All posts on October, 2014

“Love for gas. Gas for cash. Cash for living. Living for love.”     It’s a story that is universal and specific, about survival at any cost and balancing dreams versus reality. Gas Girls is a politically charged play chronicling the lives of Gigi and Lola, two teenage prostitutes who are paid in gasoline, which their pimp then converts to cash. Despite having wildly different personalities, Gigi, the eldest of the two, is somewhat hardened, while Lola exudes a youthful naiveté despite being 15-years-old. The young women rely on each other as they navigate the sex trade and try to …

The Road Home Contact Staff In the preface of MONTREAL’S OLDEST BLACK CONGREGATION, the late educator, author and historian Dr. Leo W. Bertley, writes, “Union Church is one of the cornerstones on which the modern Black population of Montreal is founded… At the moment, it is facing one of its most important challenges. Its home for more than 60 years has been expropriated, will be destroyed and be replaced by a subway station…” One of these predictions has come to fruition with the construction of Lionel Groulx metro station, but Union United Church is still standing. However, as much as …

Ebola Crisis: Africa stays strong while world dithers Egbert Gaye The panic over the much-dreaded Ebola virus is almost full-fledged in the United States and slowly making its way across Canada and around the world, as governments and health officials stumble in their response to the outbreak and ordinary people are driven crazy by fear. In the U.S., where the only two cases of the disease have been contracted outside of West Africa, misinformation and irrational concerns are running rampant. Take this woman, an African American traveling from Dallas to Chicago on American Airlines. Poor thing, she must have vomited …

    The Canada government is in full offensive mode following what were deemed terrorist attacks that left two soldiers dead and two injured   in Quebec and Ottawa. The first attack occurred on October in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec when 25 year old Quebecer Martin Couture-Rouleau described as a radicalized Muslim convert drove his car into a group of Canadian soldiers killing Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent and injuring another soldier. Couture-Rouleau was shot and killed by police after a short chase. Then on October 22, Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, another 25-year-old Quebec born man, approached Corporal Nathan Cirillo who was a ceremonial guard at the …

   Last September, th e family and extended family of Adassa Scarlett wallowed in grief at what seemed to them to be her untimely passing. Ms. Scarlett, matriarch of a large, well-known and tightly knit family of Montrealers, imprinted her mark on our community and Montreal with her exceptional talent and capacity as a seamstress. To family and friends, she was Dassy… Wassy Dassy a name that engendered her daring, her confidence, free spirit and her style. In the well over 40 years that she lived and sewed in Montreal, Mrs. Scarlett counted among her clients a mass of church-goers …

A new ministry under a dynamic couple of faith Contact Staff Pastor Darryl Dougan and his wife, Minister Valyne Edwards Dougan, have assumed the task of spiritual leaders at the Shiloh Restoration Ministries, a newly organized Church of God Mission located in Cote Des Neiges. The couple who both hail from St. Vincent and the Grenadines, were born into church grounded families. Both their fathers are Pastors and both had their spiritual grounding at the Georgetown Evangelical Church and the Overland Baptist Church Pastor Darryl accepted the call to Ministry in 2007 after it was prophesied to him that God …

  Prelude On September 23, Vancouver Canucks prospect Jordan Subban scored the team’s first goal in a preseason game against the San Jose Sharks. It was his first goal in the NHL, albeit an exhibition game. Needless to say, like any young man with NHL ambitions, it was an exciting moment for another Subban brother as he celebrated with his white teammates. How do I know they are white? I saw the celebrating on TV; Subban, the 19-year-old brother of Montreal Canadiens outstanding defenceman P.K. Subban, was the only nonwhite one. I also saw the picture in the Vancouver Sun …

To the outside world, it may seem like you’re living the dream. You went to university, got a prestigious degree (or two) and then earned a highly sought-after position at a renowned business. You make decent money and maybe you even like your job, but you still hear that faint inner calling to break out of the hamster wheel and blaze your own path. You appreciate that “you have it good” but you feel inspired to create something “great.” You feel the urge to start your own venture and bring something important into the world. Still, you understand the importance …

The earlier, the better…   It seems when the words “pension” and “retirement” roll off the tongues of individuals they are in their late 50s or early 60s. During these years, individuals are usually scrambling to the bank or financial advisors to establish a plan to set aside money for retirement. Although ten to fifteen years may be enough time to save enough money to pay for the essentials in the future, having a long-term approach to preparing for retirement financially will make your life easier. When should you be thinking about your pension? In your 50s, 40s, 30s, 20s? …

Former West Island tap dance and soccer phenom lawyering in London Egbert Gaye We know Sheldon Jean-Baptiste as one of those children of our community who shined in almost anything he did: dancer, soccer player and musician par excellence. So it’s not surprising to see him elevate another rung on his ladder to success, and making it look so easy. During a recent whirlwind visit to Montreal, the former West Island resident stopped off at the offices of the CONTACT with his newly minted Law degree from the University of Leicester, and shared his experiences over the past two years …