Minutes of the Monthly Meeting held on May 13, 2024, at City Hall, hybrid meeting via Zoom and in person.
Present/Attendees
Thomas S. Saras
Mohammad Tajdolati
Neel Nanda
Maria Saras-Voutsinas
Rosemary Sadlier
Ricky Castellvi
George Guzman
Bill Fastis
Nishantha Don
Hon. Basilio Giordano
George Bakoyiannis
Dimitri Papadopoulos
AR Nathan
Arif Ahmed
Zenaida Ferry
Ravi
Ranjit Wicks
Hermie Garcia
Ghulam Rasool
Manan Gupta
Elsayed Nasr
Khalid Hamid
Thanasis Kourtesis
John Saraidaris
Ernesto Donan
Martha Pinzon
Nishantha Don
Bridgette Fontille
Sukumar Tamil Journal
Roberto Hausman
Jonathan Annobil
Emmanuel Ayiku
Mohammad Bagher Samimi
Kathy Gerasklis
Rick Esquerra
Mila Garcia
Medhat Oweida
Syed Hasson
Sima Ghaffarzadeh
Shahidul Mintu
Lui Queano
Denis Poirier
Jennifer Zhu
Hon. Joe Volpe
Ayubowan Sri Lanka
Leila Monteiro Lins
Deborah Shatz
Gezahegn Mekonnen
Daniela Spirlac
Lankathas Pathmanathan
Susana Donan
Kethes Kumar
Michael Li
Shail Prasad
Essie
Veronica Cusi
Ragee Arasaratnam
Fiza Syeda
Yuri Natchetoi
Khalid Hamid
Michale Li
Maria Swietorzecki
Lucy Lyang
Elsayed Nasr
George Guzmas
MB Samimi
Susana Donan
Neel Nanda
Mohammad Tajdolati
Olga Kaleev
AR Nathan
Ragee
Nishantha Don
Ayuban SriLanka
Basilio Giordano
Manan Gupta
Ernesto Donan
Kathy Lin
Sima Ghaffarzadeh
Denis Poirier
Ghanian News
Fiza Syeda
Rue Hayer-Bains
Leila Monteiro- Lins
Eugenia Bakchinow
Ghulam Rasool
Ranjith Wicks
Kathy Gerasklis
Hermie Garcia
Luba Cherny
Helen Wang
Taso Chatzitheofanou
Sean Pickard
Jonathan Annobil
Said Henry
(Names as per Zoom)
Mila Garcia
Goyum
Tausif
Zuhair Alshaaer
MB Samimi
Gonzalo Cooper
Thomas Saras
Ragee Arasaratnam
Mohammad Tajdolati
Ned Blair
Helen Wang
Dimitri Papadopoulos
Pooyan Tabatabaei
Elsayed Nasr
Margaret Bonikowska
Ernesto Donan
Susana Donan
Yuri Natchetoi
Deborah Shatz
Roberto Hausman
Tamil Journal
Olga Kileev
Neel Nanda
Hermie Garcia
Kathy Gerasklis
Rosemary Sadlier
Shahidul Mintu
George Guzmas
Basilio Giordano
Logan Logendralingam
John- CCTimes
Lucy Lyang
Elena Iliadi
Houman
Kamal Nava
Ayubowan SriLanka
Liisa Qureshi
AR Nathan
Martha Pinzon
Zenaida Ferry-Kharroubi
Ghulam Rasool
Jennifer Zhu
Syed Hassan
Shail Persaud
Agenda of the day:
- Welcome Remarks by the chair.
- Minutes of the previous meeting
- Presentation by Kate Gardner Co founder and CEO of myRESET
- Presentation by Meetu Madahar, Communications Manager, United Way of Greater Toronto
- President’s Report/Discussions
- New Members/New Business
- Adjournment
Welcome Remarks by the Chair:
Mohammed Tajdolati chaired the hybrid meeting of May 13, 2024, and declared the meeting open. Roberto Hausman moved a motion to approve the agenda. Pooyan Tabatabaei seconded it. The motion was carried unanimously.
Minutes of the previous meeting:
Olga Kileev moved a motion to approve the minutes of the previous monthly meeting and Dimitri Papadopoulous seconded it. Minutes of the previous monthly meeting were approved unanimously.
President’s Report/Discussions:
- President Thomas Saras welcomed everyone to the online monthly meeting of May 13, 2024. He hoped the coming months will be great for everyone. He also reminded members to pay their annual membership fees to continue to get the benefits and privileges as a member of NEPMCC.
- President Thomas Saras thanked Maria Saras Voutsinas and members in the committee who worked towards the “Freedom of Press” Celebration at City Hall. The event was a huge success.
- President Thomas Saras mentioned that a delegation of officers from Canadian Heritage will be coming to the monthly meeting of June 10, 2024.He encouraged everyone to attend the meeting, including members who are from different provinces.
- President Thomas Saras mentioned about the upcoming Educational Seminar. He said a survey will be send out to members to a need analysis of the courses that members would like to take during the educational seminar.
- President Thomas Saras mentioned the NEPMCC will be participating at the CNE this year. There will be a reception during the opening ceremony of the NEPMCC booth at CNE.
