Our Work in the Community
THE 2020 ANNUAL INDEPENDENCE DAY FLAG RAISING CEREMONY
The 2020 Annual Trinidad and Tobago Independence Day flag raising ceremony took place at Brampton City Hall outdoor courtyard on August 12th. Due to Covid-19 restrictions the event was streamed virtually. TNTAO President, Horace Thorne opened the event. He was joined by Vice-President Jean Turner and Alpha King who sang the national anthem. Michelle John, Fire prevention officer, gave the introductions. Patrick Brown, Brampton Mayor spoke about the history of Trinidad and Tobago. The event was also attended by Acting Consul General Ms. Cherron Mockund as well as Brampton City Council Members.
Click the video to play:
BLACK HISTORY 2017
A Black History month celebration was held at Brampton City Hall on February 1st, 2017. The celebration's opening remarks were made by Ms. Michelle John, Fire Prevention Officer for Brampton Fire Services. Brampton City Councillor, Ms. Jean Miles also spoke. Other guests included Horace Thorne, President of Trinidad and Tobago Association of Ontario who was also the photographer, as well as Jackie Palmer, City Hall Events Coordinator.
THE FOURTH ANNUAL INDEPENDENCE DAY FLAG RAISING CEREMONY
The fourth annual flag raising ceremony to celebrate Trinidad and Tobago's 54th Independence took place at Brampton City Hall on August 31, 2016. In attendance was acting Trinidid and Tobago Counsel General, Ms. Kiva Clark, as well as Brampton Mayor, Linda Jeffrey, Brampton City representative, Mrs Donna A. Pierre and several representatives from Brampton City Council.
DONATION TO THE DOMINICA RELIEF FUND
TNTAO was pleased to present a cheque towards the Dominica Relief Fund to repair the devastation caused by Tropical storm Erika in August. President, Horace R Thorne. and Vice-President, Ms. Jean Turner Williams, attended the fundraising event at Jamaica House on Friday, September 25th, 2015 and are seen below presenting the cheque to Frances Desol, Trade and Investment Commissioner for Dominica in Canada.

THE THIRD ANNUAL INDEPENDENCE DAY FLAG RAISING CEREMONY
Trinidad and Tobago's 53rd Independence was celebrated at a flag raising ceremony at Brampton City Hall on August 31, 2015. This is the third annual ceremony to take place. Mrs. Donna Pierre from the City has led the charge in organizing the event for the past three years.
The Trinidad and Tobago Consulate General, Mrs. Vidhya Gyan Toto-Maharaj raised the Trinidad and Tobago flag in the presence of City Hall staff and many enthusiastic onlookers. TNTAO's President Horace Thorne, and Vice-President Jean Turner Williams did the honors.
The Trinidad and Tobago National Anthem was played by pan player, Mr. Herban Johnson and sax player, Mr. Jesse Ryan.
PARAPAN AM ATHLETES FAREWELL
The TT Parapan Am Athletes were celebrated and given a fond farewell at a party hosted by TNTAO member, Wendy Bernard at her restaurant. Gold medal winner, Wimana Akeem Stewart as well as TNTAO Executive members were also present.
PARAPAN AM GAMES PHOTOS
The Trinidad and Tobago Parapan Am athletes represented their country well. Congratulations to Wimana Akeem Stewart who won gold for his shotput and discus performance.
WELCOME PARTY FOR TT PARAPAN AM ATHLETES
The Trinidad and Tobago Consulate General, Mrs. Vidhya Gyan Toto-Maharaj hosted a welcome party for the TT Parapan team upon their arrival in Toronto. TNTAO President, Horace Thorne and Treasurer, Giselle Cole were also invited.
SUPPORT OUR TT PARAPAN ATHLETES
TNTAO would like to show our support for the Trinidad and Tobago athletes participating in the Parapan Am Games. TNTAO Executive member, Giselle Cole is the attaché for the Trinidad and Tobago Parapan team and she had the pleasure of walking with the TT atheletes during the Opening Ceremonies.
The photos below are shots of the opening ceremonies with TNTAO Executive members present.
Here are the CVs for the athletes:
WIMANA AKEEM STEWART: Shotput & Discus Para Athlete:
Performance Highlights:
Abierto Mexicano de Para Athletismo 2014 Championships on Tuesday 9th December 2014
Two gold medals in Shotput & Discus
- Shotput: 18.70 Metres (World Record): IPC Rank 2014: No.1
- Discus: 60.72 Metres (Pan American Record): IPC Rank 2014, No 1
RONALD CARLOS GREENE: Shotput & Discus, Vision Impaired Para Athlete

