Ottawa, ON (April 20, 2021) – Atlético Ottawa is excited to announce the signing of 27-year-old Canadian and Trinidad and Tobago International Winger, Ryan Telfer.
Telfer played the last two seasons with fellow CPL side York9 FC (now York United FC). He managed ten goals and three assists, including scoring first goal in Canadian Premier League history just three minutes into the first CPL match. He sits second in all-time club appearances (39).Ryan, 27, was born in Mississauga, Ontario and raised in Trinidad and Tobago. He returned to Canada and continued youth soccer with Erin Mills Eagles. He went on to play at York University where he won an Ontario University Athletics (OUA) and Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) championship (now U SPORTS).
Ryan played with League1 Ontario side Vaughan Azzurri in 2016 and in 2017, signed with Toronto FC II (USL Championship) and made 38 appearances scoring one goal and adding one assist.
In 2018, Telfer signed with Toronto FC (MLS) and made 19 appearances across all competitions scoring one goal and adding two assists. Ryan scored his first and only MLS goal, a game winner against Orlando City FC, on May 18th, 2018.
Ryan Telfer is known for his speed down the wing, ability to create chances and eye for goal. Telfer represents Trinidad and Tobago at the international level. He has eight caps since 2019 and has scored four goals.
“Ryan is someone who brings a lot of experience and leadership to our Club. He is one of the top players in the Canadian Premier League. We believe he brings a lot of skill to our team and we will look for him to contribute to achieve our objectives. Telfer encompasses the values of what it means to be a member of the Atleti family,” says Fernando Lopez, Atlético Ottawa, CEO.
“We had an idea of what we were getting when we signed Ryan, but he has exceeded our expectations and impressed with his physical and technical quality. Our fans should look forward to what he brings to our club,” says Mista, Atlético Ottawa, Head Coach.
“I am excited for this new chapter. Joining a new club is not something you can do every year especially one with the history of the Atlético family. I am ready to give the fans in Ottawa everything I have to win,” says Ryan Telfer, Atlético Ottawa, Winger.
Ryan Telfer is the 15th player announced by Atlético Ottawa for the 2021 CPL season. He joins fellow Canadians Zach Verhoven, Jordan Webb, Dylon Powley, Chris Mannella and Keesean Ferdinand as new signings for Atlético Ottawa.
In addition, to already announced domestic re-signings Milovan Kapor, Antoine Coupland, Ben McKendry, Brandon John, Malcolm Shaw, and international players Viti Martinez, Bernardinho, Tevin Shaw and Vashon Neufville.
Source:  Canadian Premier League

When Top Chef Canada reached out to him last year, Jae-Anthony Dougan accepted the reality show’s invitation not just for a shot at culinary glory, but to raise the profile of Black chefs and his ancestral cuisine.
“I felt like Black chefs are not really out there as much as the other cultures of chefs,” Dougan said in a recent interview. “I wanted to change what people know about Caribbean cuisine. I feel like Caribbean cuisine, nobody knows about it.


When the ninth season of the Food Network Canada competition begins on April 19, Dougan will be the only one of its 11 “chef-testants” with operations in Ottawa. The 35-year-old Montreal native splits his time evenly between his hometown and Ottawa, where he runs the Chef Jae-Anthony Pop Up project from a space in the City Centre complex.
The pop-up, which opened in December, serves modern Caribbean fare through the major third-party food delivery services, Thursday through Sunday. In mid-March, Dougan also opened Tropikàl, a restaurant in Montreal, where his young son lives. 
During the early days of the pandemic last year, Dougan was the chef who opened Tingz, a Caribbean restaurant on York Street. Tingz closed in mid-September.
The son of a mother from Barbados and a father from Trinidad, Dougan is self-taught when it comes to cooking. That said, it runs in his family. His father is also a chef and his two grandmothers are cooks who sold food from their homes, he says.
Dougan says that on and off the TV show, he wants to promote the breadth of food from the many countries that make up the Caribbean. “There a lot of ancestry there, a lot of heritage, and lot of culture,” he says.
While Dougan can’t say just how well he did or how far he went on the elimination-based contest, he does say the show’s high-pressure cooking challenges played to one of his strengths.
“I’ve always been someone who goes to the grocery store and picks out something and makes something that’s really dope.,” Dougan says. “I can make a lot of dishes out of nothing. It wasn’t really difficult for me to think quickly.”
The show was filmed in September and October, with its chefs essentially in quarantine and undergoing regular COVID-19 testing, while crew members wore PPE and observed physical distancing, says Eric Abboud, showrunner for Top Chef Canada and executive producer at Insight Productions.
Last fall’s pandemic situation, while not as grave as current conditions in Ontario, “added a layer of anxiety to making the show, that’s for sure,” Abboud says. “Normally, you don’t worry about finishing a series. But of course COVID added to the stakes of that.”