- Motion: Miniter of Heritage demanded a coordinator to be a liaison between the federally run LJI and Student Internship programs and NEPMCC. The name of Maria Saras Voutsinas was suggested as the coordinator of the Federally run programs. George Guzmas moved the motion supporting Maria Saras as the coordinator of the Federally run programs funded by the Ministry of Canadian Heritage. Shahidul Islam Mintu seconded it. The motion was unanimously carried.
- President Thomas Saras suggested that the Freedom of Press Festival be held on May 10 at City Hall. The suggestion was unanimously carried. There will be a reception at the City Hall.
- President Thomas Saras mentioned that Educational Seminar will be held next year. The office of the President of NEPMCC is working towards the educational seminar and more updates will be provided after finalizing the logistics.
- President Thomas Saras informed the members that any members receiving funds from either LJI or Aid to Publications should declare that they have received funding funds from the Government of Canada. He also mentioned that anyone writing an article under LJI should acknowledge that he is a LJI reporter.
- President Thomas Saras mentioned that in person meeting at City Hall will resume once broadcasting from City Hall will be permitted by technological requirements. President Thomas Saras wants `the meeting to be accessible to members in all parts of Canada.
- President Thomas Saras mentioned that NEPMCC has been trying hard to negotiate a better deal from Google regarding the compensation for the members of the ethnic media industry.
- Naga Logendralingam suggested that we should honour journalists who have lost their lives for the cause of the freedom of the press. Hon. Joe Volpe suggested that this should be brought to the attention of the committee.
- President Thomas Saras thanked Hon Joe Volpe and all other members who generously donated to NEPMCC. Although the industry and members of NEPMCC are struggling financially, he encouraged everyone that can do so to donate. He also reminded the members for renewing their membership by paying their annual membership fees.
- There were various discussions on the method of payment of Annual Membership fees as some members suggested e-transfer and other methods of payments. After various consultation it was decided to keep the existing payment method of payment of Annual Membership fees via cheque mailed to the office of NEPMCC
Presentation by Kate Gardner Co founder and CEO of myRESET
The Chair invited Kate Gardner to make her presentation
myRESET Journey, was designed with a deep understanding of the traumatic, barrier-filled life experiences of Black, Indigenous, and racialized Canadians who have been impacted by the criminal justice system. While many organizations deliver various reintegration services, there is no singular organization that delivers a program as comprehensive, supportive, and culturally sensitive as the myRESET Journey. Instead of “reinventing the wheel,” myRESET is reimagining the criminal justice system by delivering a program in partnership with “best-in-class” existing service providers while seeking active participation from the funding partners. As Canada faces a historic labour crisis, myRESET is challenging policymakers and leaders across all sectors to re-evaluate the purpose of incarceration through a creative, inclusive, and “homegrown” talent solution, which will ultimately cultivate safer, more prosperous communities. As Canadian taxpayers face huge financial costs associated with high incarceration rates and the overrepresentation of racialized Canadians in the justice system, individuals – and their families and communities – who are in possession of a criminal record face debilitating systemic barriers. There is also extensive research demonstrating that more time in jail results in more crime rather than reducing crime. In alignment with existing government policies and funding programs aiming to support new Canadians with integrating into the workforce, the myRESET journey is a creative and cost-effective pathway to support 4 million Canadians in possession of a criminal record as they reintegrate into the workforce. In contrast with the cost of federal incarceration per inmate (over $100,000/year) and provincial incarceration (over $60,000/year), the cost of the myRESET Journey is only about $30,000 per participant. Over time, we are confident that myRESET will contribute to a reduction in governments spending taxpayer dollars on law enforcement and social programming as more justice-impacted Canadians are able to pursue and thrive in meaningful careers.
Presentation by Meetu Madahar, Communications Manager, United Way of Greater Toronto.
United Way Greater Toronto is interested in collaborating with the National Ethnic Press and Media Council of Canada to connect with community/ethnic journalists in the GTA, and in Ontario at a Neighbourhood Walk this September.
UWGT would select the neighbourhood, which would include a tour of their agencies and the research work that they are involved with, as well as talks about the histories of the chosen neighbourhood. Members of NEPMCC are invited to then join for a lovely lunch where they will have the opportunity for one-on-one media interviews, and/or chats with the President and CEO, Daniele Zanotti.
Toronto
New Business/New Members
Maria Saras Voutsinas emphasized that members from the GTA need to be present during the monthly meeting of June as a delegation from Canadian Heritage will there to know the issues facing the ethnic media industry and to answer questions on Canada Periodical Fund and other grants available for members of the ethnic media industry. She stressed the need to be in numbers to show the strength of NEPMCC for its voices to be heard.
Adjournment: Dimitri Papadopolous moved a motion to adjourn the meeting and George Guzmas seconded it. The motion was carried. The Chair, Dr. Tajdolati adjourned the meeting at 8:15 PM. The next monthly meeting will take place on Monday, June 10, 2024, via Zoom.
The above notes from the minutes of May 13, 2024, were prepared by Secretary General and Senior VP of the NEPMCC, Neel Nanda.