Ben Viccari (1918-2010) was a writer, journalist, broadcaster and champion of Canadian multiculturalism. He was a past president of the Canadian Ethnic Media Association (CEMA). He also published the online blog and news service, Canscene: Canada's multicultural scene. Ben's commentaries have been featured regularly on OMNI Television. He also started Losode.com, a web site for low sodium dieters.
Viccari was born in England in 1918, son of an Italian immigrant father and English mother. Thus, his very beginnings were multicultural. Even at over 90 years of age, Viccari continued to serve his community, acting as a bridge between Canada's diverse cultural groups.
He began his career as a writer in England and served in Britain's Royal Artillery in Europe during the Second World War. After the fall of Benito Mussolini, he joined the Military Mission to the Italian Army (Allied Control Commission). Viccari moved to Canada in 1947 and was successful in the fields of public relations, broadcasting and print communications, notably:
From 1986 to 2000, he was managing editor of Canadian Scene, the non-profit, multilingual news and information service for Canada's ethnic media, which has now ceased publication. [2]
The closure of Canadian Scene prompted Viccari to launch his blog, Canscene, publishing multicultural news articles, updated monthly. Ethnic media are encouraged to pick up and reproduce, free of charge, any article that is of interest.
In 2005, Viccari worked with executive producer Lalita Krishna to create the television documentary The Third Element, chronicling the growth of ethnic media in Canada from the 19th century to the present. Ben appeared as host in the documentary, also writing its script and assisting with editing.
The Third Element was produced in English and Italian versions. Both have been aired several times on Omni TV.
Lalita and Viccari have completed a second documentary, The M Word, tracing the progress of multiculturalism in Canada from its introduction as a national policy to current controversy and the way ahead. The documentary aired for the first time, in English, on OMNI.1 Television, Saturday, December 1, 2007.
In 2009, Viccari launched a web site called Losode.com, a non-profit information exchange for low sodium dieters. He posts his own discoveries about low sodium products and recipes, and those of others who submit information. Comments are moderated, to conform with standards of Canadian and U.S. medical professions.
In 2010, the documentary film "I Have A Little Sugar" premiered on OMNI Television. Lalita Krishna produced the film, which explores the impact of diabetes, and in particular ethnic groups' exposure to the condition. English and Tamil language versions were produced.
Ben Viccari died at the age of 91, at St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, on May 6, 2010.
Viccari married his wife Anne in 1967. Their children, grandchildren and great grandchildren share in diverse Canadian, Italian, British, Dutch, Ukrainian, Mexican-Irish and German heritages.
A lifelong film buff and author of screenplays himself, Viccari supplements Canscene's news content with reviews of films; especially during the Toronto International Film Festival. In 2006, he attended 26 showings and reviewed 11 of them for the Canscene blog.
Viccari is an avid reader, frequently reviewing books on Canscene.
He is knowledgeable fan of opera and has contributed reviews to the magazine Performance Arts & Entertainment in Canada.
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Little Italy, sometimes referred to as College Street West, is a district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is known for its Italian Canadian restaurants and businesses. There is also a significant Latin-Canadian and Portuguese-Canadian community in the area. The district is centred on a restaurant/bar/shopping strip along College Street, imprecisely between Harbord Street and Dundas Street, and spreading out east and west between Bathurst Street and Ossington Avenue. It is contained within the larger city-recognized neighbourhood of Palmerston-Little Italy.
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CJMT-DT is a television station in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is one of two flagship stations of the Canadian multilingual network Omni Television. CJMT-DT is owned and operated by Rogers Sports & Media alongside sister Omni outlet CFMT-DT and Citytv flagship CITY-DT. The three stations share studios at 33 Dundas Street East on Yonge-Dundas Square in downtown Toronto; CJMT-DT's transmitter is located atop the CN Tower.
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The following is a list of events affecting Canadian television in 2016. Events listed include television show debuts, finales, cancellations, and channel launches, closures and rebrandings.