The Honourable Tony Clement, Minister of Industry, along with Terence Young, Member of Parliament for Oakville today announced that patients and caregivers in the region may soon benefit from a new personal, in-home medication technology thanks to an investment in PharmaTrust Inc., an Oakville-based business.
“Our government is pleased to be able to support the inventive work going on at PharmaTrust,” said Minister Clement. “Through partnerships like these, we are supporting the development of innovative technologies which not only benefit our Canadian economy, but also help to improve the quality of life for Canadians from coast to coast to coast.”
Through the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC-IRAP) PharmaTrust Inc. will receive up to $300,000 to develop MedHome™, a personal device which will help patients safely and effectively manage their medications. Funding will also contribute to the enhancement of the company’s current MedCentre™ infrastructure which makes use of advanced robotics, scanning and video-conference technology, to connect patients in real-time to a pharmacist in another location.
PharmaTrust Inc. also received $1,529,563 from NRC-IRAP in 2009, for the development of a telepharmacy prescription dispensing system, which led to the hiring of eight engineering personnel. The combination of these initiatives will position the company as a world-leading provider of solutions for patients and create a new strategic choice for healthcare industries to deliver innovative telemedicine and pharmacy services.
“When patients receive multiple medications, they face an increased risk of complications which arise due to non-compliance and adherence to their medication orders,” said Don Waugh, Chief Executive Officer of PharmaTrust Inc. “Many individuals have trouble properly following their medication schedule as directed by their physician. Studies indicate that medication non-adherence among older adults is a prevalent and costly problem; approximately one half have problems following their prescribed medication regimen, and more than 10 per cent of hospital admissions are the result of medication non-adherence.”

By Saniya Zahid

“If Canada and India were playing cricket, sadly Canada would be trashed, but I would still be cheering for it. My connection to India is more emotional, Canada is my home. We are the ones who made a choice coming to Canada, so our number one loyalty should be to Canada.”

Always engaged in communities working toward reconciliation, promoting democracy and betterment of humanity, Vijay Sappani has made a name for himself both in the public and political arena. His projects to bring together communities have gained good recognition and momentum, resulting in more than 300 people actively supporting it.
“I’m working with Jewish, Muslim, Tamil and Sinhalese communities trying to bring them all together, trying to bring like-minded youth leaders among the Tamil, Singhalese, Muslims, Jewish towards peace and reconciliation…This  project now has about 250 members ” he tells me. He adds “a small initiative along with likeminded individuals to create a safe platform for dialogue between Tamils and Sinhalese has spiraled into a movement for peace and reconciliation called Sri Lankans Without Borders.”
Vijay’s motivation to undertake such projects are simple. “As Canadians we always say that we come here because we want to live a better life. So, we don’t want the conflict in South Asia or Middle East to divide communities in Canada. When two communities fight, it doesn’t just affect them in Canada; it affects the entire Canadian mosaic. We have to see people as Canadians and work with everybody,” he explains.
Vijay came to Canada in 1999 as an international student with a Bachelor’s degree in Pharmacy from the Tamilnadu Medical University. He graduated in Marketing Management from Humber Business School in June 2000, where he was awarded student appreciation award for his contribution towards improving quality of student life on campus.
Many new Canadians find it challenging to find employment in their field in Canada. However, Vijay is an example of a talented young South Asian who has not only been successful professionally in the pharmaceutical industry, but also involved in the community.
In Vijay’s opinion “there are a lot of qualified people but they don’t know how to express their qualifications in an interview…the ability for people to sell themselves and to understand and learn where to look for a job is the key to success”.
With a number of immigrants settling in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), the South Asian community can be categorized into two groups: one that is established where the second generation South Asians feel the need for “balancing between the Eastern and Western values from a cultural perspective” says Vijay. “From a job market perspective, you are still a visible minority,” he adds. The other group of relatively new Canadians “have to learn to adapt and change.”
As far as issues around hijab and kirpan are concerned, “it shouldn’t be a problem in finding a job; unfortunately this is not the case in Canada. So it is up to the youth to explain the reasons for doing so” Vijay believes.
Many immigrants who come to Canada are still attached to their countries of birth. But Vijay is firm that Canada comes first. “If Canada and India were playing cricket, sadly Canada would be trashed, but I would still be cheering for it. My connection to India is more emotional, Canada is my home. We are the ones who made a choice coming to Canada, so our number one loyalty should be to Canada,” he says.
Many of these immigrants stick to their own communities. Vijay feels that “there is nothing wrong with people sticking to their own community because it helps us adapt in the beginning, the challenge is that most people often never move beyond their community. That’s when you end up ghettoizing yourself. Yes people need to learn from their own community but that should just be a stepping ladder to the boarder Canadian community.”
As an active political activist Vijay comments that the lack of effective political engagement in the South Asian community can be because of the fact that “most immigrants come from a country where there is no democracy or a mockery of democracy; so many people don’t believe that the system will help them. Canada is a very different place. The least they could do is come out and vote, better if we can understand policies and try to implement them.”
As an individual, Vijay was the founding chair of Indo Canada Chamber of Commerce Young Professionals. He has also been in the board of many organizations, including Metro Toronto Junior Chamber, Canadian Unity Council, Internationally educated professionals, and many more.
For more log on to http://vijaysappani.com/

