciaga has no longer any re lationship nor any plans for future projects relating to the artist.”

West has had a long history with the luxury brand due to the close relation ship he had with the luxury fashion house’s creative director, Demna Gvasalia.

Balenciaga has since removed the rapper’s look from his runway debut at Paris Fash-ion Week and a section featur ing the Yeezy Gap Engineered by Balen ziaga collabora-tion from their website.

While Balenciaga severed their ties with West, the Anti-Defamation League, Cam-paign Against Anti-Semitism and many celebrities are calling for Adidas to also end their partnership with the rap

Adidas, who has been collaborat ing with West since the release of his Yeezy brand in 2015, currently have their busi ness partnership with the rapper ‘under review.’

Amid all of his most recent con troversies, it seems as if Kanye West has an ally who has recently come to his defence.

Candace Owens came to the de fence of her friend as she has threatened to sue the family of George Floyd in response to the lawsuit they filed against West after the rapper claimed it was a drug overdose that contributed to Floyd’s death and not police brutality.

According to Mediate, Owens based Floyd’s family in a recent podcast of her show af-ter it was announced that his family will be suing West over the com ments he made on Floyd’s death.

“I’m also sick of frivolous lawsuits. You know, if this is actually considered credible - if you sue somebody because you’re feeling ‘emotionally distressed’ be cause of them going out and saying things - well then I think that I have grounds to sue George Floyd’s estate,” said Owens during her podcast episode.

Owens said she is considering seeking lawyers’ advice to file a complaint against Floyd’s family.

Trudeau’s idea of an affordable year for Canadians, or a distraction from coming calamities

This means delivering support to roughly 11 million individuals and families who receive the tax credit, including about half of Canadian families with children, and more than half of Canadian seniors.

Single Canadians without children would receive up to an extra $234 and cou ples with two children would receive up to an extra $467 in their pockets this year. Se niors would receive an extra $225 on aver age, and there is more.

territories.

However, the federal benefit will be available only to applicants with an adjusted net income below $35,000 for families, or below $20,000 for individuals, who pay at least 30% of their income on rent.

The money list just keeps growing. Here are some more perks to ease the pain of Canadians according to Trudeau’s govern ment.

senior with a disability in Quebec could ben efit from over $2,500 more this year than he or she received last year.

The government will be providing more support for students by doubling the Canada Student Grant amount until July 2023, and by waiving interest on Canada Student Loans through to March 2023.

The report also contains a predic tion of Canada’s financial future.

Justin Trudeau has decided to dole out some much-needed funds to Canadians in their final hour of need. Citing hard times as the real reason, so with that said, let’s get right into the quote first, then the money.

“From helping families pay rent to make sure people can afford the dental care they need and putting hundreds of dollars back in the pockets of Canadians, this suite of new measures will support families who need it the most when they need it the most. As we head into a new Parliamenta ry sitting, we are working hard to continue delivering results for the middle class and those working hard to join it.”

Justin Trudeau

First up is the doubling of the Goods and Services Tax Credit for six months and this will provide $2.5 billion in relief for Canadi ans who need it most.

For children under 12, Canada Den tal Benefit would deliver over $900 million to support their dental care. According to Trudeau’s plan, direct payments adding up to $1,300 per child over the next two years (up to $650 per year), would be provided for dental care services.

This first stage of the government’s plan will deliver dental coverage for fami lies with income under $90,000, and the list goes on.

There will also be a one-time pay ment of $500 for Canada Housing Benefits recipients, which will go to the 1.8 million Canadian renters who are struggling with the cost of renting.

Trudeau’s government says that this funding more than doubles their Bud get 2022 commitment and reaches twice as many Canadians as initially promised. This new one-time federal benefit will be in addi tion to the Canada Housing Benefit currently co-funded and delivered by provinces and

Expanding the Canada Workers Benefit at $1.7 billion in new support for an estimated three million low-income workers this year, this means a couple receiving up to $2,400 more this year, and single workers receiving up to $1,200 more. Most recipi ents first received this additional support through their 2021 tax refund.

Now for those with small children, here is a little something for you. This pack age is cutting regulated childcare fees in half on average for families in Canada by the end of this year. A couple in Ontario with an in come of $45,000 and a child in daycare could receive about an additional $7,800 above ex isting benefits this fiscal year.

Seniors and students, here is a breakdown of your package in a nutshell.

A 10% increase to the Old Age Se curity (OAS) pension for seniors 75 years and older, which began in July 2022, will provide more than $800 in new support to full pen sioners over the first year, and increase ben efits for more than three million seniors. A

The International Monetary Fund and the Organization for Economic Co-op eration and Development predict that the Canadian economy will see the strongest growth in the G7 this year and next.

This is the opening statement in this release; please observe the wording.

“Canadians are feeling the rising cost of living, particularly through higher food prices and rent. While inflation is a global challenge – caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s illegal and unjustifi able invasion of Ukraine – we are helping families weather its impacts by working to put more money back in the pockets of the middle class and those working hard to join it this year.”

As I go over this opening para graph, I could not help but notice that noth ing here mentioned sentences like “The Plandemic” has created an opportunity for a “Great Reset,” which is where all these hard times originated from, or is it just me notic ing this? I hope not.

in vibrant communities.

Age UK’s report All the Lonely Peo ple forecast the number of people over 50 in England experiencing loneliness to reach two million people by 2026. How terribly sad that the same organization found “Half a million people go at least five or six days a week without seeing or speaking to anyone at all.”

cally a social club in disguise. On the surface, members get together and make things out of wood. The roles these groups play in helping otherwise lonely people connect with peers for a common purpose is not to be underestimated.

al sustenance, the physical pleasure of be ing in the company of someone who cares about you.”

Loneliness is worse for health than obesity – as bad as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. It can increase the risk of death by 26% and of cognitive decline on the way. A recent story on the Good News Network offered a heart-warming take on loneliness among older men.

At 67 years of age, “Phillip Jackson moved back to England from Australia,” the story reads, “and immediately felt like a stray dog in his native town.” He may have

According to a global survey, about 33% of adults experienced feelings of lone liness worldwide. Brazil, the seventh most populous country in the world, has the loneliest adults, with 50% of the survey’s respondents declaring that they felt lonely some of the time, often or always.

Less than a third of Australian adults feel that way. It might be because they’ve found an interesting solution. Phil lip Jackson learned about the Australian Men’s Shed Association, a rapidly expand ing network of mostly men but some wom en too who appreciate getting together to do woodworking.

These Men’s Sheds, now number ing over 1,200 groups in Australia, are basi

Other similar groups exist. Men’s Group, for example, has podcasts, a You Tube channel, self-improvement courses, and even adventure retreats.

Making new friends at any point in life can be challenging. A study published in the Journal of Social and Personal Relation ships estimated it takes about 90 hours with someone to make them a real friend, and 200 to become “close.”

For some men, making friends can be tough. Josh Glancy, a British journalist, wrote in Men’s Health, “Many of us find it easier to talk about football or politics than to admit to suffering from a low sex drive or feeling undervalued at work. We don’t know who to tell these things to, or how to say them.”

He made the apt comparison of loneliness to hunger. “It’s a lack of emotion

Getting older inevitably means losing the hard-earned friends made over a lifetime. It’s a sad irony that the older one gets; the fewer friends remain who share the same memories and interests.

A study in the American Journal of Men’s Health offers good advice. Have a purpose in life. In this regard, researchers have good news. People can, they say, de velop a sense of purpose even when faced with significant adversity. More good news, one’s life purpose can change. It doesn’t have to be the same purpose from start to finish.

Grandfathers have been known to counsel their grandchildren, “Go sit on the beach until you know what you want to do with your life.” Maybe it’s time for the old fellows to take their own advice.

If the beach is distant, then there might be a Men’s Shed around. Better still start up another one.

Promise much to the electorate and manage the public’s pocketbook to the politician’s advantage

faced a 13-billion-dollar deficit, while Pre mier Ford’s government had a $2.1 billion surplus. Ontario had a balanced budget for the first time in 14 years, according to the taxpayer’s alliance.

The Federal Government has been printing money for well over a year, send ing these funds to various provincial gov ernments to; fight the pandemic, establish and maintain health and safety regiments throughout the country. Premier Ford takes the accolades for this economic bal ancing act, and you the taxpayer actually

accomplished this task. We the citizens of Ontario and Canada paid for this unexpect ed event.

Conservatives diligently work towards the accepted business goal of achieving a balanced budget every year. Usually, the public sector has difficulty accomplishing this feat, but through the magic of Fordian Money Management here we are, a conservative miracle. There were many ways the public sector could have devised to use the federal funds re ceived, like: actually investing in hospital-

medical new hires, solving the problems of staff shortages in the civil service and medical institutions, staffing our senior liv ing homes properly, and paying those in the medical-essential service fields a living wage. The Ford administration promised much, but much of these funds have not yet been distributed.

It seems Premier Ford has learned a lot from Prime Minister Trudeau. Promise much to the electorate and manage the public’s pocketbook to the politician’s ad vantage.

a million people go at least five or six days a week without seeing or speaking to anyone at all

MD

KASZAB

Leanora Virtue looks forward to her 90th Birthday with reflection on the Grace of God

before she migrated to Canada in 1981. She spent her early years with her grandfather, Joseph Linton who was a major influence on her spiritual and personal life up to the age of fourteen years old. As a minister, he led a very disciplined religious life that had a significant impact on her religious sensi tivity and awareness. She told me that he would often repeat the lines, “When the saints are marching in, let me not search heaven for my granddaughter, for she will be there.”

until he retired.

