Black Immigrant Daily News

Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada (CPA Canada) congratulates the 40 Caribbean students who successfully passed the Common Final Examination (CFE) from 2019-2022. This is an important milestone on their journey to become chartered professional accountants.

The CFE is a three-day evaluation designed to assess candidates’ knowledge, judgement and professional skills. It is a critical component of the Canadian CPA certification program that requires individuals to demonstrate a range of skills and competencies gained through education, examinations and work experience.

Two convocation ceremonies were hosted by CPA Canada. The first took place at the Sweetfield Manor Boutique Hotel on February 8, to recognize 30 individuals from Barbados, one graduate from Jamaica, one from St. Lucia and one graduate from Dominica. This was followed by an event at the LaVue Hotel and Beach Club on February 9, celebrating six individuals from St. Vincent and one graduate from St. Lucia.

These celebrations were the first in-person CPA Canada events held in the Caribbean since 2019, making them memorable occasions with family members, employers, mentors, CPA members and Fellows of the profession.

“Wherever your interests lie, you have the opportunity to lead meaningful and purpose-driven work” explained Pamela Steer, President and CEO of CPA Canada, who was honoured to speak at both events. “As strategic and trusted advisors, CPAs can help shape today’s data-driven marketplace, drive new forms of value creation, and be strong leaders in building a more inclusive and competitive economy.”

Esteemed guest in attendance included Miriam van Nie from the High Commission of Canada in Barbados.

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Black Immigrant Daily News

The Government of Grenada announced Monday that they would deport 15 Haitian nationals who entered the island as a group of tourists on Sunday.

Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell, who is also the Minister for National Security and immigration, told a news conference that the French-speaking nationals had arrived on a flight from neighbouring Trinidad and Tobago.

“So, the immigration officers in their normal routine checks were able to ascertain to make the determination that in fact, they will be a charge on the public purse if they were in fact permitted to enter the state,” said Prime Minister Mitchell, noting that the decision was based on the amount of cash in the possession of the Haitians when they arrived.

He said that because Haiti is a member of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) grouping, there are very specific and limited grounds that can be used to prevent a Caricom national from entering a member state.

“One of which is a charge on the public purse and the second will be in broad terms, national security risk, in this case, it was purely on the basis of a charge on the public purse,” Mitchell said, indicating that the Haitians were unable to stay in a hotel for at least one night.

“If you are not a citizen of Grenada and you come to Grenada, you can only be staying at a hotel for at least one night unless you have a friend or family, and in the absence of friends or family it means that you have to be able to afford a hotel at least for one night,” he said.

“If you don’t have cash or credit card that allows you to afford a hotel for one night, it means you don’t have a place to stay, and if you don’t have a place to stay and we let you into our community what is going to happen, it means we as a state will have to take care of you,” he concluded.

Grenada is hoping to send them back on Monday night.

Mitchell acknowledged that the political and economic situation in Haiti will be discussed at the three-day Caricom summit to be held in the Bahamas starting Wednesday.

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Black Immigrant Daily News

The United Arab Emirates’ pick to lead the upcoming COP28 climate talks in Dubai called on the world Tuesday to “fight climate change, not each other,” directly addressing the anger activists have felt over his selection.

Sultan al-Jaber, the CEO of Abu Dhabi National Oil Co., also described the upcoming United Nations negotiations as an “unprecedented opportunity to engage the energy industry in atechnological revolution.”

His speech at the World Government Summit in Dubai sought to present his nominated presidency as a bridge between oil companies and climate activists long suspicious of the industry’s influence on efforts to limit carbon emissions. Whether it will, however, remainsin question.

“We need a major course correction,” al-Jaber said.

However, he added: “The strategies we pursue must leave no one behind. The policies we adopt must be pro-growth and pro-climate at the same time.”

Al-Jaber, a 49-year-old longtime climate envoy, is a trusted confidant of UAE leader Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. He’s been behind billions in investments in renewable energy — and also leads an oil company that pumps some 4 million barrels of crude aday and hopes to expand to 5 million daily.

Activists have equated his nomination to asking “arms dealers to lead peace talks” when authorities announced his nomination in January. However, U.S. climate envoy John Kerry and France’s finance minister both have backed his selection by the UAE, a key Mideastally.

“There are moments in history when humanity comes together to fight a common threat. Let’s prove to ourselves that we can do it once again,” al-Jaber said. “Let’s put our differences aside. Fight climate change, not each other.”

Al-Jaber’s speech, which included portions he previously delivered in January, also acknowledged that “capital is critical to make the loss-and-damage fund real and operational.” That fund, agreed to at the COP27 talks in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, did notinclude a means by which to fund them. Al-Jaber’s speech also didn’t offer a suggestion on how to raise the money.

Al-Jaber did, however, call on the world to triple its renewable energy capacity, as well as expand nuclear power, improve battery storage and provide carbon-capture technology. He also drew applause from the largely Emirati audience by defending the OPEC-membernation hosting the climate talks.

“We in the UAE are not shying away from the energy transition,” al-Jaber said. “We are running towards it.”

Each year, the country hosting the U.N. negotiations known as the Conference of the Parties — where COP gets its name — nominates a person to chair the talks. Hosts typically pick a veteran diplomat as the talks can be difficult to steer between competing nations and their interests.

The nominee’s position as “COP president” is confirmed by delegates at the start of the talks, usually without objections. However, activists for weeks have been criticizing his selection.

COP28 will be held at Dubai’s Expo City from Nov. 30 through Dec.

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