Performance Highlights:
- Sagicor National Senior Championships Port of Spain Trinidad (August 2011)
- Shotput, 10.45 Metres (Silver Medal)
- Cruisers Classic, Mississauga Ontario Canada (May 2012)
- Shotput, 10.71 Metres
- Discus, 28.84 Metres
- U.S National Paralympics Trials (June 2012)
- Shotput, 10.21 Metres
- Discus, 27.11 Metres
- London 2012 Paralympic Games (September 2012)
- Shotput, 10.87 Metres
- Discus, 26.28 Metres
- Sixth UTECH Track and Field Classic, Kingston Jamaica (April 2013)
- Shotput, 11.61 Metres
- Discus, 28.80 Metres
- Sagicor National Senior Championships Port of Spain Trinidad (June 2013)
- Shotput, 10.59 Metres
- Discus, 29.19 Metres
- U.S National Paralympics Trials Minneapolis St. Paul USA (June 2015)
- Shotput, 11.35 Metres (Gold Medal)
- Discus, 25.55 Metres (Silver Medal)
SHANNTOL ANNETTE INCE: Para Swimmer

Performance Highlights
EVENTS | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | ||
Jimi Flowers Texas, USA 2010 | Commonwealth Delhi, India 2010 | Parapan Mexico 2011 | Paralympic London 2012 | Youth Parapan Argentina | PAN PACIFIC Los Angeles USA | CAN AM Games Canada | |
FREESTYLE | |||||||
50M | 34.50 | 34:07 | 34.33 | 00:33.65 | 00.33.08 | ||
100M | 1:14.52 | 1:14:00 | 1:13.28* | 1:12:86* | 01:11:16 | 1:12.22 | |
400M | 5:39.48 | 5:27.88 | 5:30:21* | 5:27.19 | |||
BACKSTROKE | |||||||
100M | 1:25.57 | 1:23.45* | 1:22.14 | 1:23:12* | |||
BREASTROKE | |||||||
100M | 1:48.39 | ||||||
BUTTERFLY | |||||||
100M | 1:27.19 | 1:22.64 | 1:24.93 | 1:25.50 | 1:21:89* | 01:19:62 | 1:21.61 |
Notes: * Parapan Guadalajara Mexico 2011: Bronze Medals Awarded
- Youth Parapan Buenos Aires Argentina 2013: Gold Medals Awarded
DENNIS LA ROSE: Para Table Tennis Player