By Staff Writer

Prime Minister Harper along with premiers of the provinces has “put in place national harmonized verification standard for all professions.”

In an interview with Generation Next, Conservative MP Bob Dechert said that through his consultations with Indo-Canadian community, he has learned that Indo-Canadian community appreciates corporate tax rate reduction.
“They [Indo Canadian community] are generally pleased with the corporate tax rate reduction,” noting that with corporate tax rate reductions, it is “easier for Canadian companies to produce products, compete in India..it is easier to attract investments from India.”
Mr. Dechert has been in consultations with the community on economic growth and job recovery since November 2010. In the beginning of this year, Prime Minister Harper had advised his caucus to hold consultations with Canadians.
The MP from Mississauga-Erindale also referred to Indo-Canadian businesses’ meeting with Minister Van Loan, International trade Minister. Minister Van Loan gave an update on Indo-Canadian free trade talks, talks that the community “is very excited about,” said Mr. Dechert.
Mr. Dechert said that with corporate tax rate reduction by 1.5 per cent in 2010, “the corporate tax revenue went up to stimulate more activity in the economy.” Explaining the reasons for lowering corporate taxes, he said that when companies save money by not having to pay taxes to the government, they spend it in investing the saved money in their businesses which results in hiring of more people.
Mr. Dechert represents a riding that has more than 50 per cent of new Canadians residing in it. The unemployment rates among new Canadians are higher than the average Canadians.
What is the government doing to ensure that these new Canadians are employed?
Mr. Dechert stated that the government is making sure that the language training is available to newcomers. Prime Minister Harper along with premiers of the provinces has “put in place national harmonized verification standard for all professions.” The government has set a time table to harmonize each profession. The government has also set up a foreign credential recognition referral office. This office can be used by newcomers who are already in Canada to have their work experience evaluated and by those “who are waiting in line to come to Canada.”
The government has also invested dollars in Sheridan College’s Mississauga campus. Sheridan’s Mississauga campus is getting ready to open in September 2011. This new campus “will cater to new Canadians both to young and old..providing training and upgrading,” increasing the chances of new Canadians employability.
In response to the federal government’s “reallocation” of funds to Ontario’s newcomers, Mr. Dechert said that “amount per person will be the same” to new Canadians who choose to make Ontario their home. Recently Ontario has seen the number of immigrants coming to Ontario drop from about 145,000 a year to 106,000 a year. Minister Jason Kenney maintains that the federal government’s mandate is to provide “the same level of services everywhere in Canada.”
The government has invested $12 billion in a program called Canadian Secured Credit. The program makes it a little easier for small businesses to have access to capital that the banks are not offering in the wake of the economic downturn.
“It’s much better now..it’s not as easy as it was in 2007,” acknowledged MP Dechert. However, the “financial market has improved..The part of the problem is that some of the major lenders were American based financial institutions and they are still in some difficulty,” he said.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper today met with Indo-Canadian business leaders and working families in Toronto to discuss ways to create jobs and economic growth as the Government plans for the next phase of Canada’s Economic Action Plan.
“With Canada’s economy still fragile, protecting and creating jobs, stability and financial security remain our number one priority,” said the Prime Minister. “Our country is home to a vibrant, approximately 1-million strong, Indo-Canadian community which plays a vital role in Canada’s economic and cultural landscape. As we move forward, the values of hard working Canadians from all walks of life – living within your means, reducing waste and duplication to keep taxes low – will continue to guide us.”
Launched in 2009, Canada’s Economic Action Plan has so far contributed to the creation of more than 460,000 new jobs since July 2009 and helped our country emerge from the global economic crisis faster and stronger than most other major industrial countries around the world. In Ontario, nearly 4,500 projects are underway or completed, including nearly 1,500 in the Greater Toronto Area. Projects such as Brampton Social Services Centre and the Braeburn Active Living Centre in Toronto have helped mitigate the effects of the economic downturn by investing in job-creating infrastructure projects across the province. “The Economic Action Plan is working. It has created jobs and provided financial security to families through the worst global recession since the Second World War,” continued the Prime Minister. “However, the economy is more than just numbers. That is why our Government will continue to focus on jobs and economic growth.”
Over the coming months, as the next phase of the Economic Action Plan is developed, Prime Minister Harper, ministers and caucus will travel to small towns, communities and cities across the country to listen to and seek the views of Canadians on the Government’s long-term Economic Action Plan.