Leanora worked at the Sheraton Centre in downtown Toronto and moved to Malton after buying a home.

the Scripture in James which states, “Pray without ceasing.” Prayer is her daily life style.

In so many ways Leanora Virtue has lived a rich life filled with many experiences of: joy, love, and grace filled with positive fam ily memories that have kept her all these years.

She was born in Wait-A-Bit in the parish of Trelawny, Jamaica, in 1932. The parishes of St-Ann in the east, St. James in the west, and St. Elizabeth and Manchester in the south border Trelawny. It is a quaint little community, which is located in the upper region of Trelawny and is known for its yams.

I interviewed Leanora on Monday, October 17th, 2022 and she shared with me details about her early years in Jamaica

Leanora got married at the age of seventeen years old to Roy Virtue, known as Mass Roy. She recalled that when Roy asked her to be his girlfriend, her grandfa ther asked him, “What comes after being your girlfriend?” She subsequently moved to Walderston, Manchester where she started her family. She had eight children: Gloria, Vadsie, Patricia, Hugh, Fitzroy, Roy Jr, David and Colineth.

She made the decision to move to Canada in 1981 after one of her daughters who was studying there invited her for a visit. Her husband joined her a few years later as he was working with Alpart Bauxite Company in St. Catharines and was waiting

After her retirement (1999), she moved back to Jamaica. Unfortunately, her husband suffered a stroke while in Jamaica and she was advised by his doctor to move back to Canada to obtain better medical treatment. She told me that he lived for eleven and a half years afterwards before his untimely death on October 15th, 2015, at the age of ninety years old after sixtyfive years of marriage.

Leanora takes her spiritual life very seriously. She told me that she became a Christian in 1952 in Jamaica and has been part of Church communities in Jamaica and Canada. She spends most of her Sundays at New Life Covenant Centre, pastored by Bishop Canute Blake and Praise Cathedral, pastored by Bishop Walker. She described herself as a prayer warrior, who believes in the miraculous power of prayer. She says, “I pray for people. Prayer is the key to my life. There is always a prayer in my life.” She mentioned that she prays all the time, even during her sleep. She takes seriously

Leanora’s strong faith and love have sustained her through many losses that she has experienced in her family. She lost two of her children, a daughter died five years ago and her son, Fitzroy passed away suddenly on March 30th, 2011, leav ing two children, Patrick and Dawn and wife, Cheryl. The memorial service was held on April 16th, 2011, at Malton Bap tist Church. As a tribute to him, she wrote, “You left too soon son. I missed your hugs, your laughter, your phone calls. You left me empty because you left too soon.”

Leanora looks forward with great expectation and anticipation towards her 90th birthday on Thursday, October 27th. She is truly blessed to share the time with her twenty-three grandchildren and four teen great-grandchildren as well as her many nieces, nephews and relatives in England, Canada, Jamaica and the United States.

“Canada often lectures the rest of the world about human rights, but the fact that Jamaica is sending a fact-finding team is evidence that Canadian federal authorities are unwilling and unable to ensure equal rights and fair working conditions for migrant workers here. Mi grants need the power to protect them selves, and that means full and perma nent immigration status for all ” Kit Andres, Migrant Farmworker Organizer at Migrant Workers Alliance for Change

The Canadian government speaks about our great country being equitable and di verse, that all members of our great coun try are given a fair chance to live their lives with dignity. Yet lurking in the fields of On tario, and other places in Canada are dark secrets: secrets of degradation and mis treatment.

Labour exploitation and labour trafficking is real and alive in Canada, and although the media does cover what is happening, the government has not made adequate adjustments to ensure the safety of migrant workers. Many of our migrant workers are facing labour exploitation and labour trafficking; illegalities that are

known, yet the cries are ignored.

Let’s be clear; in Canada, human trafficking (labour trafficking) is illegal un der sections 279.01 – 279.04 of the Criminal Code and section 118 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. Let’s explore what is happening to migrant workers in detail.

Labour exploitation occurs when employers treat workers in ways that break the law.

This includes treatment that is against workers’ legal rights, such as:

• Employment Standards rights around wages and working conditions

• Human Rights Code rights to be treat ed without discrimination or harass ment

• Negotiated rights in employment con tracts.

Then there is labour trafficking, which is a type of human trafficking. Labour traffick ing occurs when workers are coerced or controlled by methods such as deception, fraud, and abuse of power to force them to perform labour or services. The force that labour traffickers use is not always physi cal: they may use lies and threats about a worker’s immigration status to make the person feel like they have no choice but to keep working in exploitative conditions.

Migrant workers are particularly vulnerable to labour trafficking. They usu ally have limited language skills, social iso lation, fears about immigration status, and little knowledge of Canada’s immigration, employment and human rights laws. This can make migrant workers easy targets for traffickers.

This summer I addressed an issue occurring with the Jamaican farmworker members of Migrant Workers Alliance for Change from Tregunno Fruit Farms and Kai Wiens Family Farms in Niagara-on-theLake, Ontario. They had sent a letter to Jamaica’s Labour Minister Karl Samuda on August 11th, 2022, in advance of his visit to their farms. The letter was also sent to media outlets in Jamaica and Canada and published.

On August 14th, 2022, Gavin Yapp, a Jamaican farmworker who had been coming to Canada for 35 years died in an accident working with a tobacco harvester. Minister Samuda visited the farms on Au gust 15th, 2022. Upon his return he initially dismissed the letter, insisting that condi tions on the farms were up to standard. Under pressure from migrant farm workers speaking up as well as members of Jamai can civil society, Minister Samuda sent a fact-finding team to Canada to investigate.

Under pressure from reports of violations and abuse, and after a series of deaths, a high-ranking Jamaican Fact-Find ing team is beginning their evaluation of employers in Canada and will be traveling to farms across the country to review con ditions and speak to workers.

“The intimidation, the bosses are constantly on our back, telling us to move faster, especially new workers, they push them, they punish them for not working fast enough, it is not easy. The boss uses abusive words that I can’t use on camera, telling us that even our dead grannies can work faster than you,” said Philip Douglas, a father, and one of the authors of the let ter. “The system is broken; they don’t care about us. I have to pray each morning be fore I go to work. I say, “Lord, Lord, please

give me strength, please don’t let me have any encounters with the boss today.”

The Jamaican Fact-Finding team in Can ada is comprised of:

• Helene Davis-Whyte (Chair) – Presi dent of the Jamaica Confederation of Trade Unions

• Donald (Danny) Roberts - Deputy Chairman of the Industrial Disputes Tribunal

• Wayne Chen – President of the Carib bean Employers Federation

• Raymond Eytle¬ – Second Vice Presi dent of the Jamaican Employers’ Fed eration

• Wayne Jones – Deputy Financial Secre tary of the Strategic Human Resource Management, Ministry of Finance and Public Service

• Sidia Madden – Chief Internal Auditor of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security

• Kandre Leveridge – Researcher Com munity Development Specialist

There needs to be changes, and more op portunities need to be put in place for mi grant workers. They contribute so much to Canada and Canadians. More doors need to be opened to migrant workers besides the opportunity of working on a farm. Fi nancially, things must be put in place for migrant workers to obtain financial ben efits, especially during these times. Just because migrants may not be Canadians, it does not make them less human.

Migrants may not be Canadians, but it does not make them less human

SHAKEEL PHINN

You take a look at the clock; one minute left. You quickly readjust your focus and try to ignore the throbbing pain that has started from the head butt that you just got. It has been eight rounds, and even though you have trained for this for the past six months, you are tired. Your head and hands feel heavy, but if you focus on that, you will miss the gi ant gloves that are heading directly at your temple.

Whew! Your opponent just missed, and you feel the breeze from the gloves across your face. There is no time to doubt yourself, you have four rounds to go, and for you, it is a fight until that last bell rings…

Regardless of the skill and physical condition of a boxer, the time does come when they face defeat in a ring. They do get hurt or injured; yet they are forced to continue fighting. Boxing is not like other sports where you can look to the referee to call time out. Instead, a boxer must fight until the bell rings. They have the option to quit, but most fighters never will. Rath er, they will fight regardless of the cir cumstances they face inside the ring.

Boxing is perhaps the most physically challenging sport of all. It requires both upper and lower body strength, as well as unprecedented lev els of cardiovascular endurance. A box er has to stand up to the punishment in flicted by an equally, well-conditioned opponent, and to further complicate things, the boxer’s mind has to be as tough as their body. Mental fortitude is the true key to success inside the ring, as unlike other sports, a fighter is alone in the ring. He does not have a team mate to share the responsibilities with. This is what makes boxing, and boxers unique in the world of sports.

Shakeel Phin (aka, The Jamai can Juggernaut) was born in Montreal Quebec, and lived there most of his life. He moved around a bit but had most of his childhood experiences living in

Montreal.

“I was the oldest of three, and two other siblings came when I was older. Even though things seemed easy, I realized that things must have been tough for my mom. She made our life good with what she had.

