Spending the winter months through a pandemic can be tough; we know this because we’ve done it a couple of times now. And with new COVID-19 variants getting discovered, we’re most likely spending this year’s coldest months couped up indoors…again!

The Festival Management Committee (FMC)— producers of the Toronto Caribbean Carnival (TCC) has launched the Building Black Entrepreneurs Program (BBEP) that will provide free training to over 300 Black entrepreneurs in the arts, cultural, entertainment, festival and tourism sectors. 

The government doesn't want us travelling outside the country due to the rapid spread of the Omicron virus, Canada has advised against all non-essential travel. Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos says, "To those who were planning to travel, I say very clearly — now is not the time to travel. The rapid spread of the Omicron variant on a global scale makes us fear the worst."

Toronto’s Black community is mourning the shocking death of a well-known women's advocate and media entrepreneur, Tracey-Acadia Thomas. Friends close to the family confirmed the 45-year-old mother, singer/songwriter, author and entrepreneur passed away in her sleep on December 29, 2021. Tracey, her husband Alister Thomas and their two sons had all been recovering from Covid-19.

The Order of Canada is one of our country’s highest civilian honours, with recipients meant to uphold the motto “they desire a better country”. That motto is most fitting with the desires of artist Robert Small, who is among this year's 135 appointments. For more than 25 years, he’s been using his art to help create a better Canada for Black Canadians by highlighting their oft-underplayed and undervalued accomplishments.

According to some Black farmers, the Toronto city council’s recent approval of a five-year plan to address ongoing food insecurity in Black communities does not do enough to target urgent concerns or the root of the problem.

Photo Courtesy of Naolo Charles “Canada’s BIPOC youth haven’t been able to carve a space for themselves in the nature and conservation sector. This could be due to financial reasons or structural problems,” says Emily McMillan, Deputy Executive Director at Nature Canada.

Warning: This article contains graphic details and Images. An Alpine Public School teacher is facing two counts of assault after duct taping two racialized students and leaving them in a darkened room as a form of punishment. The 52-year old woman, who hasn’t been identified, faced allegations last month after Waterloo Police received a report from Family and Children Services of the Waterloo region in connection to the incident. The father, who has not been named to protect the identity of the family, has said he is concerned race was a factor, and wants to see more charges laid. 

(Photo: Toronto lawyer Pierre Bonsu) On June 17, 2019, 19-year-old Kibrom Fkadu made sure to take the day off from his full-time job at a warehouse. He couldn't miss seeing his heroes Kawhi Leonard, Kyle Lowry and Masai Ujiri during the Raptors Championship parade. But Kibrom never made it to the parade that day, because he spent the night in jail. Here's what happened.

Ryerson University ("X" University) will be offering a new minor in Black Studies starting Fall 2022, which will be an interdisciplinary minor housed in the Faculty of Art with courses across 13 departments.