The season reflects the reality of the pandemic as it impacted the restaurant industry, Abboud adds. “We tried to keep the show positive while trying to understand the struggles of chefs. Our show is a competition that features professional chefs, and the professional culinary industry has taken a massive hit, had a massive struggle because of COVID.”
In previous seasons, Top Chef Canada dedicated one episode to a contest called Restaurant Wars, in which teams of chefs open competing restaurants for a night and feed dining rooms filled with customers. This season, the show pivoted to create an episode called Takeout Wars, which nonetheless featured elevated cuisine, Abboud says.
“It’s a really, really cool episode,” he says. “It really embraced how things have changed.”
The show’s judges, including leading Canadian chefs and restaurateurs, also acknowledge the blow the pandemic dealt restaurants. “Whether you’re (celebrity chef) Mark McEwan or Jae-Anthony, it doesn’t matter,” Abboud says. “Everyone had to make a giant pivot and find ways of surviving.”
Dougan says he now has loftier goals, including running a kitchen that raises the bar for Caribbean cuisine that’s lauded by Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants magazine. “Now that I’ve been on Top Chef, I have more to prove, certain accolades that I really want to attain,” Dougan says.
“Top Chef has lit a fire on my ass,” he says.
Source:  Ottawa Citizen, April 16, 2021

THIS country’s first and only aquatic veterinarian, Dr Ayanna Phillips Savage, has received a regional award for her professional contributions.
She said she was honoured and that it was as a result of “years of dedicated, unwavering hard work in a still little recognised field in our region.”
She is a lecturer in marine mammal medicine/aquatic animal health and co-ordinator of the aqua health/aquatic animal health unit and the aquatic animal health diagnostic laboratory at the School of Veterinary Medicine at UWI, St Augustine.
She recently received the Anthony N Sabga Caribbean Excellence Award for science and technology.
In a release, UWI said in her senior year at the institution, she presented an aquatic animal-based research project which earned the highest score in that year group.
But despite this, it said, it was “met with some scepticism as the field of aquatic animal medicine was not yet recognised across the Caribbean."
Now, however, “aquatic animal medicine is well recognised globally, having been introduced to the curricula of several of the top veterinary programmes in North America and Europe.
“The aquatic animal medicine unit seeks to sensitise and educate the Caribbean region about the importance of the health, management and conservation of aquatic ecosystems, and the impact of aquatic ecosystem health on human health.”
The unit has ongoing studies in the areas of diseases of marine and freshwater fish and shellfish, sea turtles and marine mammals and the potential impact of these on public health.
The release said, “Her dedication continues with her work in the rehabilitation of endangered and protected sea turtles.
“Dr Savage is responsible for the work of the TT Marine Mammal Stranding Network, a network of 100-plus volunteers from many varying professional spheres who work together to respond to marine mammal stranding when they occur in TT…(She) described some of her current work as being focused on identifying, documenting and educating on diseases of economic and public health significance in aquatic species across TT.”
Savage said receiving the award was a “tremendous honour” for which she is “immensely grateful.”
The school’s director, Dr Karla Georges, believes the award shows there is a “wealth of talent” at the school and the work it does is relevant and has an impact.
“Our school, though very small, is making a giant contribution to the region, and this recognition by our Caribbean peers is an immense booster for the morale of the school, staff and students, faculty and the UWI family.”
The release said Savage promotes and advocates for her field’s inclusion by means of regulatory guidelines in the local aquaculture business.
It said she intends to continue “promoting aquatic diseases that have economic and/or public health implications in an attempt to safeguard the livelihoods of those who interact with the aquatic ecosystems and championing the cause of Caribbean aquatic ecosystem conservation so that our protected and endangered aquatic wildlife are preserved for generations to come.” Source: Newsday, March 31, 2021