My mom put me in football when I was 13 years old, and I dabbled in rugby, volleyball, but my main love was football. I played for a college team, and I knew I wanted to make it to the pros. One day I walked into a boxing gym, because I wanted to cross train, but there was something about boxing; I fell in love. After being in the gym for two weeks, one of the boxing coaches told me I should do some spar ring.

He made me fight someone who was 145 pounds, but I didn’t know he was the best fighter in the gym. That day I learned a very important lesson; weight doesn’t matter. They were like, let’s do three rounds, I hit him with a jab, and he smirked at me, and I saw the coach tell him to turn it up. This dude started throwing punches. I started to shell up, my leg was up, my nose was bloody. The other boxers were like ‘Good job, good job.’ I was like really. I knew I had to commit at that point, be cause I wanted to get better.”

Shakeel had decided in his heart that he wanted to succeed inside the ring. He began to make boxing his sole purpose in life. He began to: eat, sleep and dream boxing, because deep down he knew it was the only way to be the best. Boxing is not a sport you play. This is a sport where you can get hurt.

He had his first amateur fight at six months (2011) and then he went on a streak. He won 15 of his ama teur fights. After his first five fights he fought in the Bronze Gloves Provincial fights and won. It was around this time that he started training with another trainer that his dad introduced him to.

Years ago, Shakeel’s father had

also boxed and even put together a re spectable string of amateur wins, but now that his own flesh and blood had decided to follow the same path, he sought out a knowledgeable trainer, someone to guide and protect his son. He turned to Ian MacKillop, a seasoned pro with forty bouts to his credit, who had competed for Canadian and inter continental titles, trained with Vernon Forrest and Freddie Roach, and battled: Kermit Cintron, Shannon Taylor and Danie Geale. Ian had retired and begun work as a coach, and he was impressed with what he saw from Shakeel.

The coach that Shakeel had originally started training with gave him an ultimatum, him or the coach my dad had suggested. He didn’t like that, so he decided to work solely with Ian MacKillop.

His debut was in Gatineau, Quebec, where he stopped Eddie Gates in the fourth round.

“January 2015 was my first professional fight. It was an extreme ly nerve-racking experience. I spoke with the pros, and they gave me their thoughts about how things were differ ent from fighting as an amateur fighter. I spoke with Otis and Howard Grant about fighting pro, and they were in my corner helping out for my first fight.

When I was getting wrapped, I saw how different the gloves were. They were hard as a rock, not spongy like the amateur gloves. I ended up knocking Eddie out in the fourth round, but I also got my first cut when he head butted me. From there things started to really take off.”

The win earned him an invita tion to compete on the undercard of the big Premier Boxing Champions event happening in Quebec City just two months later. Shakeel and Ian, both saw it as a great opportunity, a chance to perform in front of a big crowd.

“My second fight felt different, something was off. I ended up losing in

a close decision to Roody Rene. It went from people calling me all the time, to no calls at all. It opened my eyes to what really happens in the world of boxing. Psychologically it was hard, I was going to give up, but my fiancé at the time said ‘No, you are built for this!’

I had to ask myself the ques tion, do I want to do this? I knew a lot of champions who had losses early in their careers: Bernard Hopkins, Juan Manuel Marquez, even Henry Armstrong. Ian told me I had what it took to succeed so I listened and got back in the gym and just worked harder. That loss was a blessing in disguise. It forced me to be more focused.”

Shakeel had his third fight in Baltimore, Maryland, and went on a 10-fight win streak. In February 2016, he won the Canadian Championship. In his 16th fight he had a close loss, and then won two North American titles in 2019.

At the end of it all, Shakeel’s family is what keeps him motivated; keeps him immersed in his pursuit of being the best

“I had my son in January, and he motivates me 110%. I would do anything for him.”

Boxing is a sport for warriors, those who are strong both mentally and physically. They will all face fear and doubt, but with dedicated train ing and experience our Classic Man has shown us that anything is possible

Photo Credit: Jeff Lockhart

Photo Credit: Sanj P Photography

Written by Simone J. Smith Toronto Caribbean News

KAPPAKUTS

Where boys become men and men become great!

idea that at that time only existed in his mind.

“One day my friend cut his hair and came to school to show me. I am competitive, so I decided I would cut my hair too. I got good at it, and in grade 12, I started cutting people’s hair. I started mak ing money, and set up a small spot in my basement. Like that, it took off.”

the same street as my high school. I was raised here, started my business here; I am here for the community.”

Barber, client confidentiality is something that is very important to Jay, and he impresses this upon his barbers.

He was in grade eight when Jay Kapadia yelled out these random words while walk ing home. What he did not know is that he had sent into the universe the beginning of his legacy, one that would surpass his wild est dreams…

Jay Kapadia, born and raised in Etobicoke, a place where he remembers enjoying his youth. “I liked living in that community. I remember eating popsicles, and watermelon with my friends and just enjoying being a kid. We moved to Bramp ton not too long after there was a string of break-ins in the area. Someone actually broke into our house, and that was when my parents said enough was enough. We moved when I was seven years old. We owned one of the first houses on Castle more, before all of the recent develop ment.”

Jay tells me that he always wanted to run his own business, and he reflects on past experiences.

“I am the first entrepreneur in my family to own and operate their own busi ness. I have memories of my dad and I go ing to get our hair cut in Etobicoke. It was the first community entrepreneurial hub that I saw. I believe that one of the reasons my parents supported my dream to be come a barber is because they were aware of the transactional advantages that peo ple who work at barbershops have. There is always some type of hustle happening in a barbershop.

Another aspect of my life that prompted my need to become an entre preneur was my love of watching mafia movies when I was younger. These mov ies were about men wanting to provide for their families, build legacies. That is what my barbershop is to me, part of my ex panding legacy.”

In grade nine, he was assigned a project that tasked him with making a website. He named his website Kappa Kuts, and it was a website about a barbershop

At first, Jay wanted to be a lawyer, and it wasn’t until he started his postgrad uate studies that he realized that school wasn’t for him.

“I told my parents that I wanted to drop out. They said, ‘don’t lose your time. You will always be able to cut hair.’ Wise words, so I did my best to stick with it. I got my first job at a barbershop, but it started to interfere with my studies. To be honest, I was starting to get tired of school, so I de cided to do what my heart was telling me. Start my business.”

So that he did… Jay ‘Kappa’ Kapa dia started cutting hair in 2010, and in 2014, that hobby became a hustle. When school and work became a trap, KappaKuts (locat ed at10 Beaumaris Drive, Unit 9 Brampton, ON L6T 5J6) became a business – and now, it’s the future.

“Simone,” Jay shares, “There is something missing in our world today, and it’s not just a barbershop – it’s the values that we would learn in one. By embracing the traditions of classic barbering and add ing a touch of modern luxury and Frost, KappaKuts Barbershop is where boys be come men and men become great. Kappa Kuts is a community; it’s a place for gentle men; it’s home to local entrepreneurship; and it’s where greatness is personified.

It brings back the values and prin ciples of the classic barbershop. There are not many spaces in this world that a man can go and be taken care of. The barber shop is one place that demands nothing of them but provides them the care and luxu ry that the world does not offer. KappaKuts as a place of employment is a platform for barbers to grow and succeed. Each of us has individual goals and the alignment of those goals is integral to a successful rela tionship.”

Jay shared with me the fact that there is a lot of unnecessary hate directed to Brampton.

“I feel it is unwarranted. My shop is eight minutes from my elementary school, seven minutes from my middle school, on

“Clients tell you things in confi dence; make sure it stays between you, your client, and the chair. I remind my bar bers that they have to know how to work with customers. Customer service is huge. I like the idea that when people sit in my chair, they are not here to get a haircut; they are here to talk about life. I have had people come to me feeling depressed. We are able to have a conversation privately, and they get to express their thoughts without judgment, or interference. I have a lot of clients who share their lives with me, and they feel safe doing so.”

Jay shares three prime ingredients to locking down clients:

Personality People like a barber who is fun, interesting, has things to share, and is willing to have a conversation! There is always going to be someone who can cut hair better, but there is only one of you and that cannot be replicated. At a certain point, it’s no longer about the haircut; it’s about the experience that a client has in your chair and in your shop. Make it Fun; make it Frosty.

Punctuality

Time is valuable. Show up on time and ready – early is even better – for each and every appointment. If you want your time respected, you must respect your clients’ time.

Professionalism

As much as barbering is a fun trade, you have to remember you are professionals. You have to learn and know when to make jokes, when to make sales, when to upsell, and when to be serious and composed. If you want to earn like the top professionals in the world, you have to act like it.

His look at life and business is not only re freshing, it is revolutionary; we have to en courage our young people to continue to do what they are passionate about and re member that if you do what you love, you never have to work a day in your life.

Photo Credit: Rita and/or Sudhir Kapadia

There is nothing wrong with having a little laugh when you are angry!

The iconic Marvin The Martian from Loo ney Tunes, frustrated by Bugs Bunny in his efforts to blow up earth, would quickly walk away declaring, “You make me very, very angry.” He offered kids an entertaining lesson in how to handle heated confronta tions.

A refresher course for adults would be a good prescription. How people manage anger can make a big difference for personal health and much more.

Anger, itself, is not always a nega tive thing. Anger can be a natural and useful emotional response to perceived wrongs. For example, getting angry can be highly motivational. Individuals can de ploy anger to break a bad habit and groups

can work together in the same way. The #MeToo movement rallied collective anger against injustice to achieve social change.

