Minutes of the Monthly Meeting held on May 12, 2025, at City Hall, via Zoom
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 Yang
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
Margaret Bonikowska
Abi Kethees
Said Henry
(Names as per Zoom)
Mila Garcia
Goyum
Tausif
Zuhair Alshaaer
MB Samimi
Gonzalo Cooper
Thomas Saras
Ragee Arasaratnam
Mohammad Tajdolati
Ned Blair
Zuhair
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
Ramsankr Sivanathan
Agenda of the day:
- Welcome Remarks by the chair.
- Minutes of the previous meeting
- President’s Report/Discussions
- Presentation by Clayton Campbell -President, Toronto Police Association
- New Members/New Business
- Adjournment
Welcome Remarks by the Chair:
Mohammed Tajdolati chaired the hybrid meeting of May 12, 2025, and declared the meeting open. Roberto Hausman moved a motion to approve the agenda. Dimitri Papadopolous seconded it. The motion was carried unanimously.
Minutes of the previous meeting:
Yuri Natchetoi moved a motion to approve the minutes of the previous monthly meeting and Lankathas seconded it. Minutes of the previous monthly meeting were approved unanimously.
.
President’s Report/Discussions:
- President Thomas Saras welcomed everyone to the monthly meeting of May 12, 2025.
- President Thomas Saras informed members that there is a new government Federally, and there may be short delays in getting funding under various programs. The LJI may be extended by 6 months. President Thomas Saras informed that LJI program may start with a few amendments. More information will be circulated about the payment cycle once we get an official confirmation from the Government.
- President Thomas Saras invited everyone to the Newcomers Day on May 28 at the City Hall. NEPMCC will have a booth on the Newcomers Day at City Hall from 10 to 3.
- President Thomas Saras informed that Ontario government might allocate funds to ethnic publications based in Ontario.
- President Thomas Saras informed that NEPMCC has booked a booth at the CNE. The booth will be in the same location as of the previous year.
- He informed that members who applied and qualified for Special measures for Journalism under Canadian Periodical Fund will start receiving their payment soon.
- New Board of Directors. The List of the new Board for Directors for 2025- 2027 was mailed to all the members.
.
- He mentioned that printing costs are rising and many printing companies are shutting down due to increasing costs. He suggested that with the available funds with NEPMCC and a bank loan, NEPMCC could buy a machine for printing newspapers. Hon Joe Volpe suggested of creating committee for setting up the purchase for the printing machinery and equipment.
- President Thomas Saras informed members that he is hoping that federal Government will improve Aid to Publishers Program and increase Federal Government Advertising.
- President Thomas Saras thanked Maria Voutsinas for her tireless work towards the betterment of the members of NEPMCC.
- Thomas Saras informed the members that due to the upcoming elections the LJI program initially will be for 6 months beginning from April to September. The internship program is on hold for now and there will be information once the new Government takes over in the Federal Elections.
- 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.
- Motion: President Thomas Saras reminded the members of a previous resolution where it was decided to allocate funds to members who are working on the committees LJI and Educations Seminar. Ernesto Donan moved the motion supporting the above, seconded by Dimitri Papdopolous. The motion was unanimously carried.
- President Thomas Saras mentioned that NEPMCC will working towards creating a foundation for the members who need help during a crisis.
- 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 planning.
- 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 authoring an article under LJI should acknowledge that he is a LJI reporter.
- 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.
- Members of NEPMCC receive numerous benefits and for NEPMCC to continue supporting its members, it is necessary for members to pay their membership fees on time.
- 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.
Presentation by Clayton Campbell -President, Toronto Police Association
Meghan Gray – Chief Communications Officer
The TPA represents more than 8,000 police & civilian members of the
Toronto Police Service. We are a professional labour organization dedicated to advancing the interests of our members through education, political action & legislative advocacy. The TPA operates in an open, ethical & professional manner & strives to promote professionalism & accountability within the ranks of our members. Our foremost priority is the wellbeing of our members & the communities we serve. We are committed to providing effective, efficient & courteous service & to building safer communities. Our highly trained & motivated members do an extraordinary job in keeping Toronto is one of the safest cities in North America.
TPA is governed by a board of nine serving uniform & civilian police members, who make key decisions on behalf of the membership. In addition to their constitutional duties, the board is actively involved in priority setting, strategic planning, policy development, financial oversight & political engagement.
Lankathas, Sean Pickford Logan Manan Gupta, Kathy, Isabel Inclan, Hon Joe Volpe, George Guzmas, Elman Poor Ali, and others participated in the discussions followed by the brief presentation.
New Business/New Members
Maria Saras Voutsinas updated on the status of funds regards to LJI. Further information will be communicated about the cheques and electronic devices.
Zuhair Alshaaer – invited members of NEPMCC to the Arab Business Festival to be held in Ottawa from June 20- June 22.
Hon. Volpe highlighted that the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), the body overseeing the Canadian Journalism Collective (CJC) initiative, had made considerable progress. However, he noted the following complications: Members who had not applied or believed they were eligible to apply were required to submit applications again. Eligibility for funding does not guarantee acceptance for 2025; those who miss this opportunity may have to wait until subsequent years. He urged members to vote for A7 for Hon. Volpe and A2 with Mr. Saras on February 24
Adjournment: Kathy Geskalis moved a motion to adjourn the meeting, and Hon Joe Volpe 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 09 ,2025, via Zoom.
The above notes from the minutes of May 12, 2025, were prepared by Secretary General and Senior VP of the NEPMCC, Neel Nanda.