By David Jessop The challenge that is now facing almost every Caribbean nation is how best to recover the tourism economy without which future economic growth and sustainable tax revenues will be all but impossible. The COVID-19 pandemic has shuttered the industry, made hundreds of thousands of workers unemployed, pushed many hotels, airlines and cruise […]
EDITORIAL Saving the earth It is supposed to be spring in Canada. Well, that’s officially according to the calendar. But if you live in Toronto, as you step outside your house early in the morning, you may think it is still winter, even as we get ready to welcome the month of May 2020. While […]
By Stephen Weir The recent news of the cancellation of the 2020 Toronto Caribbean Carnival may have shocked and disappointed many mas’ aficionados. But Anthony Berot, a well known Toronto photographer, is about to release a book which will once more bring the carnival alive – in pictures. Berot who has probably taken more pictures […]
By Carlton Joseph Normally I am an optimist but past experiences in the United States health care industry and recent decisions by the Trump administration, have left me somewhat pessimistic. Initially, I believed that COVID-19 would have had a humanizing effect on conservative politicians but it has not. Instead, they have become emboldened in their […]
EDITORIAL Getting ready for the ‘new normal’ Although it was not unexpected, the announcement last week that Toronto Caribbean Carnival 2020 has been cancelled is a great disappointment to mas’ aficionados. But will the carnival survive the COVID-19 global pandemic ? Many in Toronto’s Caribbean community are strongly of the view that the dreaded virus […]
The global coronavirus pandemic is sweeping across Europe and most of North America and as leaders struggle to find solutions to manage this global crisis, those of us living in the Caribbean must applaud the proactive steps taken by our political leaders to curb the spread of this deadly virus in the region. Fortunately for […]
By David Jessop Speaking recently in New York, the state governor, Andrew Cuomo, gave a frank take on the coronavirus pandemic and its impact on people’s lives. “The stress, the emotion, is just incredible, and rightfully so. It is a situation that is one of the most disruptive that I have seen, and it will […]
By Stephen Weir Five-time Juno award winner and long-time Canadian reggae star Exco Levi released his new single Champion to a global audience last Friday, and this song of hope already has begun to find a following. “You know I let my songs come to me. Sometimes it takes a little time, but with what is going […]
Many in Toronto ‘s Caribbean community may at some time or other have met “overqualified” immigrant cab drivers or security guards. They are still to be found in Canada’s largest city and in other parts of the country as well. Some had been highly respected physicians in their native countries but they couldn’t work in […]
The following is an excerpt from an article on “the COVID-19 pandemic and the Caribbean”: By Winston Dookeran The coronavirus crisis has induced a supply shock – reducing wages and production- which in turn fuel a demand shock – fall in purchasing power. This becomes ‘loop type’ cycle of shocks. In growth models, shock absorbers […]