A special Happy Birthday goes out to Calypsonian McCartha Linda Sandy-Lewis also known as "Calypso Rose "  who celebrated her birthday on Tuesday.  Calypso Rose was born on April 27th 1940.
She is an iconic cultural figure and is revered as one of the greatest Calypsonian in the world. Calypso Rose began writing songs at the age of 15, turned professional in 1964 and has composed over 800 songs and recorded over 20 albums.
In 1978, the "Calypso King" competition was renamed "Calypso Monarch" in honour of Calypso Rose, who won the competition with “I Thank Thee”. She is also recognised for taking Caribbean music, particularly Calypso, to the wider world. @calypsorosediva
Source:  TTT Live on Line.

​If you were a child of the 80s and stumbled into adulthood in the 90s, you will recall the lone television station TTT, the Panorama newscast, and its weatherman for our two seasons – Robin Maharaj.
Maharaj was the one who educated us about the evil Inter Tropical Convergence Zone (the ITCZ), the approaching storms, and that the waves were probably going to be two metres high in open waters, and one in sheltered areas.
Even the worst weather news, Maharaj, dapper in shirt jack or suit, delivered with an engaging smile and perfectly groomed sideburns and pompadour.
His most memorable moment on TV for us, of course, would be his 'Rain in dey muda$$ tonight!', comment that accidentally went live, a line so perfect in its Trinidadianess that it lived on…long after TTT died.
Around the time State-owned TTT went out of business, Maharaj vanished from public view.
And when CNMG went on air, there were new weathermen and women to tell us about how hot or rainy it was going to be tomorrow. And we would hear nothing much of Maharaj, until earlier this month, when the rains of biblical proportions began the night before Divali and lasted for six days.
Maharaj became a meme, and middle-aged Trinis demanded his return, with long discussions about his forecasting ability and the need for people with expertise to share reliable information before we were all washed into the sea with the fridges and car parts. We found Robin Maharaj. He lives thousands of miles away. But he has been following local events for decades. And his life has been epic. This is his story:

Dades Trace is tiny agricultural-based village near Rio Claro that was once connected to Port of Spain by the railway lines of the Trinidad Government Railway. When the railway system closed in 1968, the village suddenly became a distant place. (You can read about this place in the Express story titled “Defending the Bridges”).
This is the birthplace of Maharaj, born October 1942, educated in Rio Claro and academically gifted enough to make it into the Naparima College in San Fernando. Maharaj would go on to get his credentials at the Caribbean Meteorological Institute in Barbados and Pennsylvania State University in the United States.
He told us: “I joined The TT Met service in 1964 as a Meteorological Assistant; then trained at the US Naval Base in Chaguaramas to man and operate the US upper air weather station when the US Navy left in 1966. Became a meteorologist in 1972 following a two year training course in Barbados, at the Caribbean Meteorological Institute.
My job in the TT Met Office was mainly weather forecasting for aviation and maritime services, as well as making local public weather forecasts. Importantly, I first did the TV weathercast on TTT on Sept 5, 1972. My last was on December 17, 1999. In between,
I completed around 4,000 on-air forecasts, comprised of individual local, international and special occasion forecasts and interviews. In 1999, I left the TnT Met Service where I was Chief Meteorologist, and also the TTT Chief Meteorologist, to take up a job as a Senior Meteorological Scientific Professional at the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), at its Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. WMO is a UN Agency.
This posting was feather in the cap of Trinidad and Tobago, as the job was advertised globally. The government of the day showed appreciation by awarding me the Medal of Merit for my local career in meteorology, at the 2000 Independence Day Ceremony. At the WMO, my experience, research and expertise in both meteorology and weather broadcasting were utilized in coordinating and organizing global activities and training in weather forecasting, weather broadcasting, and devising/designing and packaging weather office products for a wide spectrum of public users.
And most importantly, I was tasked with assisting Met Services in the developing countries to boost their capabilities in severe weather forecasting and warning, with a view to promoting the safety and security of populations and property. This entailed direct training, preparation of training manuals and use of whatever scientific, professional experts/expertise we could garner from member countries, on projects. It was a great experience and my wife Grace and I enjoyed our stay in Switzerland. The job entailed lots of travel and that was a bonus.
I retired in 2005 and we migrated to Minnesota, USA, since our only two children, (two boys, the older - Gary - being a highly respected, veteran CEO of biomedical engineering device companies; and the second - Glenn - is a biomedical engineering expert working in research and development), and grandchildren, reside there. Our grandson is a cardiologist and one granddaughter, also a physician.
Residing near the core family in the USA was merely a decision to be with our family and see our grandchildren grow, not just to not return to Trinidad. In retirement, I continued by being very active in the meteorological and environmental sciences, and did produce work and advice in these areas. In addition, over the years I have also written articles and letters to media in different countries, including TT, on pertinent topics and issues, not only weather-related. I am a strong defender of things meteorological, and that includes the Trinidad and Tobago Met Service.
My advice has been sought by a few meteorological services in consultative capacity. You may recall the energy accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Fukushima, initiated primarily by the tsunami following the Tōhoku earthquake on 11 March 2011.
After the nuclear event, my opinion was sought on Fox News TV here in the USA about the prospects of the spread of radiation in the USA. Excerpts of the interview were played for two days following.
While my interest in meteorology remains high, I have pursued another interest that is more in line with health and lifestyle plans. When I did my first weathercast on TTT in 1972 I weighed 135 lb. When I completed my last weather report 27 years after, I was 165 lb.
The TV screen was challenged for space and by age 61 in 2003, I was hitting the scale at over 185 lb. The UN Medical Staff in Geneva, Switzerland, began predicting a range of possible health issues if I did not lose the excess avoir du pois. My wife, Grace, who kept active and controlled her weight since we met in High School, began insisting I allow her to take control, which she did. She designed a rigid regime of exercise and diet to preempt the dismal forecasts of the UN Doctors and carve a path to my good health. My exercise was primarily walking fast, and long distances on outdoor trails. Under her guidance,
I lost 30lb before I retired in 2005. When we migrated to live in Minnesota, USA in 2005, I took personal charge of my exercise regime and walked through all seasons, up to 340 days yearly, completing up to 2,500 miles annually, and my weight dropped to 140lb by 2007. During the winters in MinneSNOWta I faced temperatures down to minus 35C, with wind chills below minus 50C. It took true grit and gumption. Then I fell on the ice a few times during the winter of 2011 and the family decided I must not walk outdoors when it is icy. So, I joined a nearby gym in my 70th year.
