Minutes of the Monthly Meeting held on January 20, 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 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
Ramsankr Sivanathan
Agenda of the day:
- Welcome Remarks by the chair.
- Minutes of the previous meeting
- Moment of Silence for Late Ioannis (John) Saraidaris
- President’s Report/Discussions
- Presentation by Wendy Cukier – President, Coalition of Gun Control Canada
- Presentation by Sonya Fatah, and Steph Wechsler -Canada Press Freedom Project
- New Members/New Business
- Adjournment
Welcome Remarks by the Chair:
Mohammed Tajdolati chaired the hybrid meeting of January 20, 2025, and declared the meeting open. Dimitri Vohaitis moved a motion to approve the agenda. Dimitri Papadopolous seconded it. The motion was carried unanimously.
Minutes of the previous meeting:
Syed Saifi moved a motion to approve the minutes of the previous monthly meeting and Tamil Journal seconded it. Minutes of the previous monthly meeting were approved unanimously.
Moment of Silence in honour of NEPMCC Senior Vice -President Ioannis Saraidaris
A moment of silence in honour of John Saras who passed away on January 1, 2025. Ioannis Saraidaris was remembered for his tireless work as a respected journalist, community leader and a founding member of NEPMCC. His departure leaves a huge void among all in NEPMCC.
President’s Report/Discussions:
- President Thomas Saras welcomed everyone to the monthly meeting of January 20, 2025.
- President Thomas Saras informed that Ontario government might allocate funds to ethnic publications based in Ontario.
- 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 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.
- He mentioned that the internship program is ongoing. The council has received ninety applications.
- President Thomas Saras thanked Maria Voutsinas for her tireless work towards the betterment of the members of NEPMCC.
- 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 encouraged everyone to apply for the student internship program and LJI.
- 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 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.
- . 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.
- 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 Wendy Cukier – President, Coalition of Gun Control Canada
Gun violence in diverse communities continues to be a serious problem across Canada in large cities like Toronto and Montréal but also smaller communities. The presence of firearms increases risks for violent crime, gender-based violence, and hate crimes
About Bill C-21
New legislation prohibits all semi-automatic handguns and all nans military style semi-automatic firearms which are different from hunting rifles. It also bans the sale, import and transfer of handguns. This legislation also improves screening of gun owners and improves border controls to prevent smuggling of guns from the US. The largest inquiry into gun violence in Canadian history, the Mass Casualty Commission, which examined the Portapique massacre in Nova Scotia stressed the need for stronger gun control and the measures that are reflected in this new legislation.
Impact of Gun Violence on Our Communities
There is a very real and tangible impact of gun violence on diverse peoples starting with the presence of firearms in communities. Not all communities are affected equally – in some neighborhoods in Toronto children have near constant exposure to gun violence while in others there is very little. As Reverend Sky Starr, a grief and trauma specialist, who works with the survivors of gun violence noted, “Too many young people are dying. The devastation is not just to their families but the entire community. Handguns are the main weapon used in communities. Mothers, siblings and immediate families are especially affected and endure life-long trauma. Out Of Bounds has been fighting for a ban on handguns for almost 20 years.” Nearly 4 in 10 homicides were committed with a firearm in 2023. The gun most often used in these crimes is a handgun. These guns are not used for hunting and the risk outweighs the utility. While smuggled guns are a problem, many of the guns used in crime were at one time legally owned. Legal guns are used in most cases of domestic violence as well as mass shootings including the Montréal massacre, the murder of Rajwar Gakhal and seven members of her family in Vernon BC, the shooting at Dawson College and most recently in the Québec Islamic Centre massacre and the mass shooting at a condo in Vaughan where five people plus the gunman
were killed in 2022. Legal guns are also diverted to illegal markets, for instance, the gun used in the Toronto Danforth mass shooting in 2018, was stolen from a gun shop in Saskatchewan. In some cities like Calgary, most of the guns recovered in crime were at one time legally owned in Canada. While border controls are needed to prevent smuggling, we also need controls over legal guns to prevent their misuse and diversion to illegal markets.