Ontario Quality Care Alliance is organizing a town hall to draw on the insights of clients who receive home care, the experience of frontline caregivers, and the knowledge of experts in the sector to provide a comprehensive picture of the benefits and challenges of sustaining quality home care. The town hall will be an opportunity to discuss how well home care services are meeting the needs of the people of Brampton and how we can continue to drive improvements in quality. Ontario’s senior population is expected to double over the next decade and care providers and policymakers are all looking for ways to cope with the pressure this is putting on our health care system. A recent survey by the Canadian Medical Association indicates Canadians are increasingly worried about the impact of demographic trends on our health care system. In this environment, home and community based care is increasingly being seen by policymakers as a way of sustaining our entire health care system. Most people also prefer to stay independent and receive care at home, with 88% of Ontarians polled saying their preference is home care.
Yet there are a lot of challenges that come with accessing and delivering quality home care, and a growing need for improved awareness round conditions like dementia and elder abuse and modern standards for training and support of Personal Support Workers and family caregivers.
The Quality Care Alliance was formed as a way to promote dialogue and understanding between home care clients, families, frontline caregivers, policymakers, and the wider community.
This community town hall will include an open forum with home care clients, caregivers, researchers, and community groups. Together we can work together to rejuvenate home care and make sure clients can age comfortably in their own homes with the support they need. We are looking forward to promoting dialogue and constructive discussion about the importance of home care services and the steps needed to make home care work for our senior and disabled population. The town hall will be held in Brampton on Saturday, February 5th at the Snelgrove Recreation Centre, 11692 Hurontario, West Side of Hurontario, South of Mayfield. The day’s events will begin at 1pm and conclude at 4pm.
If you wish to attend,
email qualitycarealliance@gmail.com.

By Priyanka Jain, Toronto

“As a Canadian child, I think it’s important that we educate our parents, aunts and uncles about what we are learning in school, or learning from our friends, so they can be more aware and have an appreciation for the environment,” Ahmad said.

