The City of Toronto, Festival Management Committee, Toronto Mas Bands Association, Caribbean Cultural Committee, Toronto residents and the International Community:

The City of Toronto, Festival Management Committee, Toronto Mas Bands Association, Caribbean Cultural Committee, Toronto residents and the International Community:

The 2006 Caribana Festival or any facsimile thereof, is at risk of an untimely demise due to the desperate actions of a few self-appointed spokespersons for the Black and Caribbean Community in Toronto. These incumbent and former members of the Caribbean Cultural Committee (CCC) now refer to themselves as Hands off Caribana, (HOC). They are at loggerheads with the City of Toronto as a result of the Citys withdrawal of funding for the Festival from the CCC, and the Citys action to divert its funding of the festival to the Toronto Mas Bands Association (TMBA), with finances controlled by the Festival Management Committee (FMC).

The HOC committee has been very vocal and disruptive to the process which was put in place after 38 years of the CCCs inability to properly account for its finances. HOC has cited racism among other charges leveled at the city. HOC wishes to prevent the festival from happening by calling an international boycott of the city during the period of the Festival, unless the city restores the management and funding of the festival to the CCC.

We the signatories of this petition, wish to state that the members of HOC do not speak for any majority of members of the Black or Caribbean Community. Furthermore, we view the actions of members of HOC and the CCC as despicable. We would like them to know that we have no interest in the CCC managing the Festival or handling Toronto taxpayers money in any capacity. With their history of unaccountability, human rights violations, disrespect to taxpaying residents of Toronto and its elected representatives; we call on the CCC to respect the following wishes of the undersigned:

That members of the present Board of Directors of the CCC cease and desist from any further involvement with the running of the parade and related events occurring during the period July 21 and August 7, other than their personal enjoyment of these events;

 That all members of the Board of the CCC step down and disband with immediate effect;
 That at the culmination of said period, a new committee be created that does not include any individual that has served on the Board within the past six years
 That this new committee tenders nominations for a new Board to be formed and makes a call out for paid membership
 That no Board Member is allowed to serve for more than three years
 That no Board member is allowed to run for any post on the Board before six years from the end of their term in office
 That the elected board is given the resources necessary to plan, organize, raise appropriate funds and present the festival known as Caribana in 2007, its fortieth anniversary