Minutes of the Monthly Meeting held on August 10, 2026, 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
Ghulam Rasool
Manan Gupta
Elsayed Nasr
Khalid Hamid
Thanasis Kourtesis
Ernesto Donan
Martha Pinzon
Nishantha Don
Bridgette Fontille
Sukumar Tamil Journal
Roberto Hausman
Jonathan Annobil
Emmanuel Ayiku
Mohammad Bagher Samimi
Kathy Gerasklis
Medhat Oweida
Syed Hasson
Sima Ghaffarzadeh
Shahidul Mintu
Denis Poirier
Jennifer Zhu
Hon. Joe Volpe
Ayubowan Sri Lanka
Leila Monteiro Lins
Deborah Shatz
Gezahegn Mekonnen
Lankathas Pathmanathan
Susana Donan
Kethes Kumar
Michael Li
Shail Prasad
Essie
Ragee Arasaratnam
Fiza Syeda
Yuri Natchetoi
Khalid Hamid
Michale Li
Maria Swietorzecki
Lucy Yang
Elsayed Nasr
George Guzmas
MB Samimi
Susana Donan
Rupinder Rue Hayer-Bains
Neel Nanda
Mohammad Tajdolati
Olga Kaleev
AR Nathan
Ragee
Nishantha Don
Ayuban SriLanka
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
Luba Cherny
Helen Wang
Sean Pickard
Jonathan Annobil
Margaret Bonikowska
Abi Kethees
Said Henry
(Names as per Zoom)
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
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
Tahani Elghazalay
Marianna Michalitsianou
Isabel Inclan
Agenda of the Day:
- Welcome remarks by the Chair
- Minutes of the previous meeting
- President’s Report/Discussions
- New Members/New Business
- Adjournment
Welcome Remarks by the Chair:
Mohammad Tajdolati chaired the hybrid meeting held on August 10, 2026, and called the meeting to order. Anfisa Lyasota moved to approve the agenda, seconded by Ghulam Rasool. The motion was carried unanimously.
Minutes of the previous meeting:
George Guzmas moved to approve the minutes of the previous monthly meeting, seconded by Anfisa Lyasota. The minutes were approved unanimously.
President’s Report/Discussions:
- President Thomas Saras welcomed members to the August 10, 2026 monthly meeting and wished everyone continued enjoyment of the summer season. He suggested that NEPMCC consider holding a family-and-friends gathering in September, after the conclusion of the Canadian National Exhibition.
- President Saras addressed the recent correspondence regarding the Aid to Publishers program and expressed concern about the proposed reduction of approximately CAD 93 million. He noted that such a reduction would place significant pressure on ethnic and community publications that depend on this support to serve their readers.
- He reported that NEPMCC continues to seek a stronger and more equitable compensation arrangement with Google on behalf of members of the ethnic media sector.
- Members were asked to forward any correspondence received from Radio-Canada concerning the Local Journalism Initiative to the Office of the President for review and appropriate follow-up.
- President Thomas Saras thanked Maria Saras Voutsinas for her ongoing and dedicated efforts in support of NEPMCC members. He reminded members of the importance of submitting required materials on time and reported that he continues to work with the Premier and the Government of Ontario to pursue stronger support for NEPMCC members.
- President Saras also reminded members that the NEPMCC booth at the Canadian National Exhibition would help promote members’ publications. Maria Saras Voutsinas asked members to bring copies of their publications to the office for display and distribution at the NEPMCC booth.
- Members were encouraged to attend the CNE opening ceremony on August 23 at 11:00 a.m., followed by a reception at the Beer Garden. Members planning to attend were asked to email Maria Saras Voutsinas to obtain their CNE passes for the opening ceremony.
- Regarding the expenditure for the CNE opening ceremony, members noted that the motion approving the amount of $5,000 had previously been carried at the July 13 meeting and remains in effect.
- Dimitri Papadopoulos raised a concern regarding an incident in Montreal, where he reported that he had been assaulted while carrying out his journalistic duties. President Thomas Saras acknowledged the seriousness of the matter and suggested that Mr. Papadopoulos prepare a written account so the incident could be properly documented and brought to the attention of members.
New Business/New Members
Maria Saras Voutsinas reminded members to bring copies of their publications to the office for the NEPMCC booth at the CNE. Members were also encouraged to attend the CNE opening ceremony on August 23 at 11:00 a.m., followed by a reception at the Beer Garden, and to email Maria Saras Voutsinas for their CNE passes if they planned to attend.
Adjournment: Yubeing moved to adjourn the meeting, seconded by George Guzmas. The motion was carried, and the Chair adjourned the meeting at 7:15 p.m. The next monthly meeting will take place on September 14, 2026, via Zoom.
The above minutes of August 10, 2026, were prepared by the Secretary General and Senior VP of NEPMCC, Neel Nanda.