We see them in the newspapers, at the grocery store, and in most public places; advertisements encouraging environmentally friendly actions are everywhere. This includes recycling, eco-friendly grocery bags, conserving electricity, carpooling etc. Although most Canadians have been habituated to things like recycling and re-using grocery bags as it has gradually become society’s norm, the question is whether or not immigrants and their families are able to grow into such habits.
Most native Canadians understand the effect pollution, excessive use of electricity, petroleum etc. has on the environment; therefore, they actively participate in these environmentally friendly actions. However, for a newcomer to Canada who has never recycled before, or used any other type of transport asides from their four-wheeler, getting used to this new conserved way of living could be an instant culture shock.
Some immigrants are not used to the routine of recycling, or keeping eco-friendly grocery bags in the car, and as a result these conservational actions are not of importance to them.
Sonal Sachdev, 21, a university student who moved to Canada five years ago from Dubai said that her upbringing was much different, in terms of being environmentally friendly. “In Dubai everything went in one garbage bin; when you’ve been brought up for 16 years, why bother to change your habits now,” she said.
Sheela Menon, a mother of two who has been living in Canada for the past 20 years, says that she is the one who has to encourage her two teenagers to recycle at home.
“They follow my lead; kids, teenagers don’t really give enough thought about being environmentally friendly,” Menon said.
Although Menon had no knowledge of the eco-friendly way of life when she first came to Canada, because her neighbours and peers were enforcing it in their families, she says “the truth all makes sense and you start encouraging it”.
For immigrants coming to Canada today, it is extremely important that today’s young generation educate their parents about the eco-friendly way of life, and how to help the environment in every way possible. Parents and grandparents who are settling in Canada have most likely never been exposed to alternative methods of transportation, or recycling, so it is important to promote environmentally friendly actions at home, and tell them why It is significant.
Farishta Ahmad, 19, along with her two younger siblings were born and raised in Canada. Its Ahmad’s 10-year-old sister who encourages recycling and re-using bags in their household.
“My sister tells us all the time what she’s been learning in school, and slowly my parents catch on as to why we’re doing all this,” Ahmad said.
Ahmad admits that before, they recycled solely out of habit, without knowing exactly why they were doing it. Although her parents knew to separate the recyclable garbage from ordinary garbage, they only did it because it was the routine thing to do. Now with the knowledge passed on by their youngest daughter, Ahmad and her family are more aware as to why they are taking certain actions.
“As a Canadian child, I think it’s important that we educate our parents, aunts and uncles about what we are learning in school, or learning from our friends, so they can be more aware and have an appreciation for the environment,” Ahmad said.

By Kuldip Nayar, New Delhi

Politics of opportunism has resulted in exploiting the educated youth by politicians, causing inter-regional and inter-community differences. This articulation is as much applicable to Pakistan and Bangladesh as India. All three countries maybe treading different paths but they share the same infirmities because of unprincipled politicians.

