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.
By Zen RurykThe 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.
