I have no idea if this is actually being considered but I’ve heard the rumours that this may be happening. I want to talk about it 
Why? Because I have some shit to say of course – lol. Pls note: I live in a neighbouring city unaffected by this strike so if my “facts” or points are wrong, I welcome all corrections.
Short background for my readers that don’t live in the GTA: The City of Toronto is suffering amidst a municipal strike. The reason it may affect Caribana is because city workers are on strike. Most notably, in this case, garbage clean up is at a standstill. Right now, some the city’s parks are temporary landfills and the shit is about to hit the fan – literally.
Let’s examine why and why not it would be a good idea to cancel this year’s parade:
First and foremost, sluts everywhere will recoil at the realization that their weekend to justify and excuse their affinity for whoredom will not be taking place this year. Dudes having a hard time getting pussy in Toronto will be happy they’ll be saving some time and money this year, seeing as how they won’t have to make their way to Buffalo or Detroit, to rent a car or truck to pretend they are American in hopes of lining up some ass for the night. Liars will breathe a collective sigh of relief knowing they won’t be asked to show their license to prove they really ARE from New York. Nail and hair salons will see what I assume will be a significant drop in their numbers because a lot of females won’t need their “hair and nails did” *snaps bubble gum and pats the weave*. Yonge St. will actually be close to, if not, empty and motorists and pedestrians alike won’t have to worry about feet being run over. Motorists will be happy that seeing some ass in tightus pum pum shawts won’t distract them. No one likes rear ending a completely over-pimped out shiny white Cadillac Escalade.
All the afforementioned situations and scenarios will make people sad (or happy, depending on how you look at it) that Caribana is cancelled this year. But will it be good for the City of Toronto financially? HELL NO. Caribana generates a STUPID amount of money for the city. Every time at this point in the year we see our tourism numbers spike. The past few events have been relatively safe (dating back to the “Year Of the Gun”) and violence free and most people are OK with feeling safe at Caribana again. I hope it stays like that – I really do. So, in that sense, it wouldn’t be the smartest idea in the world to cancel Caribana. That’s a LOT of money lost. However, from a visitors (or even a reveller living here’s) standpoint, why would you want to be here when the city smells like ass? If I lived abroad and was flying in or driving an obscene amount of hours and wasn’t aware of this strike and stepped off the plane or out my car into what smells like a sewer: I WOULD BE PISSED! I can’t see myself, no anyone else for that matter, actually ENJOYING themselves amongst that stench. I mean, our noses all get used to scents after we’re exposed for long periods of time, but I don’t need to be getting it in with a roti or jerk chicken dinner only to have the wind blow a wicked swirl of SHIT SMELL and ROTTEN GARBAGE into my nose. My stomach will lurch and I WILL vomit. OK?
I haven’t been to Toronto since the Gay Pride parade which was about 2 1/2 weeks ago. At that time the strike was only 2 weeks old so it wasn’t so bad downtown. Because our cities are generally pretty friggin clean in nature WITHOUT a strike, changes in how the city looks wouldn’t be immediate. It didn’t smell at all (to me, anyway) and the streets were still relatively clean. However, from friends that live down there, I’m hearing it’s pretty damn bad now. Speaking of Pride, people want to use the argument that “ohh, you want to cancel Caribana but the gays got their day!” SHUT THE FUCK UP WITH ALL THAT FUCKING WEAK ASS BULLSHIT TALKS. PLEASE. Grow up. And those same people wanting to use that argument want to also turn it into a racial one. Save it. Here’s why: Caribana brings in more money than Pride. Significantly more. Now, as far as the city and its officials are concerned, the only colour they are wanting to see at the end of July is GREEN. The city is NOT going to pass up all that money to stop the blacks from getting their “jump up on”. I believe if Caribana does indeed get cancelled, the strike is a valid reason as to why. Besides, don’t be stupid. The gay, lesbian and transgendered community is JUST as, if not more – in some cases, discriminated against the same way blacks are. Also, remember that I stated the strike, at the time of Pride, was only approximately 2 weeks old, therefore the garbage pile up wasn’t in such a dire state. By the time Caribana happens, the strike will be (I, believe) over 8 weeks old. PLUS, the organizers of Pride set money aside in case the strike wasn’t cleared up, to have the garbage properly cleaned and disposed of. If the organizers of Caribana want to do the same, I can’t see the city stopping them. But I don’t see them doing that. Have y’all BEEN downtown and seen the aftermath of the Caribana parade? They’re gonna have to put up a lot of dinero to get that shit spotless – lol. But again, even if they did front the money for the clean up AFTER the parade, what about all the garbage piled up for almost 8 weeks BEFORE and DURING the parade?People will NOT be able to enjoy themselves. By July 31/Aug 1, the city will STAAAAAAANK!
Basically, if it’s cancelled, sure I’ll be disappointed but it won’t be the end of the world. I mean, it’s an annual event people. If they were cancelling it FORVER, I could see the argument but a city without Caribana for one summer will NOT kill us – though, who knows what long term exposure to rotten garbage will do! Feel me on this, people!? Besides, I’m sure all the clubs will still have their parties and events and being inside won’t be nearly as bad as being outside on the parade route. And if that’s the case, the sluts will still be able to have their day. Or night.
.... Says What?