Minutes
of the Monthly Meeting held on November 08, 2010 at Queen’s Park
Present:
Thomas
S. Saras
Asha
Rajak
Saad
Alsafar
Neel
Nanda
Bahram
Bahrami
Hassan
Zerehi
Parry
Long
Muse
Kulow
Suleyman
Guven
Mohammad-Bagher
Samini
Nasser
Nakeyar
Charles
Devasegayam
Ahmad
Shah Hotaki
Ned
Blair
Viara
Dimitrova
Patrick
Callanghan
C.
Sentenikathan
J.
Ninisto
Adnan
Hasmi
Ohannes
(John) Baljian
Ismael
Sambra
Savaj
Haroutinia
Roffi
Der- Boghossian
Logan
Vehimaihim
Willian-Doyle-Marshal
Mohammed
Tajdolati
Susana
Donan
Ernesto
Donan
Hai-Tien
Lin
Jonathan
Annobil
Emmanuel
Ayiku
Pobeda
Piskaceva
Blacoya
Bob Risivic
Riaz
Hussain
S.
A. Milak
Aaron
Berhane
Paulraj
Rajapandan
Srimal
Adeyewardene
Nagaman
Logendidan
Muhammed
Enad
Regrets
Agenda
1.
Welcome Remarks by the chair.
2.
Minutes of the previous meeting.
3.
Presentation by Andrea Horwath, Leader – Ontario New Democrat
4.
Presidents Report
5.
New Business
6.
Adjournment
Welcome
Remarks by the Chair:
Thomas Saras chaired the
meeting and declared the meeting open. Suleyman Guven moved a motion to
approve the agenda. Ahmed Shah Hotaki seconded it. The motion was carried.
Minutes of the previous meeting:
Dr. Khan Khoda moved a motion to approve the minutes of the previous monthly meeting held on October 18, 2010 Dr. Tajdolati seconded it. The motion was carried.
President’s
Report/Discussions:
·
Thomas Saras thanked
all the members who helped during the award ceremony. The event was a
great success.
·
Thomas Saras
encouraged all members to participate in this year’s annual dinner on
December 17, as it will reflect the diversity of the organization.
·
Motion: Thomas Saras
asked the council to endorse an expenditure of approximately of $900
towards buying wine and other beverages for the annual dinner on December
17. Dr. Khan Khoda moved a motion to this regard and Srimal Abeyawardene
seconded it. The motion was carried.
·
Armed Forces invited
the members to a tour
of Army base in Trenton. It is a good opportunity for the members to
participate. President Thomas Saras encouraged members to respond to
invitations sent by armed forces and participate in the tours organized by
them.
·
The video recording
of the awards ceremony is available for $20 and a copy of it will be
mailed to LTG, Government of Ontario and Government of Canada. A few DVD
copies were also available during the meeting.
·
Dr. Tajdolati
suggested that the Order of Ontario be bestowed to Thomas Saras as the
leader of NEPMCC. He said although awards are given to individuals and not
organizations/institutions but by President Thomas Saras receiving the
award it would mean that the award is being given to the entire ethnic
media industry and their respective communities. Many members participated
in this discussion and supported the suggestion of the Ombudsman Dr.
Tajdaloti.
·
President Thomas S.
Saras, thank everyone for the suggestion and their good will and responded
by saying that “Whatever applies to other members also applies and bound
the president without any exemption.
·
Thomas Saras has ask
the Ministry of the Attorney General to appoint Asha Rajak, as officer of
oath for the needs of the members of the NEPMCC. So in the future the
organization will be able to provide
certificates about the circulation of its members. He would inform
the members as soon as he receives some news on this.
·
NEPMCC had submitted
a proposal to the Federal Government to carry out a survey reflecting on
the economic condition of the members. There was a proposal submitted
earlier for the awards ceremony which was rejected by the government due
to some mistakes. The case is still open as Thomas S. Saras is struggling
to revive the file.
·
President Thomas
Saras stated that the purpose of the economic survey is to reflect on the
economic condition of the members of the ethnic media who work very hard
to put up a publication. The project has been accepted by the Government.
The project is going to be conducted by Seneca College Markham.
Seneca College will prepare the questionnaire for the survey. This
is the first ever survey done in Canada by the ethnic press for the
members of the Ethnic Press and Media. Mila Garcia had earlier suggested
that members could provide feedback to Seneca College for developing the
questionnaire.
·
The economic survey
is in the final steps. This
project is going to enrich our powers.
We have to demonstrate the power of ethnic media through the
survey. President Thomas Saras said he will update members on the progress
of this project.
·
President urged the
members to cooperate and respond to the economic survey undertaken by
NEPMCC as it was in their own interest to participate.