STATES in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh are partly the result of accident and partly of British presence in the subcontinent. India regrouped them in 1955 on a linguistic basis.
Even then, it had to reconstitute four more states in the last few years to suit political demands. Pakistan has resisted the pressure because mapping out new provinces may create more problems than solve them. Bangladesh is determined to retain the unitary system, although the decentralisation of power may be a better way of administering the country. Yet the key question has been how to avoid mixing political considerations with the people`s aspirations.
After carving out 14 states since independence, New Delhi still faces the ever-growing demand for creating more new units. The most pressing demand has been for Telangana, embracing more or less the same territory which the Nizam of Hyderabad had under him before the state was amalgamated into Andhra Pradesh.
People in Telangana feel they have not got their due which the Telugu-speaking people have enjoyed. However Muslims, who constitute 41 per cent of the population in Hyderabad, are in favour of a united Andhra Pradesh because in the rest of the state they number less than five per cent. Earlier last year, when Telangana was engulfed by fierce agitation and Telangana Rashtra Samithi leader K. Chandrasekhar Rao went on a fast unto death, the centre once again got panicky as it did when it hurriedly appointed the Commission for Reorganisation of States (CRS) in 1954. Then Potti Sreeramulu had died after fasting for the demand of a separate state for Telugu speakers. This time the government appointed a committee headed by former Supreme Court judge Sri Krishna to propose steps to deal with the problem of Telangana.
In his report Justice Sri Krishna has discussed six options but has preferred to keep Andhra Pradesh united. The question of the future status of Hyderabad city seems to have influenced the five-member commission. It has mentioned this in four out of six options. A bifurcation of the state without Hyderabad going to them is not acceptable to the people of either region, both for economic reasons and sentimental factors. If Andhra Pradesh is disturbed, there is no doubt that the business confidence in India`s fifth biggest city would be shaken. In fact the information technology industry in Hyderabad is connected more to the national (through investment) and global (through the market) economies than it is to the regional economy. New Delhi`s predicament is that if it concedes Telangana, it faces the revival of demands for new states. Local passions have become stronger than regional loyalty. Minorities in states have felt over the years that they have been pushed into the corner by the majority`s chauvinism. The initial idea of citizenship has worn out because a common citizenship for the entire Indian people has not given equal rights and equal opportunities throughout the union.
New Delhi`s bungling of the Telangana issue is blatant. It was announced in parliament that the process of forming Telangana would be initiated soon. And then the government went back on its word. The other parts of Andhra Pradesh were up in arms. Only the appointment of a committee restored peace.
Gorkha land — the hilly parts of West Bengal — has already started to agitate to get the demand for a new state conceded. Bodobad in Assam has threatened violence if it is not made a union territory. And Vidarbha in Maharashtra is an old demand which even the commission on reorganisation of states had recommended in 1954.
How India, or for that matter the ruling Congress, sorts out Telangana will give a peep into the government`s thinking on the formation of other states. The party will be damned if it constitutes Telangana and damned if it does not. But it appears that events would meander ultimately towards constituting the state of Telangana.
Such politics of opportunism has resulted in exploiting the educated youth by politicians, causing inter-regional and inter-community differences. This articulation is as much applicable to Pakistan and Bangladesh as India. All three countries maybe treading different paths but they share the same infirmities because of unprincipled politicians. Another CRS, which has been demanded by many, may open the floodgates. What the country does not seem to realise yet is that new demands are primarily an assertion of caste, not language. The scheduled castes and the scheduled tribes, the backward classes and the minorities have their own aspirations for political space, economic development and reservation benefits. This observation is borne out by the clear caste divisions witnessed among the Telangana joint action groups, including those on the Osmania University campus. The violence witnessed before the formation of linguistic states in the early `50s may engulf the country once again. Unity or integration of a country does neither depend on raising slogans nor on chastising people who want to opt out because they are maltreated and denied what a dominant group in a state enjoys as its right. This leads to desperation and people come to have faith in extremism. In some cases, ethnic cleansing is considered a way out. Some evidence is visible on the border of Meghalaya and Assam where people speaking other languages have been pushed out.
Societies have to have a sense of accommodation and spirit of tolerance if they want to live together peacefully. It is the integrity of a nation on which the future is centred. Communities of different hues and different thinking are the limbs of a nation, not the nation by themselves. That the limbs should be healthy and strong is in the interest of the country. But they cannot supplant the nation.
The writer is a senior journalist based in Delhi.

By Dr. Hasan Askari, Lahore

Nawaz Sharif should get over the trauma of ouster of his government by General Pervez Musharraf in October 1999 and spend more energy on coping with the current and the future problems.

