Public money and private interests at the African Descent Society BC
If you live in Metro Vancouver, you’ve probably heard of the African Descent Society (ADS). Less well known is that it has received more than $2 million in public funding from federal, provincial, and municipal governments. This report examines how a publicly funded society left businesses unpaid, became closely tied to private interests, and continued to receive government funding despite mounting red flags.
In August last year, the ADS was all over the news when the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation axed its annual festival — the African Descent Festival — citing organizers’ alleged failure to meet planning, safety, and financial requirements.
As previously reported by Coastal Front, the cancellation shone a spotlight on a larger story: the ADS has received more than $2 million in public funds from federal, provincial, and municipal governments since 2016, according to grant records. Federal records show $1.3 million in grants, the BC government has provided at least $720,000 since 2018, and the City of Vancouver has ponied up $101,000.
In a perfect world, one would expect a certain level of accountability and transparency to accompany that level of public funding, yet Coastal Front found potential conflicts of interest tied to Executive Director and Founder Yasin Kiraga Misago’s private companies. Misago is president and CEO of Frontline Public Relations, which he has described as the “mother company” of Frontline Records Vancouver. Both businesses operate out of the same shared office space as the ADS.
At least eight artists represented by Frontline have performed at ADS events going back to 2016. This overlap could create a situation where Misago uses Frontline to bill the ADS for services, paying himself with public funds intended for the society.
Further, the ADS’s 2023 annual report states that the society established a music production studio under Misago’s leadership, and a June 2022 Facebook post by the ADS included a photo of its “newly-created” studio, referring to it as “Frontline Records Studio.”
Photos of what appears to be the same studio are also published on Frontline Records’ website, and City of Vancouver records indicate that the city disbursed more than $32,000 toward the ADS for this studio in 2022 and 2023.
The concern is straightforward: ADS reports establishing a music production studio, while that studio is publicly branded as “Frontline Records Studio,” the name of a private company controlled by ADS’s executive director. As a registered society governed by the BC Societies Act, ADS is required to manage its assets and operations in the interests of the society. This follows the previously mentioned overlap between ADS and Misago’s private companies, including the use of Frontline-represented artists at ADS events. If public funds were used to create infrastructure that is branded or associated with a private business run by the same individual, it raises questions about the intended use of public money and who benefits from it.
When Coastal Front first asked such questions to Misago, he replied, “Is providing a service a conflict of interest?” He later phoned Coastal Front’s office, evidently agitated, highlighting the “good work” he does and questioning why such inquiries were being made.
The next day, the ADS’s website went offline for several days.
After Coastal Front published its first report, Misago sent Coastal Front an email demanding that the article be removed and an apology issued.
“If you fail to do this immediately, we will issue a notice to sue in the court and your company will pay all the damage and reputation plus all the costs, or request a jail sentence for threats and intimidation,” read Yasin’s October 6 email.
The article remains live.
Outstanding balances
As many Vancouver residents will have read, the festival’s permit troubles were tied to unfulfilled payments. Park board officials said organizers had not resolved outstanding debts to both the board and the Vancouver Police Department. A repayment agreement was reached, which the city said came too late for 2025 planning. Police and park rangers blocked setup at the beach before the scheduled opening.
In addition to the ADS not resolving its debts with the city, its director has also been busy in small claims court.
One claim, filed by Cornerstone Security and Transport Inc., states that it is owed thousands of dollars by the ADS. Cornerstone, in its filing, says security services were provided annually for the past eight years at the African Descent Festival without issue.
“Invoices for the 2017–2023 years were paid promptly and in full; 2024 has an outstanding balance,” said Cornerstone. That outstanding balance to Cornerstone is more than $16,000. The ADS did pay Cornerstone $2,000 in May of last year.
Coastal Front reached out to Cornerstone for comment but did not receive a response.
‘Manipulative and unprofessional’
Additionally, the ADS and its directors are facing claims for unpaid bills from another company involved in the 2024 festival and have now been ordered by the court to pay more than $10,000 to Right Way Traffic Systems (RWTS), another Vancouver-based business.
In written responses provided to Coastal Front, RWTS said it understood payment decisions at ADS were controlled by executive director Yasin Kiraga Misago. “Every direction, delay or discussion regarding payment came directly from him,” the company wrote, adding that no other director was involved in payment matters.
RWTS characterized Misago’s conduct as “manipulative and unprofessional,” alleging that he “lacks basic respect and accountability” toward vendors and engaged in repeated blame-shifting. The company said extended payment arrangements were not standard practice in the traffic-control industry, noting that “typically, our clients pay invoices a month from the date they are issued.”
RWTS also described what it views as a broader pattern in how ADS solicited and treated Black-owned businesses. In its written statement, RWTS said Misago appealed to shared community ties, telling the company he expected support from Black-owned businesses and referring to RWTS representatives as “brothers.” According to RWTS, similar language was used during court proceedings, where Misago asked, “Why should we fight in court as brothers?”
