Minutes of the Monthly Meeting held on April 13, 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
Hermie Garcia
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
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
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
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
Hermie Garcia
Luba Cherny
Helen Wang
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
Tahani Elghazalay
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:
Mohammed Tajdolati chaired the hybrid meeting of April 13, 2026, and declared the meeting open. Dimitri Ppapdopolous
moved a motion to approve the agenda. Yuri Anfisa Lysota. The motion was carried unanimously.
Minutes of the previous meeting:
Dimitri Papadopolous moved a motion to approve the minutes of the previous monthly meeting and Khalid Magram seconded it. Minutes of the previous monthly meeting were approved unanimously.
.
President’s Report/Discussions:
- President Thomas Saras welcomed everyone to monthly meeting of April 13, 2026.
- President Thomas Saras informed that NEPMCC has rejected mediation with the ministry of Canadian Heritage unless the ministry reverses its decision to cut back aids on various projects to Aids to Publisher. Negotiations continue with the Minister’s office and Maria Saras Voutsinas would be meeting with the representatives of the Canadian Heritage to further negotiate for a fair deal.
- President Thomas Saras is preparing a report on the needs and challenges of the ethnic media industry which would be sent to the Federal Government.
- President Thomas Saras informed the members that senior officials from the Ministry of Canadian Heritage are scheduled to meet with the Executive Committee of NEPMCC on May 8, 2026. A limited number of NEPMCC members from Montreal, Calgary, and Vancouver will also participate in this closed‑door meeting. The discussions will focus on funding matters related to various initiatives, including the Local Journalism Initiative (LJI) and student internship programs under the Aids to Publishers framework. It was noted that the minutes of this meeting will be circulated to all NEPMCC members following its conclusion. The roundtable meeting between the Executive Committee and senior ministry officials will take place in Committee Room No. 5 at Toronto City Hall.
- 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 expressed his disappointment regarding the contents of the letter indicating that funding under the Aids to Publishers program would be reduced by approximately CAD 93 million. He noted that such a reduction would have a severe impact on many ethnic and community publications.
- President Thomas Saras mentioned that NEPMCC has been trying hard to negotiate a better deal from Google on the compensation for the members of the ethnic media industry.
- President Thomas informed the members that Ming Pao is closing operations in Canada, and it is one of four member publications closing at the start of the year. President Thomas Saras expressed measured optimism that if the organization works together, then we as an organization can try to reverse the trend.
- President Thomas Saras mentioned that members receiving any emails coming from Radios Canada regarding the LJI, should forward it to the office of the President.
- President Thomas Saras mentioned that the freedom of the Press will be celebrated in City Hall on May 1, 2026. Some members and community members will be receiving awards during the event. Nominations have already begun in January 2026 and have closed on March 30, 2026. There will be a reception after the presentations and award ceremony.
- President Thomas Saras reminded all the members to pay their membership fees for the year 2026. 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.
- President Thomas Saras reached out to the office of the Prime Minister and members of various standing committees in Canadian Parliament.
- President Thomas Saras thanked Maria Voutsinas for her tireless work towards the betterment of the members of NEPMCC.
New Business/New Members
The chair welcomed Tahani Elghazalay, Editor Tawasul News
Hon. Joe Volpe conveyed the strong concerns and frustration of publishers and editors arising from the sudden reduction in funding by the Federal Government under the Aids to Publishers program and other related initiatives. He noted that these funding cuts have been implemented despite the collective contribution of ethnic media, which plays a significant and often broader role than mainstream media in serving diverse communities and addressing information gaps. He further emphasized that, notwithstanding this impact, mainstream media continues to receive a disproportionately higher level of government funding.
Adjournment: George Guzmas moved a motion to adjourn the meeting, and Hon Joe Volpe seconded it. The motion was carried. The Chair, adjourned the meeting at 7.15 PM. The next monthly meeting will take place on May 11, 2026, via Zoom. The above minutes of April 13,2026 were prepared by Secretary General and Senior VP of the NEPMCC, Neel Nanda.
