All posts on 2017

The DubScientist and Fatta Rex continue the sound engineering and music production project in Ville St. Pierre Egbert Gaye On the western edge of Montreal in the little town of Ville St. Pierre at 184 St. Jacques Street is where you’ll find Rasbagle, a highly skilled engineer, music producer and community worker building a vault meant not only to keep precious things, but to produce musical gems. “There’s a lot of talent in Montreal,” he told the CONTACT. “But they have to know that they can’t do it by themselves… so what I’m trying to do is to make the …

Dr. Julius Garvey brought a powerful message to Jamaica Association Heroes Banquet Contact Staff Montrealers were ecstatic by the presence of the laudable Dr. Julius Garvey, MD, son of the Right Honourable Marcus Mosiah Garvey, here on Saturday, October 21, to help celebrate our National Heroes. He spoke eloquently of his father’s accomplishments, his ideals and the constant need to continue to strive, as a people, to educate and elevate ourselves so that people of color could determine their destiny. The more than 100 persons in attendance were also pleased to be in the same space as Dr. Garvey in …

25% off until Black Friday Contact Staff Gidean Fyah built this business from nothing to something, starting on the streets of Montreal selling t-shirts, polo shirts and Rasta hats. It started as Jah=One. From walking the streets he rented booths at various community affairs such as Jamaica Day, Trini Day in the Park and Reggae Fest for several years. These days he has taken it to higher heights. Enter the mall from Cote-des-Neiges Road and there it is. Swag City is well stocked and beautifully laid-out as you walk in on the first floor. Five years ago entrepreneur Gidean Fyah …

Cherish your health, cherish your life…. cherish beauty on Nov. 25 You no longer have to make big sacrifices for beauty. Once upon a time, most women had to live with very hard choices: lead acetates in hair dyes,  lead in lipstick, dyoxane in shampoos, formaldehyde and parabens in many cosmetics … In short even today, your lipstick and mascara may still be harmful to your health. Furthermore, too many of these cosmetics you buy are tested on animals. That’s cruel, because too many of them have died from these experiments. Many companies have made pledges to remove carcinogens (cancer …

There are no secrets to success. It’s the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failures. Hard work does pay off and the success of my annual event, Touch Of Red, is evidence of that. Every year I encounter something different but for some reason this topped the charts. Many have no clue as to what happens behind the scenes when promoting an event. Well check this out: I had to change the venue for Touch Of Red 5, with only 48 hours notice. When planning this event I decided to go outside the box and take it to …

America — Oh! say can you see — what is happening to thee? — Gun violence is eating away at your national soul. Already battling her own evils, America is now caught up in yet another mass slaying. The lesson to be learned from this ghastly carnage is that there will be more such shootings. The usual reaction will follow, ones that we have seen and heard far too often: nonstop media coverage, opinions of weapon analysts, lowering of flags at half mast, moments of silence, offering of thoughts and prayers, and a day of national mourning… Tragedies such as …

Clarence Bayne Carl Whittaker, a family friend and fellow community developer has passed away at the age of 79. But he has left behind a legacy of being the father of the Black Community Council of Quebec and its Canadian integrationist Pan-Africanist brand of community development. Carl came to Montreal in 1966. I met him in  1967-68 as an undergraduate student in sociology at Sir George Williams University Campus. It was a time of great change in the Black Communities around the World. There were bold challenges to the oppression of Blacks in North America and Africa. In Montreal, on …

Aging in an Age of Innovative Technologies, Global Changes to the Economic Paradigm, and Quebec’s Uniqueness By N Oji Mzilikazi (Part 1 of 2) In December 2004, Statistics Canada released a report that stated, “Canada has changed from a high-fertility society where women had many children during their lives to a low-fertility society where women are having fewer children overall and at increasingly older ages.” And with the current birth rate, in 25 years, the population of seniors 65 and older could be more than double the number of children under 15. In October 2005, Foreign Affairs Minister Pierre Pettigrew …

Spice Island Xmas Breakfast Food Lovers, let’s get excited again. Come to the Spice Island Christmas Breakfast Party, Sunday, December 10, 12:30pm-4pm. Greenz Restaurant, 395 St. Jacques in Lachine (Bus 90 or 195) Info. 438-387-1336. Nato’s Xmas Special Is On… It’s Joy to the World 2017, ft. Caribbean Voices. Also on the bill will be familiar names like Briea Marie, Loveman Kent, Skippy, Handy Andy, Corey, Dawn & the Jab Jab band. This will be going down on Saturday, December 9 at Caribbean Paradise, 8080 Newman in LaSalle. It’s Christmas, so music will flow like… Christmas spirits, all supplied by …

Carl Whittaker was champion of the community We are deeply saddened by the loss of The Legendary Community Leader Carl Whittaker, who passed away on Friday, November 10, at his home in LaSalle surrounded by family. Throughout his lifetime, Carl has been an inspiration to people of all generations with his leadership and development skills, as he had one goal in mind: strengthen the Black community. He was the founded the Black Community Council of Quebec (BCCQ) and neighbourhood associations like the NDG, Cotes-Des-Neiges and LaSalle Black Community Centres. Carl Orton Whittaker was born on March 29, 1938 in Jackmans, …