But poorly managed anger is de cidedly not good for one’s health – and probably not good for the well-being of anyone else around.

Teaching children the tools for an ger control is not only about hushing up their outbursts. Researchers have found that kids lacking the ability to cope with frustrations tend to have more relation ship problems in their adult lives. They also have more physical and mental health is sues.

Studies have also shown that peo ple who are chronically angry suffer greater rates of: high blood pressure, heart disease, headaches, skin disorders and digestive problems.

Dr. Chris Aiken of Wake Forest Uni versity School of Medicine is an expert on natural and lifestyle approaches to health promotion. “In the two hours after an angry outburst, the chance of having a heart at tack doubles,” he says.

Anger increases the likelihood of stroke. If you are unlucky enough to have

aneurysms in the arteries of the brain, it’s best to “keep calm and carry on.” One study found six times higher risk of rupture fol lowing an angry outburst.

Research has also shown that an gry people get sick more frequently due to negative impacts of stress on their immune systems.

What can you do when you find yourself furious? First, take a clue from Marvin The Martian and leave the scene. Calming down needs to take precedence. Second, figure out what is causing the an ger. Get to the root of the matter. It’s rec ommended that you talk with someone – a trusted friend or a trained professional – to validate your thinking. Third, develop an action plan that either fixes the issues or builds coping mechanisms. Incorporating comedy into anger manage ment is a strategy deserving mention. The evidence shows it works.

Let’s take another example; Ses ame Street. It was shaped by psycholo gist’s intent on applying research to skits performed by puppeteers. Kermit the Frog had children laughing with his outrageous tirade on Cookie Monster for devouring a

happy face.

Kids shows are, by design, in tended to be entertaining, but the fact that laughing, happy children learn better than disengaged kids has got others think ing about how to use laughter with adults needing to learn about more serious is sues.

Climate change scientists angry by the slow pace of action have adopted comedy as a tactic. A group of comedians have come together to form the “Climate Comedy Cohort.” They acknowledge re search-linking anger with comedy to mo tivate change. “Comedy is uniquely persua sive and attention-getting when it comes to serious issues like the climate crisis,” they note.

Their work offers audiences levity – in itself a good thing but their ultimate goal, they say, is “To leverage humour as a strategy to change the climate narra tive from doom and gloom to ‘we’ve got this!’— and shift how people see their role in clean energy.”

Next time your anger flares up, it’s good to know you have options.

Equipping our next generation of youth and children with a healthier lifestyle

MARY RILEY

Over the pandemic some parents dis covered that healthy living is not only for them, but their children and kids. Some parents are always on the go that they forget to take care of themselves and lose themselves. They are either always at work, on the go, or find it difficult equipping their children with knowledge on healthy eat

A healthier lifestyle is not only for adults, but it is also for the youth among us because they are our tomorrow. I have come to the realization that most young people struggle with obesity for a variety

of reasons, and we that are aware of creat ing a lifestyle need to get in a momentum of equipping our youth with great health education.

Over the summer, I got so excited seeing teenagers and kids working out and taking their health seriously. Some of us fitness experts are always on the go, es pecially if you have a family and children. It is always key to prepare and plan for the week ahead, and for your children, so they can also create healthy habits. As they be come teens, they will desire to live a health ier lifestyle, because you have trained and properly invested in them.

I find that some children grow ing up in different environments are faced with a lot of challenges that make it hard for them to adapt to a healthier lifestyle. Henceforth, they do everything on their own, and struggle with their identity.

Some young people were never affirmed or know what it is to truly love themselves, which leads some to being bullied or bullies and emotional eaters.

I find that some people have many reasons why they love food. However, some people and young people don’t just love food, but are addicted to food to eat away their emotions with whatever they are going through in a moment. That is why I encourage those that are fitness ex perts to not only prioritize adults, or wom en and men only that want to lose weight, but also focus on your young people and children. They need to know the ins and outs of what it is to be healthy and live a healthier lifestyle.

What are the top ways we can guide our children into a healthier lifestyle?

• Signing them up for some type of ac tivity such as their favourite sports, or any activity two or three times a week will help them to create healthy habits

• Make their lunch and put some types of greens or even delicious smoothies

• Take them outside, depending on your availability and their age gap

• Encourage them to drink a lot of water

• If they are seen going to the gym or working out at home allow them to join you, they will have fun and a spe cial bond will be built with parents and child

• Dish out their meals

• Teach them to affirm themselves in the mirror with positive words and that will help to build their confidence

• Be mindful of what you say around children or youth, it can always affect them some way or some how

• Believe in yourself as a parent, and be lieve in your children

• Don’t be hard on them and put them down with your words and actions

• Love them, hug them and remind them how proud you are of them (words carry weight and power)

Equipping your children today will affect them tomorrow. Invest wisely in them.

How to support a caregiver

Do you know a caregiver? Do you want to help make their life easier? If so, here are some effective ways to support them.

Find resources

Many services and activities are available for caregivers, including in home res pite care and various types of workshops. Make a list of resources that could be nefit your friend or family member. This will save them the time and trouble of doing it themself.

Share information

Gather articles, guides and testimonials to help your friend or family member cope with the ups and downs of care giving. For example, you could share a

few tips with them about how to ba lance caregiving with full time work responsibilities.

Lend them your time

Caregivers often have very busy sche dules. To help make their load lighter, offer to grocery shop, prepare meals or do housework. You could even take over their caregiving responsibilities for a few hours to give them some time to rest.

To find extensive caregiver resources, visit comfortlife.ca.

5 self­ care tips for busy caregivers

Many people who look after a sick or disab led family member neglect to take care of themselves. Here are a few things you can do to relieve stress while caring for a loved one.

1. TAKE SHORT BREAKS

Take frequent breaks, even if it involves just having a cup of coffee. Doing so can help you regain your motivation and ability to concentrate.

2. Make time for naps

You don’t necessarily have to fall asleep. Sim ply lying down and closing your eyes for a few minutes can help you think more clearly and recharge your batteries.

3. Stretch your limbs

To help combat fatigue and release tight ness in your muscles, gently stretch your arms and legs. You can do this while stan ding, sitting or lying down.

4. Get a massage

The benefits of massage therapy are well

documented. A 30 minute Swedish mas sage, for example, can help you relax while reducing the effect of stress on your body. Keep in mind that some massage thera pists offer in home services.

5. Listen to music

If you and the person you take care of both like music, make time to enjoy it together. Studies show that listening to music can limit anxiety, enhance sleep quality and reduce chronic pain.

To improve your mental and physical heal th, be sure to make time for self care. This way you can continue to be an effective ca regiver for your loved one.

How to help employees who are caregivers at home

If you’re a business owner, it’s important to support employees who must care for a sick or disabled spouse, parent or child. Here’s what you should do.

Assess the situation

Frequently, caregivers must take several days off work to meet the requirements of the person they’re caring for. They may also feel the need to reduce their hours to devote themselves to their loved one. Some may even feel forced to resign, which can have a major impact on your business.

The current shortage of workers has highlighted the importance of retaining skil led and experienced employees. In addi tion, North America has a rapidly aging population, which means more and more people require daily support.

Unfortunately, many caregivers don’t feel comfortable talking to their employers about their situation. However, having an open discussion is the best way to find ef fective strategies to help them cope with their responsibilities.

Offer support

There are a number of ways to support an employee who’s the primary caregiver for a loved one. For example, you can offer them the option to telecommute, change their schedule or take an unpaid leave of absence. You may also want to ensure they have access to psychosocial support.

Your workforce is your greatest asset, so take care of it.

What you should know about young caregivers

Not all caregivers are adults. In fact, more than a quarter of young Cana dians who are 15 to 19 years old are caregivers. Providing support for a sick or disabled family member is a difficult and demanding job. Moreover, if a pa rent becomes incapacitated, many mi nors will also shoulder the responsibility of raising their siblings.

They face difficulties

Dealing with the obligations of being a caregiver while attending school can be challenging. Young people often aren’t seen as caregivers, forcing them to face numerous obstacles alone and in si lence. Many become physically, mental ly and emotionally drained, making it difficult for them to concentrate in

class. Additionally, engaging with their peers can feel overwhelming.

They need support

It’s important to support young caregivers as much as possible. If you know a young person caring for a family member, here are a few things you can do:

• Discuss the situation with their teachers

• Lend a hand with school assignments

• Arrange for them to have help at home

When supported by those around them, young caregivers can feel empowered and avoid burnout.

Strategic thinking is a cognitive process that enables organizations or an individual to make better decisions by taking into ac count the long-term consequences of their actions. It involves looking beyond the immediate problem or goal and instead thinking about the best way to achieve a desired outcome. There are a number of ways to develop strategic thinking skills. One is to simply take the time to reflect on past experiences and learn from them. What worked well? What could have been done better? What lessons were learned?

Another way to develop strategic

How to develop strategic thinking skills

strategic thinking skills. For example, brain storming is a great way to generate new ideas and identify potential solutions to problems. SWOT analysis is another tool that can be used to assess an organization’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.

Developing strategic thinking skills is not something that can be done overnight. It takes time, effort, and practice. However, the benefits of being a strategic thinker are well worth the investment. Stra tegic thinkers are able to make better deci sions and solve problems more effectively.

What are more other ways to develop a strategic thinking skills?