The return of the MQM to the government benches in the National Assembly has given a new lease of life to Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani who was under severe pressure with the exit of the JUI-Fazlur Rahman and the MQM in December 2010. Nawaz Sharif also decided to increase political pressure on the PPP-led federal government by placing some demands to the government with two deadlines. However, his deadlines lost relevance when the MQM’s return to the PPP enabled the federal government to retrieve its majority in the National Assembly.
The federal government has overcome the survival crisis, at least for the time being but it is expected to face more problems in the future. The opposition parties are looking for new opportunities. Now, the ultra-Islamic parties have got an issue to play with the religious sentiments of the people and bring them out in the street for agitation for pursuing the religious agenda of the clergy. As the Islamic parties do not perform in the elections, they assert their clout through street agitation and promotion of narrow religious and sectarian sentiments. This problem will haunt not only the PPP government but also the future of democracy in Pakistan.
If the political parties and leaders want to secure the future of democracy in Pakistan they will have to shift in their disposition, how they conduct their affairs and their interaction with the common people. They need to ensure justice and fairplay in governance and political management and pursue their affairs in a more transparent, judicious and democratic manner.
The electoral performance is one criterion to judge the popular basis of the leadership. However, this is not the sole criterion to judge the performance of the political leaders and the quality of democracy. An elected government cannot continue to command the voluntary loyalty of the people if it does not effectively address their socio-economic insecurities. The performance of the federal and provincial governments in Pakistan has generally been poor. The major deficiencies are in the economic domain because the economy is relying heavily on foreign assistance and the governments are unable to control the prices of essential commodities whose supply to the market is manipulated by the industrial and business/trader mafias. The federal and provincial governments appear helpless to check these practices that are increasing the concentration of wealth in the upper strata of the society and increasing economic pressures on other sections of the society. Additional insecurities are caused by increased urban violence and terrorism.
The opposition parties, especially the PMLN, are holding the PPP-led federal government responsible for the increased socio-economic pressure on the common people. As a matter of fact all major parties have to share the blame because these are sharing power either at the federal or provincial level. The PMLN, the major critic of the federal government, controls the provincial government in the Punjab, which has more population than the other three provinces put together. If this province is managed effectively more than half of Pakistan’s population will have fewer reasons to complain.
Though it is the responsibility of all leaders to cultivate genuine support of the people, the major responsibility is that of the two major political parties, the PPP and the PMLN. Certain steps have to be taken by each party in its individual capacity and other measures have to be adopted jointly.
The PPP governments at the federal and provincial level should improve its governance and manage a cost-effective administration. There are serious complaints of corruption in the government circles that have undermined their reputation.
The PMLN should go beyond high flying rhetoric against the PPP federal government by providing a well-thought out plan of action for coping with economic and societal problems.
Nawaz Sharif should get over the trauma of ouster of his government by General Pervez Musharraf in October 1999 and spend more energy on coping with the current and the future problems. The PMLN and the PPP should not only improve their bilateral interaction but also need to work with other political parties, especially the regional political parties like the ANP and the MQM. Islamic political parties should be encouraged to stay in the mainstream politics so that the influence of hard line and orthodox clergy and militant groups is neutralized. However, the Islamic parties generally function as the political front for the militant and violent Islamic and sectarian groups. The recent agitation for the blasphemy law has shown that the clergy has little notion of Pakistan as a nation state, its constitution and law. They want everything to be subordinated to their narrow and intolerant religious agendas. Such a religious state becomes intolerant to those who do not share the perspective of the religiously dominant elite. This has extremely dangerous consequences for Pakistan where different schools of Islamic fiqh exist.
The political leaders and political parties need to recognize that Pakistan’s salvation lies in functioning as a constitutional democracy that subscribes to the rule of law, equality of citizenship for religious and cultural pluralism. Pakistan is drifting away from all this.

Wrestling Legend Tiger Jeet Singh, his son (former WWE Superstar) Tiger Ali Singh, and their dear friend Troy Newton, spearheaded The Tiger Jeet Singh Foundation’s efforts in raising a record setting $60,000 in food and toys as a result of Troy’s Toy Drive 2010, doubling the $30,000 raised last year.
Supporters from across Ontario attended Troy’s Diner in Milton. Milton restaurateur Troy Newton donated all proceeds from the luncheon to the Toy Drive, as customers opened their hearts and pockets for the less fortunate over the 6 hour fundraiser.
Tiger Jeet Singh and his son Tiger Ali Singh signed hundreds of autographs and offered the crowd numerous speeches of encouragement, as did hockey legends Walter Gretzky and Johnny Bower.
Music was provided by numerous bands including the Salvation Army Brass Quartet and Milton Choristers, in addition to a special “Christmas Around The World” performance by recording artist Prita Chhabra and bhangra dancers from the Sonay Gabroo Punjab De (SGPD) team.
On December 21, Tiger Jeet Singh and Tiger Ali Singh also visited The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) to read and provide autographs for numerous children and parents. Accompanying the Tigers was their dear friend Troy Newton along with their respected family members.
“If it was not for the Tigers, my sister/business partner Crystal and team this would not be possible,” says Troy Newton.
“I thank my buddy Troy for asking my father and I about one year ago to team up in organizing the toy drive and wrestlefest events, because it gave us the opportunity to bring people of different cultures and religions together for the greater good of humanity and give back to noble charities,” says Tiger Ali Singh.
This week, the Tigers and Troy’s Diner have also confirmed Saturday, June 4, 2011 as their 2nd annual “Tigerfest”, once again as part of the Milton Street Festival. The outdoor five hour wrestling extravaganza, free for the public, drew over 50,000 spectators and raised close to $35,000 for the Milton District Hospital Foundation this past June 2010.