Performance Highlights
- 2011 Solo National Table Tennis Championship Central Regional Indoor Sports Arena, Chaguanas Trinidad. Winner: 11-6, 11-5, 11-8 (Gold Medal)
- 2012 Mike Dempsey Memorial Table Tennis Championships, San Diego, California USA (Top 16)
- 2013 Mike Dempsey Memorial Table Tennis Championships, San Diego California USA (Bronze)
- 2013 COPA Costa Rica, San Jose (Bronze Medal)
- 2014 COPA Costa Rica, San Jose USA (Top 8)
MEDICAL SUPPLIES SPONSORSHIP
TNTAO was pleased to lend our support in the form of sponsorship funds, to Marilyn Awong, one of our past Presidents. Marilyn is involved in sending medical supplies to Trinidad through the organization, Mission for Advancing Theological Education and Friends. The funds donated by TNTAO will help defray the cost of shipping and customs clearance.
The photos below shows TNTAO Executive members presenting the cheque to Marilyn.
BASEBALL SPONSORSHIP
On April 26th 2015 the TNTAO board members were pleased to present a baseball sponsorship to a promising young baseball player. David Walling-Goulette, who plays for the Ontario Royals Club was presented with a cheque for $250 towards his future baseball goals.
The photos below show David and his grandmother together with Board members.
TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO FLAG RAISING CEREMONY
The Trinidad and Tobago flag was raised before an enthusiastic crowd at a ceremony at Brampton City Hall on August 13th, 2014. TNTAO President, Horace Thorne arranged the ceremony with the help of Donna Pierre, City of Brampton Administrative Assistant Management Services.
The flag raising was well attended with Peel Regional Counsellors John Sanderson and Sandra Hames lending their support. The Trinidad and Tobago National Anthem was played by Jessy Ryan, a saxophonist and visting student from Trinidad, and the Canadian National Anthem was played by Danial McDonald, a young steel pannist. "We had a good turn out considering the time for planning, and time of day. Everyone in attendance thought it was a fantastic gesture.", said Horace Thorne. The flag will fly at Brampton City Hall from August 13th to the 31st 2014.
CITY COLLEGE OPENING
Members of the TNTAO Executive and Scholarship Committee were invited to attend the opening of the City College's new building in North York. City College is a private career college dedicated to delivering high quality career training. Many of the students are from Caribbean backgrounds with low income families. Seen in the photographs are TNTAO President, Horace Thorne, Vice President, Jean Turner Williams, Scholarship Committee Chair, Arnim Dolly as well as City College Director, Ms Unna Fuller Fletcher.
DISASTER RELIEF DONATION
TNTAO recently did its part to help victims of the freak storm that devastated the islands of St. Lucia, Dominica, and St. Vincent on Christmas Eve 2013. The Association gave a donation to the Council of Caribbean Associations Canada (CCAC) to aide in the disaster relief efforts. Seen below is President, Horace Thorne and members of the TNTAO executive handing the cheque over to Claudia Davis Ewan, President of CCAC.

BLACK HISTORY CELEBRATION
Each year, TNTAO proudly supports an event which exhibits Black heritage and culture of African-Canadians to the public. The goal is to raise awareness and understanding of Black history by recognizing the past and present contributions made by African Canadians. The day is celebrated with cultural performances, presentations by leading speakers in the Black Community, and display traditional foods.
BLACK HISTORY CELEBRATION 2013
The 2013 Black History Celebration took place on February 10th at Vaughn City Hall. The first slideshow photo shows President, Horace Thorne and Vice-President Jean Turner Williams at the Trinidad and Tobago Association of Ontario display. The next shot shows MP, Mr Peter Kent looking at the TNTAO display.
BLACK HISTORY CELEBRATION 2013
The slideshow photos below show activities at the Black History event held on Tuesday February 26, 2013. TNTAO President and Vice President attended the event at the Core Brook Non Profit Community Centre. The event featured a keynote speaker, a member/Mortgage Broker, who gave staff, volunteers, and clients a memorable address on "Financial affairs." Photographs show Black History Display set up by TNTAO as well as photos of attendees.
MIND YOUR BUSINESS EXPO

TNTAO is positioning itself as a leader in the community by understanding the needs of our growing business community and providing support to small business and self employment initiatives. With this in mind, we introduce our ‘Mind Your Business’ Expo as our first step towards this goal. These forums give business owners and service providers an opportunity to showcase their products or services, connect with other leaders and members of the community, exchange ideas, build synergy and develop business leads. For more information visit www.mindyourbusinessexpo.com
We include the next event as a favour to Westend Sport and Cultural Club Inc.
ANNUAL SPRING BRUNCH - WESTEND SPORT AND CULTURAL CLUB
The Westend Sport and Cultural Club Inc. invites you to their Annual Spring Brunch on Sunday April 28th, 2013. The Brunch will be held at the Tomken Twin Arena in Missisauga. Tickets are $35 per person for Adults and $20 for kids 5 to 12 years old. Please see the PDF flyer below for further details.
Annual Spring Brunch - PDF (721.56 KB)MEMBERS SUPPORT "HOME AGAIN" MOVIE
TNTAO members attended the Opening of the new black focused movie, "Home Again". The film, shot in locations in Trinidad and Jamaica, depicts the story of immigrants who are deported. Members are pictured below lending their support.