Ask questions. Don’t swallow every sug gestion, hook, line and sinker. Weigh them by logic. Is the source credible? How does the idea work? Is the process rational? This process is not to simply reject ideas or criticize them but to rather examine their workability and relevance. It is important that new suggestions are understood from the onset. Assumption is the lowest form of intelligence. Ask questions to gain clarity.

Be aware of your bias. Alvin Toffler, de

fines the 21st century illiterate as “those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn.” What have you always believed? Exam ine your mind critically. Question your thoughts. Yesterday’s big bang idea may not be the winning strategy for today. The ability to learn, relearn, and unlearn is key to strategic thinking. Don’t let your bias hold you back. To dogmatically hold on to beliefs and ideas that no longer serve you will impede your strategic thinking ability. Be careful of overly simplified quotes that are neither practical nor helpful.

Cultivate your thoughts. Great ideas come from cultivated minds. It is not ide al to engage spontaneous outbursts in making key decisions, unless the mind is trained for quick and effective thinking. Achieving this feat requires wide reading and robust conversations. As in the baking process, mix in new information and sieve biases. Allow your thoughts to marinate, consider the things you hear carefully and give ample time for evaluation. Do not be afraid to lose your opinion to acquire bet ter informed perspective. Remember you’ll have to bear the consequences of your decisions. So, make your thinking process solid! The process may be daunting at first,

but with consistent practice, you’ll be able to produce rich thoughts in lesser time.

Learn to listen. It’s impossible to hone healthy perspectives without including other views. Many of us all talk more than we listen and when we do listen, it’s with the intention to respond. It’s hard to think while you talk. Listening is especially im portant to achieving success in business. Note that innovative product development is based on market research and data anal ysis, which are basically listening and think ing albeit using technical methods. When you talk to people within your network, be open to feedback.

Practice. Remember the idiom, practice makes perfect? Cliché yes, but still effec tive. Have you noticed how you never re ally have to “learn” lyrics to know a song? First, you go from mumbling to catching a few phrases while singing along to your car radio. Then one day, you find yourself to belling out entire lyrics in the bathroom without the radio accompaniment. That’s the power of practice.

over the coming years, and ultimately con sumer holiday spending is way down.

Retailers are trying to figure out what consumers are interested in, hoping to introduce products that will attract them during this holiday season. The effects of present day economic, geo-political and environmental events affect consumers spending and attitudes. People are ex tremely anxious about what can happen, preferring to button down on their excess spending to the tune of 26% in Canada and 33% in America. One third of consumers in the Caribbean will spend less, and be more selective in their purchases this year, spending $1,430 per family.

48% of Canadians believe the economy will worsen in 2023. Holiday spending will fall in Canada to a $1,520 level per household. The biggest cuts are found in non-gift electronics, travel and

clothing. Canadians are shopping early for deals to stretch their holiday budgets, showing little brand loyalty, as the cost of an item is central in their purchases.

Rising prices and supply issues have impacted consumer trust and brand loyalty, as 76% of consumers expect prices to increase in the coming months. Supply chain issues have led consumers to find substitutes to their preferred, but difficult to find items. Value shopping, looking for what reflects a consumer’s values, has be come secondary to price point.

The research has shown that 71 % of Canadians and 83% of Americans will likely shop at Amazon this year versus 60% in Canada and 71% in America last year. November will be the most active month for purchases this season. Recent holiday seasons have seen Canadian and Ameri can Consumers to be both optimistic and

concerned. This year has been a series of unending events presenting uncertain economic uncertainty, inflation, rising in terest rates, geo-political upheavals and pandemic continuation.

Across economic brackets, con sumers have seen their buying power shrink. Ultimately many consumers will reach out to offshore purchases with Ama zon the clear winner. 47% of Canadians are signing up for Amazon Prime.

Consumers will visit more stores, looking for the right product at the right price point. Expectations have consum ers spending more in store (56%) and 41% online. Retailers will need to do more to attract customers this season, attempting to win the hearts and minds of consum ers during a period of heightened stress, showing empathy and understanding at what their customers are experiencing.

DANIEL COLE daniel@carib101.com PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

The answers littered my screen, week after week, unable to shut off. Reliving my recovery

that moment; finally I am able to get all of the words out of my head, and I watch as they cascade onto a blank screen waiting to be understood, or maybe even misun derstood.

When I am experiencing pain, when it feels like my heart is being ripped from my chest, this is when words flow.

The last couple of weeks have reminded me why I started writing dur ing my incarceration and when I was on house arrest. As someone who feels all the time, there is an awareness of how overwhelming it can all be at times. I feel everything. When I am feeling, my brain goes into overdrive, because then I a trying to figure out why I am feeling so much. Why can’t I shut of the pain, the anguish, and the tears that flow and heat my face on the coldest day?

For some reason, typing my words feverishly seems to calm me in

I am not too sure what Trish Browning saw when she read my work; I always wondered; could she sense my pain? Did she somehow know that I was writing to escape the jail that I had creat ed in my own mind? I think that in the last few years, I did inquire as to what caught her about my writing, and she shared that she could tell that I enjoyed empowering my community.

She was right! Although I am a skilled writer, my passion had always been mental health, and one thing that I knew about the African-Caribbean community is that they shied away from talking about anything concerning men tal health. “A stress yuh a stress,” I recall hearing some of my family members say, “Don’t worry! Pray! God will hear you.”

I agree, God will hear you, but The Bible also says, “God helps those who first help themselves.” I had started help

Make family exercise sessions your priority

It’s not always easy to find the time and motivation to keep fit between work, homework, shopping, meals and house work. The solution? Make exercise a health priority for the whole family.

What’s important is to stay active. Get all the members of your family moving by choosing activities that are simple and easy to integrate into the daily routine. Start slowly; a short family walk after sup per is a great way to form new habits. Break the monotony by changing your route on a regular basis. Finish your outing with a few fun challenges, such as walking backwards or hopping.

Everyone is sure to enjoy an im provised dance session in the living room. Swaying and jumping to your children’s fa

vourite music is the kind of cardiovascular exercise that burns calories. Get yourself an exercise ball or some elastic exercise bands; they’re inexpensive and can be used even when watching TV. Every week, ask family members to organize a session of their fa vourite physical activity. There’s just one rule: everyone has to participate. You can go cycling, do yoga, go swimming, play beach volleyball, take a walk in the woods or jump rope — anything is possible.

Set yourself realistic family goals. An hour of exercise a day may be too de manding, while 20 or 30 minutes could be enough to stimulate enthusiasm. You don’t want to discourage the troops. After all, family exercise is healthy, but it has to be fun as well.

ing myself to a therapist, much to the dismay of my parents. I know that they were already dealing with the idea that it was something that they did that ended me up in this mess, now, I was taking our family business out of the house. I had to explain to my parents that this was something that I had to do for me. I was dealing with depression, and I knew that I was. I also knew that there were other people in the world going through worst then me, and I took it upon myself to help with their healing (not that they asked me or anything).

I decided to use LinkedIn, be cause I knew that unlike Facebook, I would be able to reach organizations, and hopefully professionals who would benefit from knowledge. The stigma around mental health was one of the first topics I tackled. I moved on to a series about Autism in the African-Caribbean community, and then on to tougher top ics like depression, anxiety, addictions, and suicide.

Writing for me always includes a great deal of research. Regardless of the

topic, it was imperative that the informa tion I presented was factual, and relatable. Talking to somebody about something they don’t want to talk about is difficult; imagine the uphill battle I was facing ask ing members of the community to read something they regularly avoided.

This is where my story came into play. I thought, what better way to evoke emotion then to share my story; let peo ple into the mind of a young Caribbean woman who had just experienced trau ma at the 10th degree. What was I think ing? How did I navigate my day? How did I navigate the judgmental tone and looks from my parents? The answers littered my screen, week after week, unable to shut off.

When I am experiencing pain, when it feels like my heart is being ripped from my chest, this is when words flow. My words were going to help heal a city that avoided their trauma, ran from their pain, and stifled their insecurities.

Do you feel that your only role in life is to be a parent? What about all those roman tic moments you used to enjoy together before you started a family? Do you feel guilty when you make time for your rela tionship? Experts say it’s important to re member that nurturing your relationship with one another is crucial, especially when you’re parents.

When a baby is born it’s normal to devote all your energy to this new mem ber of the family. Between nursing, dia pers, parenting joys and worries, time flies by so fast that you end up without any time for yourself. Parents bond deeply with their children and this relationship takes up more and more room in their lives. Mom is tired, Dad feels neglected and the marriage takes a beating. This is when you have to take immediate action. Of course you are parents, but that doesn’t mean you should neglect your love life. Nurturing your relationship must remain on your list of priorities.

How can you take better care of your relationship? Take advantage of ev ery opportunity to be alone together. Is the baby sleeping? Turn off the TV and have a romantic tête-à-tête. Don’t talk about the kids; they’ll be fine! Cozy up with each other, whisper sweet nothings and don’t look at the pile of dirty dishes in the sink. A long kiss, a hug and a bath to gether don’t cost anything, and often that’s all it takes to prevent coolness and indifference from creeping into your rela tionship.

When possible, ask someone to come and look after the kids so you can treat yourselves to an evening at the mov ies, go for a walk or go out for a cup of cof fee together. Get out, break the routine and have fun. If you feel guilty, remember this: taking care of your marriage is part of your responsibilities as a parent.

