Minutes of the Monthly Meeting held on May 09, 2016, at City Hall Committee room # 2

Present:

Thomas S. Saras
Neel Nanda
Maria Saras-Voutsinas
Rosemary Sadlers
Yohan Byrde
Michelle Tissera
Dirk Tissera
Mohammad-Bagher Samimi
Chandrarathma Bander
Suleyman Guven
Marek Goldyn
Hon. Jim Karygiannis
Ranjit Wicks
Ahmad Rostamiyan
SEv Harontonia
Jonathan Annobil
Emmanuel Ayiku
Mahammad Enad
Jacques Varbedian
Suleyman Guven
Ricky Castellvi
Ishan Ghazarian
Adu Raudkavi
Rakhie Prabhakar
Sandeep Prabakar
Paul Nguyen
Teshome Worldeamanuel
Andre Mazurece
Balan  A. Samlan
Behrang Rabbari
Onik Nazamani
Raffi Der Boghossian
Mohammad Tajdodlati
Janusz Niemczyk
Margaret Boukaska
Muhammed Enad
Elsayed Nasr
Isa Melo
Eleni Iliadi
Hon. Charles Sousa
Tharmasrirajam
Sumanthy
John Saraidaris
Pooyan Tabatabaei
Luba Cherny
Ahmed Hotaki
Luis Apabilio
Patric  Long
Samy Ramachanden
Jurn Klufas
Luije Aparicio
Paula McKeygei
Srimal Abeyewardene
Charles deva
Venthan Ramang
Hermie Garcia
Mila Garcia.
Mujibor Rahman
Dumitru Poposcu
Mehmet Onayli
Suhan Ali Shunbill
Tharmasri Rajan
Susana Donan
Saad Alsafar
Ahmed Hotaki
Nagamany Legendrinligan

Agenda

strong> 1 Welcome Remarks by the chair.
2 Minutes of the previous meeting
3 Report of the President
4 Presentation by Hon. Charles Sousa, Minister of Finance Ontario Government
5 New Business
6 Adjournment

Welcome Remarks by the Chair:

Mr. Thomas Saras chaired the meeting and declared the meeting open. Dr.Tajdolati moved a motion to approve the agenda. Suleiman Guven seconded it. The motion was carried

Minutes of the previous meeting:

Dr. Tajdolati moved a motion to approve the minutes of the previous monthly meeting Ahmed Shah Hotaki seconded it.  The motion was carried.

President’s Report/Discussions:

Thomas Saras also reminded the members to renew their membership this year in order to enjoy the benefits and privileges of being a member of NEPMCC. He expressed disappointed that only few members pf the 800, have renewed their membership.
President Thomas Saras informed the council on the changes to funding by Heritage Canada.
President Thomas Saras and Dr. Tajdolati would travel to Ottawa on May 10 to present before the inter parliamentary committee on the department of the Canadian Heritage the grievances of ethnic press and media council.
Thomas Saras mentioned and reminded the members that nomination for this year’s annual award has begun and will close on June 30 2016. He emphasized that no nominations would be accepted after the deadline.
President Thomas Saras hoped that NEPMCC would be able to invite PM Justin Trudeau during the inaugural of the Ethnic Press exhibition at the CNE on August 19 or August 20. Thomas Saras suggested that members interested in attending the event should confirm their participation in advance via email to his office for security clearance and passes for CNE.
President Thomas Saras suggested that Canada Day should be organized only for the members and their family. The event is to show the appreciation of the members of the NEPMCC towards Canada and is an expression of thanks and gratitude for the recognition of social justice and equal treatment that our communities are receiving. Many members participated in the discussion and unanimously agreed to participate in Canada Day celebration. The ticket price was suggested to be $30 which includes dinner and entertainment. President Thomas Saras encouraged all members to participate in this event with their families.
President Thomas Saras informed the members that he was in touch with Heritage Canada to build a website for digital publishing and Heritage Canada would provide start up funds. The Canada Periodical Fund (CPF) of the Department of Canadian Heritage recently launched a pilot project to encourage and support the development of digital periodicals The CPF will provide up to $5,000 in start-up funding to help aspiring or emerging digital publishers and other creative entrepreneurs launch or lay the groundwork for a periodical that will be uniquely accessible through a digital platform.