·
Tim Hudak would be
one of the main speakers on the annual dinner on December 17.
·
The media buying
agency or the Agency of Record of the Ontario Government has changed.
ZenithOptimedia will begin placing all media buys as of November 29.
·
The awards to
Shahrvand and Dimitri Soudas would be presented during the annual dinner
on December 17. Also in the same occasion the organization will recognize
all the volunteers helped for the successes during the 2010 year.
·
President Thomas
Saras mentioned that when we are deciding on an award we are recognizing a
publication due to their attendance and for their commitment in supporting
the organization by working hard for the cause of the ethnic media and the
Council.
·
Members who had
earlier ordered tickets for the annual dinner were given tickets during
the meeting upon payment. Tickets were almost sold out and the President
hoped the remaining tickets would be brought by members of other
communities so that its going to be an opportunity for all to be
represented in an event of rich diversity that this organization carries.
·
President Thomas
Saras sent a letter to Heritage Canada seeking some clarification under
Publication Assistance Program. Thomas
Saras met with officials of Heritage Canada in Ottawa. Next year the
program application will be on the website.
Effective immediately there is a program on September 2010
–Canada Business Innovation Fund for print periodicals. Members
interested to know more about the program were asked to refer to the
website of the Heritage Canada Ministry or contact the office of the
President to seek clarification or more information. November 24 is the
deadline for application under PAP.
·
Presentation
by Andrea Horwath, Leader – Ontario New Democrat
Below are some excerpts from Andrea
Horwath’s address to NEPMCC
“My family has roots from
former Czechoslovakia.
My father got a good job in the auto industry.
He made a lot of sacrifices for the family and was a hard worker.
Parents made sure to give a decent life for the family. They realized the
best gift they can give their children is education. My father was a
founding member of a cultural organization in Hamilton. As members of
NEPMCC you do a good job in enriching the media market in bringing more
voices. Mainstream Media does not serve every household.
The New Democrats are determined to speak with everybody.
Your readers and subscribers have concern regarding rising cost.
The present government has misled facts on HST. Your readers and
viewers/listeners are not making more money but are facing burden of
rising cost due to HST. The verdict on HST is going to come in the
election of 2011. We want an immediate removal of HST from the hydro bill.
The government has the option of listening to our idea or we would bring
it to the people. The freedom of information is meant to work in such a way to
use information on what government is doing. We need to lower the cost of
freedom of information. We need to put teeth in FOI process. It is a
matter of perspective. Today’s immigrants and children are going to
build the future”.
Some
of the highlights of the presentation of issues are as follows:
·
Dalton McGuinty’s new HST (Harmonized Sales Tax) will hurt
thousands of Ontarians already paying more than their fair share of taxes.
A new tax on gas, hydro and everyday purchases like coffee and newspapers
will make life even less affordable for middle-class and working
Ontarians.
·
Nothing is more important than a healthcare system that our
friends, families and loved ones can all rely on. But Ontario seems to be
heading in the wrong direction - waits for long-term care are growing,
local emergency rooms are closing, and our government spends millions of
scarce health dollars on sweetheart deals for well-connected insiders in
scandal-plagued programs.
·
Our children’s future starts with our schools, colleges, training
and universities. Your child’s education should not depend on your
ability to pay fees for classroom necessities – but parents are
fundraising over half a billion dollars annually to meet needs in our
schools.
·
Ontario families are facing challenging times - and that’s why
it’s more important than ever to commit to smart practical solutions to
the challenges we face. Public transit is one of the best ways to do that.
Following the presentation of
Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath, there was a question and answer period
for the members of NEPMCC.
Janus Raudkivi, William Doyle
Marshall, Suleiman Guven and other members participated in the roundtable
discussions.
A wide variety of topics such
as
·
Restoring of food inspectors
·
How the Ontario NDP will make
a difference in terms of Diverse Culture
·
Review of Multiculturalism
and proportionate representation of diverse communities in NDP caucus and
in Government.
These and other questions on other issues were
candidly answered by the Ontario NDP Leader.
.
New Members:
The following new members were
introduced to the council
Marcus
Schwartz -www.alyssarubino.com;
www.canadaeventscalendar.ca
VIDEOGRAPHY
MULTI -MEDIA: TV, WEB, and FILM
Blagoja
Bob Ristic –
Serbian Television Toronto
Logan
Velumailum
– Monsoon Journal
The
President hoped that they would be active participants in the council.
Adjournment: Suleiman Guven moved a motion to adjourn the meeting, Srimal Abeyawardene seconded it. The motion was carried. The chair adjourned the meeting at 10:30 pm. The next meeting would take place on December 13, 2010