Your love life is important, even when you’re a parent

The Heightened Chef Awards recognize cannabis excellence Pt.1

ened Chef this season.

You’ve likely seen Ajay Fry on TV at some point over the last 15 years (maybe as the Saturday morning host on YTV from ‘06 to ‘08 or hosting InnerSPACE on SPACE). He has also worked with big brands like: Ninten do, Xbox and Best Buy and interviewed countless Hollywood stars. Over the last year he’s grown a TikTok following of over 100,000 while helping his wife Zaira open “The Curi ous Cannabis Company @curiouscannabisco “ a licensed cannabis shop in Toronto. As a first-time guest speaker for The Heightened Chef, he was energetic, confidently hilarious and literally took over the stage! His behind the scenes stories and backstage insight de lighted and wowed the audience so much that his return is inevitable.

The EatFamous Photo of the Year

Awarded to a guest with the best The Height ened Chef food pic this season, in honour of our resident food influencer guru and regu lar co-host; Ryan Hinkson (@eatfamous).

not being a professional photographer, the artistry and quality of her food pictures make anyone viewing them salivate. Most stun ning were her pictures from this season’s Latin episode: Volando Alto (Flying High). The dishes from that night were quickly de voured but her pictures will last forever.

The Golden Ticket

This is a season pass awarded to a frequent guest who does the most to be an ambassa dor of The Heightened Chef.

Chadwick Boseman (Champion of Champions)

The best dish of the season is decided by vot ers and guests.

This is awarded to the person ‘or entity’ with the most impressive debut at The Height

According to a 2019 report by the Intergo vernmental Science-Policy Platform on Bio diversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), we have about 12 years to dramatically re duce greenhouse gas emissions before it’s too late to prevent a potentially catastro phic rise in global temperature. As a private citizen, you can help by adopting these four habits.

1. Reduce meat consumption

Meat production is highly inefficient, espe

Food, by its nature, is only tempo rary but pictures are immortal. This year’s EatFamous award winner; Daniella Karelin, was able to capture the essence of delicious ness with her stunning food photos. While

As one of our most coveted awards, it is often hard to select one person from this small pool of nominees. By design, The Heightened Chef membership is full of amaz ingly supportive people who make up a fam ily that the rest of the Cannabis community enviously desires. This year’s Golden Ticket winner; Adriel Greaves (aka Loki Wunda) was the prototype for the award he is now receiv ing. As perhaps our longest standing and most frequent guest, his love and support has undoubtedly helped push our success to the heights we have seen. Relative to his in volvement as guest and ambassador, a sea son’s pass for Season 7 is but a small token of our appreciation.

4 easy habits to adopt for a greener planet

cially when it comes to red meat. Limiting your meat consumption is a good way to reduce your carbon footprint and to make your diet a bit healthier. Start by eating at least one meat-free meal a day.

2. Reduce carbon emissions

Consider walking to work, biking or taking the bus. If driving is the only practical way you can get to work, you may be able to te lecommute a few times a week. Try to get out of the habit of driving everywhere and

when you do get behind the wheel, don’t idle your car.

3. Reduce waste

Identify disposable things you use and try to replace them with their reusable equiva lents. Buy a stainless steel or glass portable cup, replace saran wrap with washable beeswax wrap and start collecting reusable grocery bags. You can also swap disposable razors and straws for their reusable coun terparts.

The environmental impact of fast fashion

The inexpensive, rapidly produced clothing sold by large retail chains that’s often refer red to as fast fashion carries a steep envi ronmental cost. Here’s what you should know about it.

Water stress and pollution

The fashion industry uses a lot of water. The water footprint of a single cotton shirt, which is the total amount of water needed for its production, is nearly 2,500 litres. These companies also tend to produce

their clothes in countries with more relaxed environmental regulations than Canada or the Unites States. This means they dump untreated wastewater into rivers people rely on. A full 20 per cent of worldwide wa ter pollution is directly caused by textile treatments and dyes.

Ocean pollution

Every time a garment made of a synthetic fibre like polyester, rayon or nylon is was hed, it releases nearly 2,000 plastic micro fibres. These end up in the ocean, where

4 eco-friendly fibres

The textile industry relies heavily on ecologically suspect materials. Petroleum-based synthetic fibres like polyester, nylon and spandex reinforce our de pendency on fossil fuels. What’s more, non-organic cotton is grown using large quantities of pesticides and herbicides. These respectively account for 60 per cent and 30 per cent of the fibres used world wide. Here are four greener alternatives.

1. Eucalyptus. Able to absorb moisture and inhibit bacterial growth, eucalyptus is a fantastic alter native to other types of textiles. It grows in arid soil (even that which can’t be used for much of anything else), it requires very little water and the fabric production process is environmentally friendly. However, it’s unlikely to grow in North America.

2. Bamboo. This is the fastest growing plant on the planet, and it doesn’t need any chemical pesti cides or fertilizers to thrive. It also requires a lot less water than cotton. However, it’s hard to grow in some climates and most bamboo fabric has to

be imported from China.

they enter the food chain and eventually end up on our plates.

Waste accumulation

In 2014, people bought 60 per cent more clothes than they did in 2000, and since we recycle only 15 per cent of our clothes, most end up in landfills. Many of these are made of synthetic textiles, which will take over 200 years to decompose.

Greenhouse gas emissions

The fashion industry accounts for 10 per

Since the near inception of our events, a tradition has arisen of guests choos ing the best dish of the evening gaining it the moniker of Champion of the Night. This title was lovingly updated to become the Kobe Bryant Champion of the Night after his passing and in memory of his relentless pur suit of excellence. The Chadwick Boseman Champion of Champions award takes all pre vious champions from a given season into consideration in order to decide the pinnacle of our culinary achievement. This year’s re cipient is the Curry Chicken Spring Roll with infused Scotch Bonnet pepper and coconut cream sauce from our Caribbean episode; Natural Mystic and stands tall as monarch. Thank you and congratulations to the above recipients. Please make sure to re turn to the next issue as we declare the win ners of our final four Heightened Chef Awards: Cannabis Vanguard, Creative Vision ary, Trailblazing Innovator and Olympian of the Year!

4. Reduce power usage

Another easy habit to adopt is to simply turn off and unplug electronics that aren’t in use. Even when they’re turned off, things like phone chargers, Blu-ray players and gaming consoles still draw power. Also, be careful to turn off the lights when you leave a room.

By starting small, you can make a big diffe rence.

cent of all global greenhouse gas emis sions. Production, manufacturing and transport all factor into this. In addition, the synthetic fibres used by many brands are made from fossil fuels.

The fashion industry has a huge environ mental impact. You can help mitigate this by privileging local brands and natural fibres and by buying second-hand clothing as much as possible.

3. Linen. An already popular textile, linen is made from flax stems, meaning that flax production could serve the dual purpose of providing food and fabric. Linen is much stronger and more du rable than cotton and flax and can be cultivated in a wide range of climates, making it a very pro mising source of textile.

4. Hemp. Hypoallergenic and stronger than cot ton, hemp grows quickly in almost any climate, is resistant to bugs and diseases and matures in a mere 11 weeks. It also works perfectly as part of a crop rotation system with corn and soy bean, which are heavily cultivated all over North America. On the flipside, it does need to be mixed with cotton to provide a soft fabric.

While further work needs to be done, there are a number of alternatives to petroleum-based tex tiles and non-organic cotton that are available. Look for them in speciality stores and in the aisles of more traditional boutiques.

Strategies for keeping pets safe during holiday events

Are you hosting one or more holiday parties this year? If so, you may be worried about how your pet will cope. Here are some strategies for keeping your dogs and cats safe while you enter tain your guests.

• Train them well. Basic dog commands like sit, stay, down and leave will serve you well during holiday gatherings. And training your cats to come when you call can keep them safe if they bolt out the door.

• Supervise children. If your dog or cat isn’t used to kids, there are some precautions to take. Teach children how to approach and gently pet your animals and monitor their interactions. Watch for signs that your pets are uncomfortable. If you sense that they’re tense, remove them from the room.

• Make sure they exercise. An animal that hasn’t had its regular dose of exercise is more likely to be excited or stressed when guests visit. About half an hour before your company is due to arrive, take the dog for a walk or play with the cat to burn off any extra energy.

Most importantly, make sure your pets have a safe haven to go to if the party starts to overwhelm them. Many pets love to retreat to their crates, but you can also put them in a quiet, comfortable room where you know they’ll be content and safe.

How to care for your aquarium while you’re on vacation

Are you heading out of town for a few days and wondering how to keep your fish heal thy and your aquarium clean while you’re gone? If so, here’s how.

Before you leave Examine your fish to make sure they ap pear healthy and alert before you leave. If they don’t, contact your local fish store or aquatic veterinarian for advice.

If your fish require special lighting, get a timer to make sure the lights turn on and off at the right times.

The day before you leave, change the water in the tank, check all your equipment and feed the fish.

While you’re gone

If you have friends or family members who live nearby, ask them to pop in every few days to check on the fish and feed them. Be sure to portion out the food, though, be cause people tend to overfeed fish when they don’t know what they’re doing.

Some adult fish can survive for up to two weeks without eating. So, depending on how long you’ll be gone, you may not need to worry about feeding them at all.

When you get home

Be sure to check that the tank and all its parts are working well, change the water as soon as possible and of course, feed the fish.