By Aabida Dhanji, Toronto “Without shooting myself in the foot here I’d have to say the first and main reason is Money or in other words (Market-ability)..I think the second reason in answer to this question is that music nowadays is more “Fluffy” and lacks “Substance”.” Kice Soroor, more commonly known as Kastro is the first Canadian/Afghan Pop Artist. His official first single “Crush on You” came out in early 2010. “Crush on You” received over 50,000 YouTube views. Kastro has already performed at some of Toronto’s hottest venues. He’s been to Luxy Nightclub, Frequency Nightclub, Club XS, The Guvernment and many more. He has performed alongside many other famous artists such as Atif Aslam, Massari, Culture Shock, Raghav, Aleesia, Shawn Desman and many more! His first album; “THE REVOLUTION” was released on September 11, 2010. Though he doesn’t have a specific genre for his music, he sings almost anything from hip hop, dance, or pop. With music in his blood, Kastro has been influenced by his family. His brothers Walid and Waheed Soroor have made name for themselves in Afghani Music Scene. Other than that he in inspired by “Jadakiss,” Usher, Drake, Rihanna, Jay-z, Jay Sean…AND yes even Justin Bieber. “Bands like Nirvana, Red Hot Chilli Peppers and Nickel back are always playing in my Ipod! Bottom line is I get influenced by anything and everything so to pay homage to particular artists doesn’t do justice. Put it this way…If I hear it and I like it, then I’ve been influenced by it (It’s no wonder why I can’t stick to writing 1 Genre of Music lol)” he tells Generation Next. In last seven years, Kastro has learned a lot. “Looking back at my first show makes me realize how far I’ve come, being blessed to have shared a stage with names like Belly, Massari, Raghav, Shawn Desman and Many More…Interacting with Fans, taking pictures with them and ultimately doing my thing in front of 30,000 people gets my adrenaline going!” As a next step, Kastro is planning to shoot his second Music Video in Early 2011 which will be aired on international TV for steady circulation! “I also have a couple of songs I’m working on with a few names that I can’t say just yet but know this… They are going to SHOCK everyone!!” tells Kastro, leaving me in suspense. “OH and to answer all the emails and PM’s… Yes, the rumour is true, we are working on a deal with a very familiar Label which you WILL hear more about soon I Promise!! But due to a confidentiality agreement that’s all I can give you right now,” he adds. Why is the music of today’s musicians short lived? “Without shooting myself in the foot here I’d have to say the first and main reason is Money or in other words (Market-ability)..I think the second reason in answer to this question is that music nowadays is more “Fluffy” and lacks “Substance”.” Is music as a career taken seriously enough by musicians themselves? “To make this simple I’ll say “To each his own”. Where do you see yourself in ten years? “In all seriousness I’d like to be the CEO of my own sub-label and house young talent where I could ghost-write and direct behind the scenes. I’d also like to run workshops and fully funded recording studios to give young aspiring artists the opportunity to put their energy into something positive that will not only make them feel a sense of accomplishment, but will keep them away from negative influences. I know I wish I had access to that stuff growing up! If all else fails my third option is to be on an island somewhere, sitting by the water and sippin’ on something cool with my wifey next to me,” he tell us. Any performances coming up that we should know about? “Absolutely, Come out to Body English Nightclub in Mississauga on Thursday Feb 3rd, I’ll be taking the stage there! 2 Dollar drinks all night plus people on my guest list free Before 11!! To know more about Kastro, please Don’t forget to Subscribe!! www.youtube.com/kicesoroor Download Kastro’s Debut LP for FREE @ www.kastromusic.bandcamp.com Follow Kastro on Twitter – www.twitter.com/kastrothamac Facebook Kastro @ “Kice Kastro Soroor”