On November 28th, 2019, the Barbadian Flag flew High at City Hall to mark the 53rd year of Independence. This event was a collaboration between the Consulate of Barbados’ Toronto Office and the Brampton-based nonprofit organization, Brampton Community & Economic Empowerment Network (BCEEN) who were granted the honour of raising the flag by the current Mayor of Brampton, Patrick Brown.
Several dignitaries came out to witness the flag-raising ceremony such as Ruby Sahota, Liberal MP for Brampton North, Maninder Sidhu – Liberal MP for Brampton East, Mayor Patrick Brown, Councillor Charmaine Williams, Sonia Marville-Carter – Consul General for Barbados and others.
In fact, Ruby Sahota MP spoke of the special relationship between Barbados and Canada which spanned decades while Consul General Marville Carter and Mayor Patrick Brown both spoke of the contributions that Barbadians have made and continue to make in Canada and abroad.
During her speech, Consul General Marville-Carter spoke about Barbados 2020, a year-long event held in Barbados to encourage the Barbadian Diaspora to come down to Barbados to bring their knowledge, investment and skills to help the island grow.
Despite the frigid weather, it was agreed by all that Barbados’ Independence Flag Raising Ceremony would be a yearly celebration within the City of Brampton as all who attended enjoyed the event immensely.
