Canada vs Jamaica dispute ends northern ‘Patty vs Patty’ feud

On arrival to foreign destinations immigrants often confront challenges and unfamiliar practices they must adapt.

In 1985, Jamaicans experienced their own when they traveled north of the Caribbean to settle in Ontario, Canada.

At least one family from Hopewell, Hanover faced an unexpected obstacle after successfully establishing a viable source of income.

According to Kingston-born Michael Donaldson who migrated as a teenager, his parents were vacationing in Jamaica when he was tasked with managing Kensington Patty Palace, in Toronto. At the time business bustled and as a baker himself it was an easy legacy to continue while his parents were away.

There was no shortage of customers.

Some patrons married their purchases by requesting “coco bread and patty” others stopped in to buy a patty or few.

The signature item that branded the address seemed to provide a reliable source of temporary culinary nostalgia and a feeling of home away from home.

“A patty represents our tradition,” Davidson explained.

The Canadian transplant explained that his observation recalled the national favorite was universally accepted by adults but school children on the island particularly relished the treat.

In fact, in Toronto, the patty was regarded a familiar food item and a baker’s delight to Caribbean nationals who hungered for a taste of home.

Along with hard dough bread, bun, and other baked goods, shoppers flocked to sample and savor the crusty snack.

However, one day, a food inspector stopped into the bake shop. On a mission to issue an order to cease and desist from ‘illegally’ selling the item, she claimed the bakery engaged in misleading the public because the product misrepresented a Canadian food.

A patty she said defines “shaped lean beef.”

The consumer advocate added that the beef patty did not meet the criteria defined by Canadian law.

Adamant that the delicacy was not a patty, she ordered a name change with three months to comply to a name-change

She suggested alternatives — a Canadian turnover, meat pocket, Caribbean pie or ground beef patty.

“It’s like calling a donut a sugar circle,” Davidson said.

Unacceptable to his ears he explained that compliance to the deadline “would have prematurely ended the business.”

What she described seemed to represent a hamburger, or that was Davidson’s understanding in 1985.

Davidson took his case to his customers, many of whom claimed the big burger franchises might be behind the campaign to stop the business from profiting.

Numerous theories about sabotage emanated and Davidson was willing to take his case to Patty Parliament in Ottawa. The media intervened with coverage from The Toronto Star, The Toronto Sun and other major newspapers and television outlets.

Throughout the dispute Davidson continued to deliver freshly-baked delights to a demanding patronage. Determined to continue the legacy his parents started Davidson took his case to the Jamaica consulate, and as high as Edward Seaga, the prime minister of the island.

Eventually a compromise was reached with a decision to distinguish a Canadian patty from a Jamaican patty. The name Jamaican Patty resonated with Davidson. Business endured, flourishing to Scarborough where a second outlet opened.

It seems a millennia since February 1985.

Instagram was not the social media fascination it is today.

However, the portal is where filmmaker Chris Strikes happened onto the decades-old dispute. A Jamaican offspring himself, the Toronto-born Canadian said he was shocked by the archived information.

“I couldn’t believe my eyes,” Strikes said, “how could this happen?”

Immediately he felt compelled to document the entire incident which he titled “Patty Vs Patty.”

Strikes completed the film last year and it has been making the rounds. Last year the film was nominated for Best Short Film at the 2022 Directors Guild of Canada Awards. It also won a Canadian Screen Award for best short documentary at the 11th Canadian screen awards in 2023.

Strikes is hoping ‘Patty vs Patty’ will be among the best documentary film finalists for an Academy award next year.

Already his short narratives have been screened to critical acclaim at film festivals in Cannes, France, London and Manchester, England, Toronto, Halifax and Hamilton and Hamilton, Canada and in Los Angeles, California.

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