TORONTO: Until a few years ago, the only thing Marcel Stewart was interested in was being on stage. But then the COVID-19 pandemic struck and he has re-examined his acting career, turning to direct productions. In 2021, Stewart directed the...
Laura Mae Lindo, the Ontario New Democratic Party (NDP) member of Provincial Parliament for Kitchener Centre, who is of Jamaican parentage, has resigned and will return to a university career in the summer. In 2018, she was elected MPP and re-...
TORONTO: A Jamaican-Canadian diversity and inclusion strategist is among the 99 new appointments to the Order of Canada, one of the country’s highest honours, which recognises people across all sectors of society who have made extraordinary and...
The flurry of events staged over several months to commemorate Jamaica’s 60th anniversary of Independence in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area climaxed in a celebration of Jamaica’s culture at McMaster University earlier this month. Dubbed...
TORONTO: JAMAICA-BORN Toronto city councillor, Michael Thompson, has welcomed the entry of several black candidates to the council, as a move to bolster more attention for the needs of residents across the province. “It’s fantastic because, for...
TORONTO: At least one community representative has raised concerns about the appointment of Toronto’s new police chief, Myron Demkiw, to the post, and how it could influence any improvement in relations with the black community. Paul Bailey,...
Jonathan Escoffery, United States-born author, who is of Jamaican parentage, has written his first book, If I Survive You, a collection of stories published by McClelland...
TORONTO: At least four Jamaican-Canadians have thrown their hats into the ring for the October 24 municipal elections in Ontario and Toronto. They are Luther Brown, Kathy McDonald and David Green, who are up for seats as school board trustees in...
TORONTO: Dr Mavis Burke, founder of the Toronto-based Project for Advancement of Childhood Education (Canada) – P.A.C.E. Canada, has died. She was 93 years old. Responding to the call from then Prime Minister Edward Seaga to assist community-...
TORONTO: A slew of candidates of Jamaican heritage are seeking election in the upcoming polls for Ontario. They are: New Democratic Party MPP Laura Mae Lindo (Kitchener Centre); Charmaine Williams (Brampton Centre) and Mark Saunders (Don Valley...
TORONTO: The history of a major intersection in Toronto that has been the home to a progressive black community is captured in a new book showcasing persons whose work helped to define it. Welcome to Blackhurst: An Iconic Toronto Neighbourh ood,...
The city of London, Ontario, has a new black library, an addition to a community centre created by Sandie Thomas, a pastor of Jamaican parentage who also heads Spiritual Blessings Lighthouse Ministries. During the launch of the WEAN (We Are Here...
A Jamaican who is a senior police officer attached to the Toronto Police Service (TPS), Superintendent Stacy Clarke, is facing seven charges under the Police Services Act, including breach of confidence, discreditable conduct and insubordination....
TORONTO: Hugh L. Fraser, retired Jamaica-born Ontario judge, former Olympian, and a recognised international expert in sports law, has been appointed to the Order of Canada. Fraser was born in Kingston, Jamaica, in 1952 and grew up with his...
TORONTO: The late well-known feminist Dr Glenda Simms was celebrated for her advocacy for women at a Kwanzaa event in Toronto, just days before she passed away in Ottawa on the last day of 2021. At ‘Kujichagulia – Ring Your Bell For bell hooks –...
TORONTO: Jamaicans in Toronto have welcomed the dismissal of a complaint against a Jamaican judge in Brampton, Ontario, who was facing allegations of perjury. On June 2, the Ontario Judicial Council released the decision of a hearing panel which...
Alvin Knight buried his son in Toronto at the end of January and had planned on flying to Jamaica with his wife this week to organise the funeral of his 96-year-old mother, Margaret Rose, who died on January 25 in May Pen, Clarendon. She had been...
A Jamaica paediatrician has taken on a new role as equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) champion for the division of developmental paediatrics at the University of Toronto’s Department of Paediatrics. Dr Sharon Smile is a clinical study...
A Toronto-based black lobby has called on Canadian prime minister, Justin Trudeau, to intervene in the pending sale of a local radio station which has served as an important voice for the African-Caribbean community. The radio station – G98.7 FM...
A major figure in Canada’s corporate world is challenging that sector in the country to confront racism. In light of the death of George Floyd while in the custody of police officers in Minneapolis in the United States, Jamaican Canadian Wes Hall,...
Newly elected president and first black leader of the Elementary Teachers of Toronto (ETT), a local body of the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario, Jennifer Brown, will be looking to make solid changes to how issues affecting black teachers...
ALTHOUGH DELAYED by over two months due to the coronavirus pandemic, the University of the West Indies (UWI) Toronto Benefit Gala awards ceremony was held virtually via Zoom on June 13. Donette Chin-Loy Chang, co-patron of the gala, commended the...
TORONTO’S POLICE chief, Mark Saunders, surprised many with the announcement that he will retire from the service on July 31 – eight months before his contract is set to expire. Saunders, who was born in London, England, and is of Jamaican heritage...
AUDREY P. C. RAMSAY, a Jamaican-Canadian lawyer, has been appointed a judge of the Superior Court of Justice of Ontario. She replaces Justice G. Czutrin of Toronto, who elected to become a supernumerary judge effective January 30, 2020. Justice...
Some Jamaican farm workers in Ontario are having second thoughts about signing a waiver releasing both Jamaican and Canadian governments of responsibility, should they fall ill amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and are suggesting that Jamaica renegotiate...