Presentation by The Honourable Charles Sousa- Minister of Finance

Hon. Charles Sousa thanked NEPMCC and its President to arrange the dialogue.
He mentioned that the main focus of the budget is to create good jobs and economic growth. Another focus of the budget is business growth. The government's plan is creating good jobs today in communities across Ontario by investing in infrastructure and in a low-carbon economy driven by innovative, high-growth, export-oriented businesses. It is investing in people's talents and skills, and the 2016 Budget will help more people get and create the jobs of the future by expanding access to high-quality College and university education. The plan also helps Ontarians achieve a more secure retirement. The government's plan is on track to balance the budget in 2017-18. T
The government will create a simple, integrated, upfront grant -- the Ontario Student Grant (OSG) -- starting in the 2017-18 school year. Under the proposed system, average college and university tuition will be free for students with financial need from families with incomes of $50,000 or less, and tuition will be more affordable for middle-income families as well. More than 50 per cent of students from families with incomes of $83,000 or less will receive non-repayable grants in excess of average tuition, and no Ontario student will receive less through the OSG than they are currently eligible for through the Ontario Tuition Grant.
In this Budget, the government is investing more than $137 billion over the next 10 years in roads, bridges, public transit, hospitals and schools. That would result in $160 billion over 12 years, starting in 2014-15, which is the largest investment in public infrastructure in Ontario's history. These planned investments would support more than 110,000 jobs each year, on average. The Province remains on track to generate $5.7 billion over time from maximizing the value of government-owned assets.
To grow the economy and create jobs, the Ontario government's plan continues to reduce business costs, leverage investment through strategic partnerships, help businesses go global and strengthen the financial services sector.

To reduce the retirement savings gap, the government is implementing the Ontario Retirement Pension Plan (ORPP), which will help working Ontarians save for their retirement.
He concluded his statement by mentioning that “we have build prudence in this budget”.
Hon. Charles Sousa then opened the floor for discussions.

Suleiman Guven, Isa Melo, Councillor Jim Karigiannis, Aris Babikian, Jonathan Annobil, Dr. Tajdolati, Janusz, Mila Garcia and many others participated in the roundtable discussions on a wide variety of topics such as as recession, job creation, youth unemployment, Uber, underground economy, free tuition for low income families, credit rating, Real Estate market, selling of Government Assets, temporary workers, etc.
Hon. Charles Sousa candidly answered all questions to the satisfaction of all.
Following the roundtable discussions there was picture taking opportunity with the members of NEPMCC. Members also received copies of Ontario Budget 2016 personally autographed by the minister.

New Business:

President Thomas Saras suggested that Canada Day should be organized only for the members and their family. The event is to show the appreciation of the members of the NEPMCC towards Canada and is an expression of thanks and gratitude for the recognition of social justice and equal treatment that our communities are receiving. Many members participated in the discussion and unanimously agreed to participate in Canada Day celebration. The ticket price was suggested to be $30 which includes dinner and entertainment. President Thomas Saras encouraged all members to participate in this event with their families. Following on with the discussion members were asked to buy tickets for half a table or full table.
President Thomas Saras would send email communication on the Canada Day celebrations and members interested in participating should inform the office of the President at their earliest convenience.

Adjournment:

John Saras moved a motion to adjourn the meeting and Dr. Tajdolati seconded it. The motion was carried. The Chair, President Thomas Saras adjourned the meeting at 9 pm. The next monthly meeting would take place on June 06, 2016 at the Toronto City Hall, committee room #2.