Minutes of the Monthly Meeting held on June 12, 2023, through video conference via Zoom

 

Present/Attendees

• Thomas S. Saras
• Mohammad Tajdolati
• Neel Nanda
• Maria Saras-Voutsinas
• Rosemary Sadlier
• Ricky Castellvi
• Hon. Joe Volpe
• Hon. Basilio Giordano
• Daniela Sprilac
• Michael Li
• Helen Wang
• Rue Hayer-Bains
• Zuhair Alshaaer
• Elsayed Nasr
• Ned Blair
• Jonathan Annobil
• Shahidul Mintu
• Deborah Shatz
• Kamalavasan Navaratnam
• Pooyan Tabatabaei
• Martha Pinzon
• Nishantha Don
• Lankathas Pathmanathan
• Linda Karuks
• Liisa Qureshi
• Zenaida Ferry-Kharroubi
• George Guzmas
• Roberto Hausman
• Arif Ahmed
• Fiza Syeda
• Denis Poirier
• Ragee Arasaratnam
• Lydia Sun
• Leila Monteiro Lins
• Mohammed Bagher Samimi
• Ali Mahmoud
• Ghulam Rasool
• Anfisa Lyasota
• Ranjit Wicks
• Sandie De Freitas
• Norman Hart
• Kathy Lin
• Teshome Woldramanuel
• Khalid Magram
• Mooka Tamil
• Bobby Wang
• Maria Swietoizacki
• Mike Kolososki
• Susana Donan
• Ernesto Donan
• Khalid Hamid
• Nagamany Logendralingam
• Hermie Garcia
• Mila Garcia
• Eugenia Bakchinow
• Michael Li
• Sima Ghaffarzadeh
• Cezar Bangu
• Zuhair Alshaaer
• Rui Yang
• HaiTien Lin
• Isa Melo
• Yuri Natchetoi
• John Saraidaris
• Said Henry
• Lui Queano
• Tom Bijoet
• Dimitri Papadopoulos
• Ahmad Shah Hotaki
• Kathy Gerasklis
• Athanasios Kourtesis
• Bill Fatsis
• Nishantha Don
• Thanasis Kourtesis
• Dimitri Papadopoulos
• George Bakoyannis
• Rosemary Sadlier
• Elsayed
• Tom Bijvoet
• John Saras
• Mohammad Tajdolati
• Joe Volpe
• Manan Gupta
• Hermie Garcia
• Mila Garcia
• Bill Fatsis
• Roberto Hausman
• Sean PICKARD
• Isa Melo
• Basilio Giordano
• John Jia CC Times
• Michael Li
• Emmanuel Ayiku
• Yuri Natchetoi
• Kathy Lin
• Jonathan Annobil
• Khalid
• Ernesto Donan
• Susana Donan
• AR Nathan
• Pooyan Tabatabaei
• Shahidul Mintu
• Rue Hayer-Bains
• Watan E Maa (Popalzai)
• Arif Ahmed
• Denis Porier
• Syed Hassan
• Sima Ghaffarzadeh
• Lucy Yang
• Ahmad Hotaki
• Weera Fonseka
• Leila Monteiro-Lins
• Zuhair Alshaaer
• Liisa Qureshi
• Martha Pinzon
• Krishalingham
• Kamal Navaratnam
• Ned Blair
• Kathy Gerasklis
• Ayuban Sri Lanka
• Said Henry
• Lankathas
• Raul (student from Corriere)
• Fiza Syeda

Agenda of the day

• Welcome Remarks by the chair.
• Minutes of the previous meeting
• President’s Report/Discussions
• Presentation by Nathaniel Erskine Smith MP Beaches East York and leadership candidate for Ontario Liberal Party
• Presentation by Toronto Mayoral Candidate Anthony Furey
• New Members/New Business
• Adjournment

Welcome Remarks by the Chair:

Mohammed Tajdolati chaired the virtual monthly meeting and declared the meeting open. Rosemary Sadlier moved a motion to approve the agenda. Roberto Hausman seconded it. The motion was carried unanimously.

 

Minutes of the previous meeting:

Roberto Hausman moved a motion to approve the minutes of the previous monthly meeting and Arif Ahmed seconded it. Minutes of the previous monthly meeting were approved unanimously.

 President’s Report/Discussions:

• Thomas Saras welcomed everyone to the online monthly meeting of June. He gave update of the various projects undertaken by NEPMCC.
• President Thomas Saras informed that all the members who were qualified for the LJI will be receiving cheques soon. He further added members qualified and hired students intern under the internship program will be also receiving their cheques in the coming weeks.
• President Thomas Saras informed the council that he will be visiting Vancouver to meet members of NEPMCC from the Province.
• President Thomas Saras informed the members under LJI, there are three computers available for members who applied. President Saras reminded all participants in the LJI and Internship programs that they must declare on their outlets that they are receiving financial assistance from the Government of Canada. Maria shared a link to the Government of Canada site with the logo and statement that must be declared.
• President Thomas Saras expressed disappointment as very few members have applied for the Student Internship program. He mentioned that this program may be terminated due to lack of participation.
• President Saras encouraged participation in the Student Internship program. It has been a remarkably successful project and both students and publishers are benefiting immensely.
• President Saras explained that audits for the various programs we are administrating are happening.
• President Thomas Saras informed the members about the Business Innovation Program. President Thomas Saras informed the members that the Special Measures for Journalism has been launched and members who qualify can apply. The Special Measures for Journalism component provides funds to Canadian magazines and community newspapers. The Special Measures for Journalism component will provide funds for the 2023-2024 fiscal year to publishers that have a free circulation model or low levels of paid circulation or are published in digital format. Daily newspapers are not eligible for this component. The deadline for this application is July 21, 2023.
• President Thomas Saras mentioned that NEPMCC will participate in this years Ethnic Press festival at CNE and will have the same booth as last year.