From RWTS’s perspective, these appeals were part of an exploitation pattern in which Black-owned businesses were encouraged to participate as vendors in the name of shared cultural goals, only to later be left unpaid by Misago.
When asked whether Misago provided a clear explanation for the outstanding balance, RWTS said responses were “vague,” citing explanations such as “we had issues with cash flow,” or comments the company viewed as unrelated, including references to the festival’s cancellation in 2025. RWTS said it never received a clear reason why a signed payment agreement was not honoured.
According to RWTS, a payment agreement signed on February 12 did not lead to any progress. “There were no meaningful steps taken, no partial payments, and no initiative to meet the terms he had agreed to,” the company wrote. RWTS said Misago remained non-responsive to follow-up emails until the company filed a small claims action in August 2025.
Records show that nine days before that February 12 agreement was signed, ADS was approved for a $34,500 grant from Ottawa.
RWTS questioned Misago’s suitability as the leader of an organization that presents itself as a community advocate. “Leadership requires empathy, accountability, and the ability to treat people fairly,” RWTS wrote, adding that its experience reflected a pattern of delaying payments, deflecting responsibility, manipulating vendors into payment plans, and exploiting Black-owned businesses in the name of community.
On January 2 this year, the African Descent Society was ordered to pay RWTS $10,651.80, and it must do so before June 1.
Government funding, despite red flags
As mentioned, the BC government alone has provided more than $720,000 since 2018. Coastal Front asked the province whether it was aware of Misago’s private business interests, whether funding agreements with the ADS contain conflict-of-interest provisions, and whether the province has reviewed or will review ADS’s governance and financial management. The Ministry of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport initially said it was “looking into this” and promised a response by August 14, 2025. Nearly six months later, no response has been provided, despite multiple follow-ups.
This information was provided by the BC Public Accounts. Figures are expressed in dollars ($).
Coastal Front has filed a federal ATIP request and FOI requests at the provincial and municipal levels to better understand how more than $2 million in public funds was allocated, after communications with government representatives yielded little insight.
In response to a City of Vancouver FOI request seeking records relating to payments disbursed to the African Descent Society over several years, the City replied on January 13 that “no responsive records have been located.”
“Staff have confirmed there were no payments disbursed to the African Descent Society British Columbia during the date range specified in your request,” the City wrote.
That statement conflicts with publicly available records. Further, the City of Vancouver previously confirmed to Coastal Front that it has provided $101,000 in Arts and Culture Grants to the African Descent Society since 2016. After initiating a review, the City acknowledged that it had “only focused on the Park Board” and is now expanding its search to accurately reflect Coastal Front’s FOI request.
(Provided to Coastal Front by the City of Vancouver in August 2025.)
‘Terrorism intimidation’ and ‘unprofessional idiots’
Communication with Misago and the ADS has also been in vain. Coastal Front sent a list of clear and concise questions to Misago and all board members with contact information listed online. The questions pertained to potential conflicts of interest, funding allocation, bookkeeping, transparency, unpaid invoices to local businesses, and adherence to the BC Societies Act, among other issues.
Some of the email addresses bounced, so Coastal Front also sent physical letters to several directors’ listed addresses. The only response received came from Misago, who characterized the inquiry as “unethical cyber harassment” and “terrorism intimidation” carried out by “unprofessional idiots.”
Misago also accused Coastal Front of “racism” and “discrimination in media,” before emailing photos of its staff to businesses that had taken him to court and asking whether they had “hired” Coastal Front.
“It has come to our attention that there are two men, one of whom is an Iranian living in Vancouver, his name is Arjan Sahota, blogger for online blogging called Coastal Front and his friend, one of European descent, a Canadian called Reid Small,” Misago wrote, before accusing Coastal Front staff of being “planted to spread defamatory news.”
Misago repeatedly referred to Coastal Front’s Sahota as “Iranian,” in what appeared to be a pejorative manner. While the point is not relevant to the reporting itself, it is worth noting that Sahota is not Iranian, but a Canadian of Indian descent. It is unclear how Misago concluded that Sahota is Iranian. Nonetheless, Misago referred to Iran five times in the email.
“You don't have the authority nor any moral authority to discuss Canadian court issues,” Misago wrote.
Government accountability
What remains unresolved is not just the conduct of the ADS, but the role of governments that have continued to fund it. Despite repeated red flags, public funding has flowed from federal, provincial, and municipal sources. With millions of taxpayer dollars involved, this points to gaps in how publicly funded organizations are vetted, monitored, and whether accountability mechanisms are being applied.
The issue is not the ADS itself. Community events like the African Descent Festival can and do provide real cultural value and public benefit. The problem is leadership and government due diligence. When a publicly funded organization is mismanaged, lacks transparency, potentially prioritizes private interests over its obligations through back channels, and, as critics say, “exploits” people, the result is straightforward: accountability is absent. The failure is not with the idea of the organization, but with the individual entrusted to run it — and the governments that continue to fund him.