I changed to walking three days weekly between April and October (warmer) and doing gym on the other days. Grace is with me always at the gym, and several times on the walking trails. At the gym my weight increased a bit as I am getting a bit muscular. I weigh 145lb today and I feel strong, healthy and positive. News of my distance walking have spread to several colleagues, friends and relatives.
Some call me Mahal, after the famous Trini walker of yester years. But there was a difference over the past 5 years since I started walking between 3am and 4am, in predawn dark, giving me free reign in our safe and well-lit community, and at a rate of 4 mph. When it dawns, I hit the trails around the lakes here and I would complete between 12 and 20 miles, up to three times weekly, before breakfast. On occasion, and for special reasons, I have completed walking marathons in the past few years.
How long can I keep this up I have no way of predicting but I see no way that I will give up my current lifestyle. We no longer diet – we eat sensibly. Just say we eat with moderation in moderation. Over the years I used to cook occasionally for the family. In retirement, I do all the cooking. Grace cleans, does laundry and instructs me. We limit oil, fat and carbohydrates. We burn lots of calories daily through exercise and maintaining a high metabolism. We do not eat out, not at McDonalds or in restaurants.
​I do not eat it if it is in a pack. I drink only water, not even coffee. Of course, we cook versions of TRINI MEALS but we eat based on the saying, IN THE MORNING EAT LIKE A KING, FOR LUNCH EAT LIKE A PRINCE, BUT FOR SUPPER EAT LIKE BEGGAR. Earlier this year our gym chose Grace and me as the Valentine's Day couple.
I keep active around the house as a handyman, landscaper, fixer of anything, so call me a Jackofalltrades. I remain alert and physically strong, lifting heavy things and taking them up the stairs. I am pushing the envelope and trying to show that being 75 is not as limiting as many think. It has been a wonderful life, one that has been rewarding in many ways. The one I wish to mention is the public recognition of my work in weather; that approval helped me improve and to fine-tune my talent.
There were times when I might have invited opprobrium, but the kind people stressed my strengths, abilities and talent, and led me to believe in myself. This went on for the period 1972-1999, when I was the public face of the TT Met Service, and I definitely appreciate the public esteem and kindness over that time. To find that some people remember me on TTT, or from having met me in my public role, is most touching.
The internet is a wonderful means of communication and from time to time I am regaled with funny stories or pictures reminding me of my weathercasting days. The one that keeps recurring carries the headline RAIN IN DEY MUDDA ASS TONITE.
Did I say that?
Let me tell you what the true story is.
While standing by to get the Floor Manager's cue to go ON AIR, and waiting for a commercial to finish, I was asked by the crew leader to give a final test on the microphone.
We were always joking and kicksing during breaks so I tested the mic by speaking and summarized the forecast by saying IS RAIN IN DEY MUDDA ASS TONITE.
It was a test, not on air. But the Director had the channel ON AIR.
Blooper? Not really. This was in July 1994, if I recall well. DJs and Calypsonians made mincemeat of that and I got news from several people over the years, of the line becoming mostly famous, rather than infamous.
But I know I am not remembered for that only. I keep reading of Trinidad's excessive floods resulting for heavy and persistent rainfall, and causing havoc and suffering. Rainfall is an act of nature. I also venture to say that some floods due to heavy rain are unavoidable eventualities.
The sheer volume of water is way too much for the natural drainage systems. But the latter are modified by man, his public works, engineering, construction of buildings, roads and pavements. In the process the ground component of the water cycle is severely corrupted and even annulled in places, causing general incapability of the landscape to cope with heavy rainfall, and leaving many people quite vulnerable to property damage and loss of life.
I am certain everybody knows the cause of the problem; I am also certain that the solution is known to authorities with the appropriate responsibility. However, it takes care and understanding of the related issues, and a will and intent to solve the flooding problem.
Posturing in government, among officials and regulators prevents flood mitigation. Evidently, there is need for a comprehensive analysis of every square foot of ground to create a data system to help analyze the related hydrological issues peculiar to localities. It means measuring and documenting everything from land shape and form, geology, tree and shrub cover, drainage, human dwelling and agriculture etc.
With that in hand, and with a knowledge of the historical behavior of heavy rainfall in locations, planners can then define what public and environmental works are required to prepare the area from severe flooding. And too, what regulators must insist residents do to prevent and/or cope with dangerous flooding. I am certain that no such comprehensive endeavor has ever been made in Trinidad.
Indiscriminate and unchecked land development, along river basins and on the hill slopes have aggravated flooding. Any action leading to changing of the behavior of surface water flow needs to be regulated and controlled. There are regulations in the books but inadequate regulators to enforce the rules and laws. Even so, bribe-taking corrupts the system allowing for rampant disfiguration of the landscape and flooding.
Ordinary people need to take action to force the authorities to do their work and ensure flood attenuation and diminishment.   Source:  Daily Express, March 29, 2021

