IslandMix

'Disorganized' Caribana organizers lose city funding
CTV.ca News Staff
Tue. Mar. 14 2006 4:00 PM ET

Organizers of Toronto's annual Caribana festival are upset they've lost government funding because of what they deem to be a financial auditing mix-up.

The City of Toronto has decided to cut funding for the Caribbean Cultural Committee (CCC), the traditional recipient of the grant, because officials say the organization has not filed proper financial statements for 2005.

The decision comes after the group was already given one deadline extension.

Coun. Joe Mihevc, the city's Caribana liaison, announced the decision last week. He said the CCC is disorganized.

Members of the CCC held a press conference Tuesday to try and explain their position. They denied being given any deadlines to submit a financial statement.

"During that period, I spoke with the auditor and the auditor said he could not produce any audited statement earlier than the end of February. That was communicated to Mr. Mihevc," Monica Pollard, CCC chairwoman, told reporters.

As a result, the city has invited the Toronto Mas Band Association (TMBA) to submit a bid to take over the festival and receive the government funding. The only thing the TMBA cannot use is the 'Caribana' title since that is owned by the CCC.

The TMBA has been given a deadline of March 31 to submit an application, business plan and festival management team, Sean Hill, Mihevc's executive assistant, told CTV.ca.

During a similar financial situation in 2002, the TMBA ran the August festival and turned a profit, Hill said. The association also filed a clean audit.

Despite the fracas, Caribana officials say their show will go on.

"We are telling you today, over our dead bodies, (that nobody will) take over this festival," Henry Gomez, CCC vice-chairman told reporters. "We are standing up for what is right."

Caribana, now in its 39th year, is one of Toronto's biggest annual tourist draws, but has run into financial difficulties in the past few years.

Last year the festival received almost $400,000 from the city, $400,000 from the province and $100,000 from the federal government.

With a report from CTV Toronto's Galit Solomon

Festival group revolts - Pledges to stage Caribana
By ZEN RURYK, CITY HALL BUREAU CHIEF
Wed, March 15, 2006
http://torontosun.com/

Police might be called about audit

The Caribbean Cultural Committee’s Henry Gomez listens during a news conference yesterday. He said Caribana will be taken from the group “over our dead bodies.” (Dave Abel, Sun)

Controversy over who will put on Caribana this summer heated up yesterday when the group that organized the festival in past years vowed to stage the event again -- with or without city funding.

The city has decided to cut out the Caribbean Cultural Committee (CCC) as organizer of this summer's Caribana because it failed to file audited financial statements for 2005.

One CCC member, Nkem Anizor, president of Black Youth Taking Action, yesterday lashed out at Councillor Joe Mihevc -- the city's Caribana pointman -- branding him a racist.

And the leaders of the CCC, which owns the rights to the name "Caribana," warned they're ready to go to court to fight to put on the event.

"In our opinion, Councillor Mihevc is a racist who's convinced that black youth will sit back and continue to be exploited, jumping up and dancing, generating millions of dollars for the city," charged Anizor, "while council continues to: Number one, raise taxes to award record budgets to a police force that racially profiles black youth; two, ignores the deplorable conditions of affordable housing; and three, cuts funding from social supports that help protect black youth from murdering one another."

The city has asked the Toronto Mas Band Association to submit a bid to take over the festival.

CCC Chairman Monica Pollard said her group will not tolerate "city ownership" of Caribana. She added that, while the CCC regrets the loss of city funding, it will work to find private financing to put on this year's festival from July 15-Aug. 7.

The CCC's Henry Gomez added that it will be "over our dead bodies" that the festival will be taken from the group.

Mihevc dismissed Anizor's accusation, saying: "I think that's an inappropriate comment on their part and I refuse to dignify the comment with a response."

The city and provincial governments each gave the festival $400,000 last year, he said.

"In 2005, we required -- and we made it very specific -- that because in 2004 that the CCC did not produce a clean audit, that we needed one in 2005," Mihevc said.

Mihevc said the CCC has missed four deadlines to present the city with an audit.

The CCC said it received an audit for 2005 on Monday.

Carnival is bachannal, yes
@ "over our dead bodies"

why did this madness have to take place this year when this is the first year I plan on going to caribana in 11yrs....

who yuh tellin? I was actually considering it...but...say wha...I could use August travels for band launchings in sweet Trinidad

!!!

Well, if the press ever got wind of some of the creative accounting that has come out behind closed door meetings...lawd faddah, presha!

Thanks very much.


I must be real slow ...it took me a few minutes to remember you taking that pic.
Okay, okay, i was enjoying the 2-for-1 drinks by that time.

If any group is gonna accept taxpayer money to the tune of $900,000 then its a given that they must provide an audit to show how the money was spent.

I was at Caribana last year and I attended that festival on Monday on Olympic Island...I remember thinking at the time: "Man, this is a first class operation, somebody really went all out here, too bad it was rather poorly attended" Now, it appears that was probably funded by the Government because if it was a private group, they would have lost their shirt.

I hope they work out their differences, cuz without Government support you can't have a nice outdoor festival like that and Im sure it would have become popular in due time.

DEAD