 Presentation by Nathaniel Erskine Smith MP Beaches East York and leadership candidate for Ontario Liberal Party.

• The chair Mohammad Tajdolati introduced Nathaniel Erskine Smith to the meeting.
• She began her address by mentioning that on May 10 she will be stepping down as a MPP because she wants to run for the Mayor of Toronto.
• Nathaniel Erskine Smith became (Nate) the M.P of Beaches-East York. on October 19, 2015, after a successful grassroots open nomination in December 2014. Before politics, Nate was a lawyer at a commercial litigation firm downtown Toronto. He supplemented his practice with volunteer legal work for a range of clients and causes, which included fighting public interest matters in court, and research for the Canadian Civil Liberties Association. Nate regularly attends events around Beaches-East York, volunteers his time in support of local charitable activities, and visits local schools to talk to young Canadians about the importance of participating in the democratic process. Nate was raised in the east end of Toronto, where he attended public school and played baseball. His parents are retired public school teachers and his first experience with politics was supporting them on the picket lines during the Harris years. He went on to obtain his BA and JD from Queen’s and his Master of Laws from Oxford, where he studied constitutional law. He also pitched for baseball teams at both universities. Nate practiced commercial litigation before pursuing politics. Nate’s wife Amy is a chef and nutrition professor, currently completing her PhD at the University of Toronto. She also works with HSI’s Forward Food program and as the director of the supper club program at Gilda’s Club Greater Toronto. Originally from Lambton County, her dad still lives on the family farm. Nate and Amy have two young boys. Nate Erskine-Smith is one of those rare members of parliament. He considers himself a loyal Liberal. But he will vote against his party when he thinks the leadership is wrong. That’s ensured two things: first, he’ll never be in Justin Trudeau’s cabinet, and second, he gets a lotta props from people who aren’t necessarily Liberals. In any event, it’s prompted Erskine-Smith to look at the vacant Ontario Liberal leadership post and in fact, he was the first candidate to toss his hat into the ring. Ontario Liberal leadership candidate Nate Erskine-Smith is pledging to create a provincially owned construction agency to build new affordable housing, part of the first major policy push of the campaign. Solving the housing problem in Ontario has become a central preoccupation for political parties at Queen’s Park, after Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservatives made housing construction a key focus of the party’s second term in office.
• Lankathas Pathmanathan, Maria Saras Voutsinas, Bill Fastis, Neel Nanda, Sean Pickford, Isa Melo, Shahidul Islam Mintu, Arif Ahmed, and others asked a wide variety of questions on pertinent topics from housing to healthcare to public safety. Nathaniel Erskine Smith candidly answered all questions that were raised to him. He thanked NEPMCC to provide him with the opportunity to meet with the members of NEPMCC and mentioned he was open to ideas from the members regarding various aspects affecting the ethnic media industry in Ontario and Canada.

 Presentation by Toronto Mayoral Candidate Anthony Furey

• The chair invited Anthony Furey and introduced him to the council.
• Anthony Furey is a highly respected journalist, broadcaster, and commentator who is widely recognized for his expertise in politics and civic affairs. With over 15 years of experience, he has established himself as one of the most insightful and knowledgeable voices in Canadian media. As a political columnist for Postmedia, and Sirius XM Radio talk show host, Anthony has extensively reported on issues that affect the residents of Toronto, including public safety, infrastructure, and government accountability. He has covered numerous local and national elections, offering astute analysis and commentary on the candidates, policies, and outcomes. In his campaign for Mayor, Anthony is focused on championing policies that respect taxpayers, promote economic growth, and enhance public safety. He believes that Toronto is a world-class city that deserves world-class leadership and is committed to providing that leadership. Furey added: “Law enforcement and health professionals tell me that so many of these random attacks we’re seeing are related to the drug crisis. A compassionate society doesn’t keep people on drugs. It helps them get off from drugs. And by doing that, we also make our streets safer.” He mentioned that he not in favour od adding injection sites but in total agreement for mandatory treatment and complete rehabilitation. He mentioned that he will ask accountability from Metrolinx for not completing the Eglinton LRT in time and budget. He mentioned he hoped to ass 500 more Police officers in Toronto, by maintaining a hiring freeze and not replacing administrative jobs once an employee leaves or retires.
• Lankathas Pathmanathan, Hon Joe Volpe, Maria Saras Voutsinas, Neel Nanda, and others raised some questions on pertinent issues facing the city of Toronto with the Mayoral candidate and thanked him for his time.
• President Thomas encouraged all the members to attend the monthly meeting as it is for the benefit for all members. The next meeting would take place in person at City Hall and members outside Ontario will be connected by a live video stream.

New Business/Discussions

• The chair asked if there are any new business for discussion, as nobody asked for the floor, the Chair moved to next item. Maria Saras Voutsinas gave everyone an update on the various ongoing projects under NEPMCC.

Adjournment:  

Tom Bijvoet moved a motion to adjourn the meeting and Yuri Natchetoi seconded it. The motion was carried. The Chair, Dr. Tajdolati adjourned the meeting at 8:30 PM. The next monthly meeting will take place on Monday, July 10, 2023, at City Hall

The above notes from the meeting of June 12, 2023, were prepared by Secretary General and Senior VP of the NEPMCC, Neel Nanda.