Adopting a dog is a life changing event. Here are some steps to take when you bring your new canine companion home.

• Take them to the vet. Your dog should be examined to ensure that they don’t have a disease or other issue that requires attention. In most cases, they’ll also make a recommen dation for when the dog should be spayed or neute red.

• Schedule their vaccinations. Many animal shelters vaccinate dogs before they’re adopted. Neverthe less, you’ll need to make sure your pup’s up to date with their shots. Vaccines should be ad ministered annually for the rest of their life.

• Get identification. If your munici pality requires it, get your dog li censed right away. Also, make sure they can be identified, either with a tag on their collar or a microchip embedded under their skin.

• Start training. It’s a good idea to train your dog to come when you call and follow basic commands like sit, stay and down. Not only are these commands useful, but

training sessions serve as a great way for you and your pet to bond.

If your new pet seems shy or nervous around you at first, don’t get frustrated. A period of adjustment is to be expected. With consistent love and attention, they’ll quickly become more comfortable around you.

Dog flu: what pet owners should know

Did you know that dogs can get the flu, too? In fact, the symptoms of dog flu and human flu are nearly identical, with coughing, sneezing, a runny nose, fever and lethargy common to both. However, the strain of influenza that affects dogs is different than the one that affects hu mans.

Canine flu is highly contagious between dogs and can live on surfaces for up to 48 hours. Dogs that are in close contact with other dogs are more likely to contract it than others. And while it can’t affect you, if you pet a dog that has the flu, you can transmit it to your dog.

Because it’s a virus, there isn’t a cure for ca nine flu. Nevertheless, you can help your dog feel better by making sure he or she is comfortable and has plenty of fresh water to drink.

Your veterinarian may prescribe cough me dicine or something to reduce the fever. Furthermore, the vet may recommend that your dog be quarantined for up to 21 days to avoid further spread of the virus.

Never give your dog human medication, as the recommended doses are different for dogs and consuming too much could harm them.

To prevent dog flu, keep your pooch away from other canines and make sure to wash your hands after touching another animal. If your pup is regularly in contact with other dogs, talk to your veterinarian about the dog flu vaccine, which can help boost his or her immunity.

I just adopted a dog, now what?

RBC predicts a recession in 2023. The re cession will be gradual, shallow and long before slowly easing up. The shape of the graph for this recession will resemble a pasta bowl. The war on Ukraine, snailpaced supply chain, longer manufactur ing timelines and increased labor costs are pushing prices up. It is similar to pumping more hot air into an already in flated balloon.

If you force more air into an al ready inflated balloon, then it will even tually burst. In the business world, that’s a crash, leading to a depression. It’s too early to know the extent of the fallout from COVID 2020.To stimulate the econo my, the interest rate fell to almost ground zero. Many families took on large debts because of cheap money. These debts will become more difficult to sustain once interest rates rise.

The higher borrowing cost is a coolant for the housing market. In Sep tember, the Toronto and Regional Real Es tate Board (TRREB) recorded 5,038 homes sold. That’s a drop of 44.1% compared to September 2021. New properties on the market dropped by 16.7% on a yearover-year basis. Real estate prices peaked in February 2022. As of August 2022, the average price has declined by 15.7%.

If you look at a neighborhood and there are many for sale signs, pric

es are coming down. If there are few signs, mostly sold, then, prices are go ing up. There is a shortage of affordable homes in the GTA. Homes priced around $800,000 are attracting multiple offers and are selling above their asking price. Despite interest rate hikes, inflation is not under control. The demand for affordable housing in the GTA is strong. The Canadi an dollar is weak when compared to the US. As such, there will be more aggressive rate hikes.

The pasta bowl recession is ex pected to start at the beginning of 2023. In a recession, prices fall to compensate for the increase in interest rate. A window of opportunity can open and buyers who are patient can cash in on good deals.

RBC economist Nathan Janzen said that “Central banks will be reluctant to throw in the towel on rate hikes before they are confident that inflation will slow sustainably. We expect the Bank of Can ada to pause its rate-hiking cycle in late 2022 followed by the Fed in early 2023. But that’s contingent on inflation pres sures easing.”

Rising interest rates has artificial ly reduced the demand for housing. With rising interest rates, low-income families are being forced out of the market. Home owners with variable mortgage rates are feeling the pinch. Many are converting to a fixed rate mortgage. Those who are switching from a variable mortgage to a fixed rate mortgage should choose short er terms such as two or three years. By then, the interest rate will slowly fall.

The GTA population is exploding. The cost for rental properties has skyrock eted. An average two-bedroom condo, for example, in the GTA can rent for $2500 monthly. Over the last four years, home

prices have doubled. When the apprecia tion in home value is paired with the high cost of rental, it’s a safe bet for investors.

Many Real Estate Investment Trusts are buying up residential proper ties. This, in turn, is depleting the stock of homes available for sale. When supply is low, demand increases and prices climb. Rising interest rates is bad news for any one who has accumulated debts. Home owners with high interest debts, such as credit cards, should consolidate it into a mortgage. Lenders can increase the loan amortization and reduce the monthly payment to an affordable level.

Prospective buyers can lock it a lower rate mortgage with a lender for three to four months. When the interest rate goes up, lenders will qualify the buy

ers, based on the new interest rate, for less mortgage. It’s important to make an offer pending financing.

HELOCS (home equity line of credit) are open mortgages at the cur rent interest rate. They are similar to an overdraft protection. We pay interest only on the amount used. Homeowners can lock in their line of credit and safeguard it against interest rate hikes like a mort gage. A locked HELOC is also a safeguard against abuse.

In turbulent times, stay financial ly strong. Pasta bowl recessions are long. Home prices will drop. A window of op portunity will open for buyers. It would be a good time to invest in a rental prop erty. The demand for housing is high and will continue to climb over the long term.

Should you choose an open or closed floor plan?

Open concept designs have been on trend for many years. However, the recent move towards working from home has led many to rethink their living spaces. This guide will help you decide which style best suits your needs.

Open concept design

Open floor plans allow you to make the most of a small space, enabling less-res tricted movement and optimal light. Ch oose this design if you:

• Have small children. If you need to ma nage several tasks while keeping an eye on your little ones, an open concept keeps everyone in your line of sight.

• Enjoy entertaining. This floor plan allows large groups of people to mingle and move around with ease.

• Have accessibility needs. If you have household members or guests who need help with accessibility, an open concept affords adaptability.

• Plan to resell. Your resale value may be

higher with an open floor plan. Potential buyers appreciate the freedom to adapt a space to their needs.

Closed concept design

Closed floor plans provide more indivi dual solitude and give you more control over noise and air quality. Choose this de sign if you:

• Need quiet or privacy. If your household has multiple people studying or working at home, separate spaces are essential for privacy.

• Are eco-conscious. A closed concept design lets you heat rooms selectively to minimize energy consumption.

• Love to cook. Although home cooking creates a cozy atmosphere, the scents of aromatic cuisines may be unwelcome if they invade every corner of your open concept home.

If you’re considering an interior remodel, a local architect or contractor can help you find the ideal solution for your family.

Should you choose an open or closed floor plan?

Open concept designs have been on trend for many years. However, the recent move towards working from home has led many to rethink their living spaces. This guide will help you decide which style best suits your needs.

Open concept design

Open floor plans allow you to make the most of a small space, enabling less-res tricted movement and optimal light. Ch oose this design if you:

• Have small children. If you need to ma nage several tasks while keeping an eye on your little ones, an open concept keeps everyone in your line of sight.

• Enjoy entertaining. This floor plan allows large groups of people to mingle and move around with ease.

• Have accessibility needs. If you have household members or guests who need help with accessibility, an open concept affords adaptability.

• Plan to resell. Your resale value may be

higher with an open floor plan. Potential buyers appreciate the freedom to adapt a space to their needs.

Closed concept design

Closed floor plans provide more indivi dual solitude and give you more control over noise and air quality. Choose this de sign if you:

• Need quiet or privacy. If your household has multiple people studying or working at home, separate spaces are essential for privacy.

• Are eco-conscious. A closed concept design lets you heat rooms selectively to minimize energy consumption.

• Love to cook. Although home cooking creates a cozy atmosphere, the scents of aromatic cuisines may be unwelcome if they invade every corner of your open concept home.

If you’re considering an interior remodel, a local architect or contractor can help you find the ideal solution for your family.

ARIES

Your week will revolve around your significant other. You must have good communication to keep your relationship amicable. You may have to make changes to avoid a conflict.

TAURUS

You must put in the work to reach an agreement that’s fair for every one. You’ll make radical lifestyle changes to improve your health. In doing so, you’ll also improve your quality of life.

GEMINI

Success and recognition await you. You may be given a promotion or decide to change careers. If you’ve been sick for a while, your health will improve significantly.

CANCER

You’ll have the opportunity to find a property that will give your whole family more space. You’ll streamline your daily rou tine to make life easier for everyone living under your roof.

LEO

Don’t forget to plug in your phone or computer every night. Otherwise, you risk dropping an important call because of a dead battery. Your family may ask you to do all the driving this week.

VIRGO

You’ll be outspoken and confidently express what others are think ing. If your significant other starts spending beyond their means, you’ll promptly let them know.

LIBRA

You’ll feel amazing this week. There are a lot of tight deadlines at work, and you’ll have to act quickly to avoid a catastrophe. You’d be happy to get a promotion despite the new responsibilities and stress that come with it.