The ban on the import, sale and transfer of these weapons is long overdue. It was first proposed in 1993 following a mass shooting by a legal gun owner at Concordia University in Montreal. At that time, there were about 260,000 legally owned handguns, now there are over 1 million. We have only to look south of the border to see where unfettered access to firearms leads, as last year alone 20,000 Americans were murdered with handguns. In contrast, the United Kingdom with twice as many people as Canada, had about 30-gun murders, having banned handguns almost thirty years ago. Global research shows, where there are more guns, there are more deaths. There is no right to bear arms in Canada. There is a right to safety and freedom from fear.
Following the presentation many members participated in the group discussions. Members were encouraged to carry the message to their respective readership.
Presentation by Sonya Fatah, and Steph Wechsler -Canada Press Freedom Project.
The Canada Press Freedom Project is a hub for information and education surrounding freedom of the press issues in Canada.
The project is dedicated to building professional community and public awareness around media rights in Canada by maintaining an ongoing database of press freedom violations, and tools and resources for media workers, organizations, educators and students to understand and counter those threats.
Launched by J-Source in 2022, the CPFP was developed with the support of the inaugural Michener-L. Richard O’Hagan Fellowship for Journalism Education. It is inspired by the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, which was founded by the Freedom of the Press Foundation and the Committee to Protect Journalists in 2017. The CPFP reports on and tracks incidents in which an individual’s right to access, gather and report information is violated when attempting an act of journalism in good faith; or when they are otherwise targeted for having done so. There are a variety of individuals who participate in the process of newsgathering and are impacted by press freedom conditions but may not consider themselves journalists. When describing people who may experience press freedom violations collectively or broadly, the CPFP will refer to that group as media workers. These professionals may include but not be limited to those who identify as reporters, videographers, photojournalists and content creators. The CPFP tracks incidents of press freedom violations that affect media workers in Canada, those based in Canada but working internationally or those based internationally working for a Canadian media organization.
A Needs Assessment survey, which, aims to produce programming and supports that will help multilingual and third language/ethnic media organizations to strengthen their work would be sent to all the members of NEPMCC. CPFP would like to hear from media organizations to understand some of their challenges and need.
New Business/New Members
Maria Saras Voutsinas updated on the status of funds regards to LJI. Members in Toronto who were approved for LJI can collect the cheques from the office of the President. Members who applied for LJI tech can expect to collect their devices from the office of the President and those outside the GTA the devices will be shipped.
Maria Saras-Voutsinas gave an update on the compensations from Google based on the Online News Act. The CJC-CCJ has announced that the applications are now open for news businesses that wish to share in compensation from the Online News Act. The Canadian Journalism Collective-Collectif Canadien de Journalisme (CJC-CCJ) has signed an agreement to act as the collective responsible for receiving and distributing $100 million annually from Google in support of Canadian news businesses under the Online News Act. As outlined in the final regulations of the Act, the Collective will work with all eligible news businesses that came forward during the open call process. The CJC-CCJ commits to equitably support the full diversity of the news ecosystem, ensure marketplace fairness, and encourage innovation and sustainability. The CJC-CCJ is responsible for reviewing all news publishers that responded to the open call process, accepting all that submitted valid attestations, and then distributing funds across publishers in accordance with the distribution formula prescribed by the Online News Act regulations. The CJC-CCJ intends to establish robust governance and distribute funding as swiftly and transparently as possible. News businesses that missed the previous open call conducted by Google may also apply, but their eligibility to receive funds is subject to a pending decision by the CRTC.
Hon. Volpe highlighted that the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), the body overseeing the Canadian Journalism Collective (CJC) initiative, had made significant 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 2024; those who miss this opportunity may have to wait until subsequent years.
Adjournment: Hon Joe Volpe moved a motion to adjourn the meeting, and Kathy Gerasklis 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, February 10 ,2025, via Zoom.
The above notes from the minutes of January 20, 2025, were prepared by Secretary General and Senior VP of the NEPMCC, Neel Nanda.