By William Doyle-Marshall
It was quite a launch for the Scotiabank Toronto Caribbean Carnival at Nathan Phillips Square in the heart of downtown Toronto. It was the place for slips and falls as there were errors or mis-statements after mis-statements.
At the top of the list was the Federal Government’s Minister for Senior Citizens arriving with a message and she was not sure whether it was from Prime Minister Stephen Harper or the Minister of Immigration, Citizenship and Multiculturalism Jason Kenney. Alice Wong, who is also the MP from Richmond B.C. flew in for the occasion. She read a message that she said was from the Right Honourable Jason Kenney. At the end the MP asked Denise Herrera-Jackson, CEO of the festival to receive it on behalf of the Prime Minister. The title of Right Honourable is usually reserved for the Prime Minister.
Denise Herrera-Jackson, Festival CEO and Chris Alexaner, right Next was the introduction of Michael Coteau, Ontario’s Minister of Citizenship and Immigration. He was described as the lone Caribbean-Canadian parliamentarian in Ontario. Trinidadian Bas Balkissoon a sitting member of the Ontario Parliament for quite a few years representing Scarborough Rouge was ignored in the haste of the Festival Management Committee to recognize the new minister. It would be quite accurate to refer to Mr. Coteau, whose heritage is Grenadian, as the lone Caribbean-Canadian in the Ontario Cabinet.
The federal government is not contributing any money to the 2013 edition of Scotiabank Toronto Caribbean Carnival. This was announced by Toronto City Councillor Joe Mihevc at the Nathan Phillips Square launch. In disclosing that the feds are not contributing a single penny to this festival, the councillor called on Torontonians to do something about the situation. They were urged to write a letter to their Members of Parliament and emphasized that they (Government of Canada) needs to change things.
Mihevc wants the feds to at least match funding contributions by the City of Toronto and the Province of Ontario. The councillor informed the gathering that despite Toronto’s $525,000 sponsorship funds to Scotiabank Toronto Caribbean Carnival, the City makes no money from the festival. The provincial government makes money as well, but it is a contributor to the operation. And the city is indeed very thankful to the province for their contribution to this important festival. Further the federal government makes money off the cultural event and they should be contributing, Mihevc said. “Indeed the federal government needs to be brought into the picture as well,” Mihevc explained.
In addition to its funding commitment, the City of Toronto’s contribution to the staging of this festival includes the value of the services it provides – the police, parks and recreation and ambulance. Mihevc said the city puts a lot into this festival “because we believe this festival is what it means to be a Torontonian”.
Coteau wished the festival a successful 46th anniversary. It is pretty strange that Scotiabank Toronto Caribbean Carnival has not been taking place for 46 years. As a knowledgeable Canadian, the minister knew he was speaking about Caribana. The bank became title sponsor of Caribana in 2008 and from that year to now, simple calculation or mathematics would prove from 2008 to now is not 46 years. If the Festival management committee wants to claim its festival has been staged 46 years, they are clearly talking about Caribana—a name it is pretending not to be using.
Christine Williams Scotiabank Vice President for Toronto East informed the Nathan Phillips Square assembly “you just can’t think about summer in Toronto without seeing images of brightly coloured costumes, the sound of the steelband and the smell of the grill. So many Canadians spend part of their winter in the Caribbean and this is one time that the Caribbean comes here and we all love it.”
The high ranking bank executive notes that forty plus years ago this event (Scotiabank Toronto Caribbean Carnival) started as a small gathering on the island but today it is a huge celebration that everyone’s invited to attend. The FMC and banking officials are playing games with the people of the Caribbean community. They are avoiding the name Caribana but every year they are talking about Caribana under the pretense that their festival is brand new. The renaming of Caribana took place in 2010 at Scotiabank Plaza. Renaming the festival is nothing but a sham.
Nathan Phillips Crowd at Festival Launch
Indeed if the Scotiabank Toronto Caribbean Carnival is not Caribana, it is time that FMC personnel create their own brand new programmes. Stop using existing events that the Caribbean Cultural Committee launched and branded over the years. If this is a new festival then they must come up with a brand new slate of programmes. To use Caribana events as though they are their own is nothing short of dishonesty. This is Highway robbery without guns. The colourful parade along the Lakeshore Boulevard; King and Queen of the Bands, Junior Carnival and the Calypso Monarch contest are not creations of the FMC. Since the Festival Management Committee boasts about more professional than the Caribbean Cultural Committee and since Councillor Joe Mihevc and his cronies support the FMC, it is time they call for a set of new programmes from the brains of the smart FMC champions.
Council Michael Thompson, Chair of the Economic Development Committee acknowledged the festival injects millions of dollars each year in the city’s economy and that it’s absolutely amazing. Certainly this money plays a crucial role with the need to create more jobs and to create more opportunities for all in the community. This ensures that there is prosperity for all – restaurants, hotels, retailers and services of all kinds.
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