SCORPIO

You’ll finally finish an important task you’ve been putting off at work or home. Try to rest before you do anything else, or your health could suffer.

SAGITTARIUS

While waiting for medical results for yourself or a loved one, you could receive a relieving answer. You’ll be able to sleep soundly, and your anxiety will fade because the future looks bright.

CAPRICORN

You must deal with a few small family or professional issues. You may have to adjust your schedule to accept a promotion. However,

AQUARIUS

It’s

PISCES

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LAND FOR SALE: 10500 square feet of land for sale in Tobago. Ap proved by Town and Country.

Call Edward 647-218-1333

HIRING: Looking for a helper to do general labour, garden cleaning, landscaping, and winter snow removal. Cash paid weekly. Located at Morningside & Law rence in Scarborough. Please call: (416)269-5174.

HIRING FOR CLEANING: Looking for experience people for general cleaning evenings and night. Must speak English and can drive to areas in the GTA. Call or Text 647-239-4808. Seriou calls only

LIVE OUT HOUSE KEEPER: Needed for family in North York, Legal payment only T4 416-729-4772

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Driver must have SUV or Van. Call 647-722-6298 to apply.

FOR RENT: Furnished Room For Rent! Sharing Kitchen & Wash room. Located in Scarborough, Toronto, Morningside Avenue & Kingston Road. $850.00/month including utilities. Please call (416)459-6155.

FOR RENT: Furnished 1 BedBasement Apart For Rent! Sepa rate Entrance, Private Kitchen & Washroom. Located in Scarbor ough, Toronto, Morningside Av enue & Kingston Road. $1,550.00/ month including utilities. Please call (416)459-6155.

SUNDAY SERVICE: Fountain of Truth Ministries Pastor: Rever end Maxine Campbell Worship Address: 2170 Kipling Avenue, Etobicoke Percy Johnson School – Cafeteria Sundays: 10.am – 2. pm Teaching, Worship, Minister ing For info call: 416 748 0211

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Five benefits of private mortgages for real estate investors

Options to collateralize Bank financing will almost always only be able to collateralize the subject property that the loan is being used to purchase. However, with private mortgages there are generally options to cross collateralize other pieces of real estate, leveraging more equity and allowing for more lending power. This can allow an investor to “piggy back” the loan onto other properties without having to refinance loans against them that might have great terms

loans that have a major construction or re model component to them, and they will often even loan against the “as completed” value of the project. This can be a great op tion for investors who have their sights set on a tear down & rebuild or a fixer upper.

Appetite for special use

Many successful real estate investors un derstand that sometimes you have to think outside of the box when it comes to certain properties. While traditional bank financing is a viable option in a lot of scenarios, there are also times when a private mortgage just makes more sense. Here are some key ben efits or private mortgages for real estate in vestors.

Easier to qualify

For people who have less than stellar credit, or who have income that is inconsistent or harder to validate, private mortgages make a lot of sense. While income and credit is con sidered, qualification is typically based more heavily on the property and level of equity available. Private mortgages also have the ability to ask for and grant exceptions more than a large banking institution might.

Faster to close Sometimes great real estate deals come along and there is no time to waste or wait. When a real estate investor needs to move quickly, often they will turn to a private mortgage instead of a bank. Many banks take around 45-60 days to close an invest ment loan, while it is not uncommon for a private mortgage to finish in just about two weeks. This allows the real estate investor to jump on opportunities quickly, before some one else snatches the property up.

Flexibility on construction Traditional banks don’t usually want to loan money against properties that are in dis tress, and they certainly don’t want to offer additional funds above the purchase price to fund major renovations. Private mortgages, on the other hand, are more agreeable to

If you are investing in very basic vanilla real estate, then many bank funded commercial loan programs will likely want to do busi ness with you. However, if you are exploring real estate investment opportunities that are a little more special use, then a private mortgage may be a better match. Proper ties that are built for very specific purposes, like a movie theater, golf course, or summer camp, may require a private lender who has an appetite to invest in these projects.

Final thoughts

Using a private mortgage for real estate investing can be beneficial in certain situa tions. However, it is important to understand the upfront and ongoing costs of a private mortgage as well as the legalities. Always weigh all the options carefully against all other available options, and consider enlist ing the expertise of a financial strategist as well. Knowledge is power and knowing all of your options will make you a better real estate investor in Toronto.

Does your resumé really show you off to advantage?

You already know that your curriculum vi tae should include your education, skills and experience. But what is the best way to present this information? It depends on your circumstances; in general, you should choose the type of CV that best highlights your strengths. Here are some tips to guide you.

• A chronological resumé presents your various jobs (positions held, main functions, employer, etc.) in reverse chronological order — from the most recent to the oldest. You can use this type of resumé to showcase your pro fessional progress, but you should avoid it if you’ve changed jobs several

times over a short period or if you’ve gone a few months without working.

• A functional resumé groups your ac complishments and skills into diffe rent sections, starting with the ones most pertinent to the job you want. Such a layout demonstrates quickly that you have the necessary qualities, even if you don’t have much work ex perience or if you’ve held several un related jobs. If you are re-entering the labour market after a long break, this is a good format to use.

• A combination resumé leads off with a functional-style resume of your skills and experience and then presents a reverse chronological list of the diffe

rent positions you’ve held. This type of CV highlights both your accomplish ments and your experience. It’s ideal for drawing attention to an important achievement dating back to a position held some years ago or if you are trying to access a similar position in a different sector.

Regardless of your type of resumé, focus on action verbs, use the vocabulary of your business sector and be clear and concise. Most important of all, ask someone reliable to proofread your CV be fore you send it out.

Seven mistakes to avoid during a job interview

You’ve been asked to go for a job interview and you’re thrilled about it. To ensure that everything goes well, try to avoid making the following common mistakes.

1. Arriving late. Being late for an interview demonstrates a lack of respect, profes sionalism and organization.

2. Being careless about your appearance. It’s better to be overdressed than too ca sual. However, be sure to wear an outfit you feel comfortable in. Extravagant jewelry and overpowering perfumes should be avoided.

3. Being unprepared. You must be able to

recall your entire working career and be prepared to answer trick questions. Find out about the company and study the job description so you can clearly ex plain why this particular post interests you.

4. Not asking questions. Not having any questions prepared shows a lack of inte rest in the job and the company. How ever, don’t ask about wages and vaca tions at the outset.

5. Being arrogant. You need to be confi dent and promote yourself without sounding arrogant. Don’t exaggerate or tell lies under any circumstances.

6. Talking too much or too little. Don’t go on and on about all your experiences and don’t tell your life story to your po tential employer. Conversely, answers that are too short give the impression that you’re not really interested in the job.

7. Appearing too stressed. Speak in a firm voice, control any nervous tics and avoid fidgeting. Be mindful of your bo dy language. Smile, make eye contact with the interviewer, don’t cross your arms and don’t fiddle with anything.

Car washes: an essential component of winter car care

Driving in winter means contending with ice, snow, gravel, salt, slush and sand. It’s therefore no wonder that cars get excep tionally dirty at this time of year. Unfor tunately, an accumulation of dirt and debris on your car can damage it, which is why it’s important to clean it regularly.

As a general rule, you should wash your car once a month. However, certain factors may prompt more fre quent cleanings, such as lots of slush and particularly heavy use of salt or gravel on the roads.

Whether you use an automatic car wash or do the job yourself, make sure to focus on the undercarriage. This

is the place where dirt and grime accumu late the most.

If possible, avoid cleaning your car when it’s very cold. Pick milder days when the temperature is above the free zing point, especially if you’re washing it outside. In any case, make sure to use a mi crofibre cloth to dry the rubber seals on your doors and trunk. This will prevent them from freezing shut.

Cleaning your car regularly will help mitigate the development of rust by eliminating sources of corrosion. Howe ver, no amount of washing, no matter how thorough, can replace an anti-rust treatment.

Winter driving: 5 things to check before you go

Roads can be dangerous in the winter, especially in extreme weather. Stay safe by checking the five following things every time you get behind the wheel.

1. Fuel

Fill your gas tank as often as possible to prevent condensation from forming. While it’s not an issue when the tem perature is warm, condensation can freeze and create blockages in the fuel lines in the winter.

2. Windshield washer fluid

Sloppy weather conditions may force you to use more washer fluid than usual to keep your windshield clear. To en sure you can always see the road ahead, check fluid levels often and keep an extra bottle in your trunk.

3. Snow removal

In Canada, not removing snow from your car before getting behind the wheel puts you at risk of incurring a driving infrac tion. Besides, failing to do so is extremely dangerous. Snow can slide down your roof and obstruct your view, and chunks of ice may fly off your car and hit vehicles behind you, potentially causing a serious accident.

4. Weather forecast

While few of us are able to plan our co mings and goings around the weather, checking the forecast before leaving will allow you to account for potential delays caused by bad weather. In difficult condi tions, leave earlier to ensure you can drive at a safe speed and, if possible, stay home during severe storms.

5. Roads and traffic

Stay informed about local road condi tions and try to avoid hazardous, icy and poorly plowed areas. Take a longer route if it allows you to avoid a dangerous commute.

Finally, if your car is showing signs of de terioration or is performing poorly, be sure to visit a local mechanic as soon as possible.