Your circumstances do not define you, nor do they determine your future.
This sentiment rang true for Reea Dara Rodney, a Trinidad and Tobago national who became an Amazon best-seller for her children's book series Juniper and Rose. 
Ranking #1 and #2 in various categories were:

• Juniper and Rose Children - Sisters First and Best Friends Forever 
• Juniper and Rose Children - One More Bite Please
• Juniper and Rose Children - We Will Always Come Back

The soon to be 42-year-old proudly denoted her experience as an author, publisher, and motivational speaker during an interview with Loop News on Tuesday.
In fact, she noted that she wasn't always interested in becoming a writer. Rodney, who migrated to the United States in 2006, said she initially dreamt of being a pediatric nurse, prompting her to enrol in college. However, two months in, she was diagnosed with fibromyalgia.
According to the US-based Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), fibromyalgia is a condition that causes pain all over the body often causing emotional and mental distress.
Rodney said: "I went through a period in my life feeling lost and uninspired. Then one day, I heard a soft voice who [I] identified as God… whispered 'write for your healing'."
Despite feeling unsure, she combined her love for children with what would become her love for writing and in 2016, published her first book 'Juniper and Rose - Sisters First and Best Friends Forever'. 
Since then, Rodney has published 20 books, 15 of which are tailored for children.

Still, things did not come easy as she endured many challenges, her biggest one being a speech impediment.
She said: "I stuttered terribly which had me crippled with fear of failure, fear of the unknown and self-doubt causing me to have low self-esteem and a lack of confidence."
"As I embarked on the path of becoming an author, certified life coach and speaker, I had to diligently work on my mindset and also see my stuttering as my unique marker and own it 100%. Once I was able to do that I learned from my challenges and misfortune and use[d] the knowledge acquired to help me discover more about myself and what I am destined to do here on earth."
The latest trial Rodney encountered was her battle with COVID-19, becoming one of the first to be diagnosed with the contagion in the United States in March 2020. Her health deteriorated rapidly; she was diagnosed with a pulmonary embolism, was told that she might have lung cancer, her lungs started failing, she had pneumonia, was in heart failure and her liver and kidneys started failing.
Speaking positively despite that scare, Rodney praised God - and thanked her social media prayer warriors - for pulling her through.
She stated: “Over the past year, from childhood to now, I have been going through things and I realised now more than ever, over the past few years, that I was called [by God]. God pulled me through.”
She said to date, she has been healed from every illness.
Turning her attention to her fellow countrymen, Rodney noted that many persons hope to achieve success but pointed out that this may look differently depending on the individual.
She said: “It’s personal; it’s not one size [fits] all. You have the opportunity to make a difference in the world and in yourself don’t allow fear of failure, fear of the unknown and self-doubt to deter you from accomplishing your goals. Write your vision down and make it clear then go for it. Each day is filled with endless opportunities to do better. Choose to be optimistic, see your glass as half full and remember that the darkest part of [the] night is at dawn. Whenever times get rough or you feel discouraged, know that the sun is about to rise very soon and affirm yourself by saying ‘everything always works out for me’.”
Persons wishing to connect with Rodney can reach her at www.coachreea.com or www.darapublishing.co.
She can be emailed at [email protected] and [email protected].
Her social media handles are reearodney1 and darapublishing on Facebook as well as darawisdomandempowerment and @dara_publishing on Instagram.
Meanwhile, the literary pieces composed and published by Rodney are as follows:
Children’s storybooks

• Juniper and Rose: Sisters First and Best Friends Forever (English and Spanish)
• Juniper and Rose: One More Bite Please (English and Spanish) 
• Juniper and Rose Children - We Will Always Come Back
• Juniper and Rose Coloring and Activity Book (Volumes 1 ) 
• Juniper and Rose Coloring and Activity Book (Volumes 2) 
• A Boy Name Tuck: Tuck and His Magical Stick

Dara Wisdom and Empowerment Coaching Personal Development Workbooks for Kids

• I Am Uniquely Made and Exceptionally Beautiful Self-Esteem Workbook
• I Am Fearless, Selfless and Destined for Greatness Self- Confidence Workbook
• I Am Who I Say I Am Self-Talk Workbook 
• Standing in Our Greatness Self-Love Workbook
• If You Are Happy and You Know It Clap Your Hands Self- Celebration Workbook
• Bully Here, Bully There, Do You Care Anti-Bullying Workbook

Children and Women Empowerment Journals

• I Am Getting to Know Me Reflection Journal for Kids 
• Learning How to Empower Myself: A 12 Week Guide Toward Self-Empowerment for Women

Self-Help Books

• I Empower Me - Mindfulness and Empowerment: A Guide For Parents and Educators
• 14 Steps To Writing to Self-Publishing Your First Book Without Hassle 
• 14 Steps To Writing to Self-Publishing Goal-Setting Guide
• 7 - Step Writing Process
  

Source: T&T News March 2021