Minutes of the Monthly Meeting held on October 21, 2024, 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
- President’s Report/Discussions
- New Members/New Business
- Adjournment
Welcome Remarks by the Chair:
Mohammed Tajdolati chaired the hybrid meeting of October 21, 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:
Dimitri Papadopolous moved a motion to approve the minutes of the previous monthly meeting and Yuri Natchetoi 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 October 21, 2024.
The President informed that Ontario government might allocate funds to ethnic publications based in Ontario.
- The President informed members that he had meeting with the officers from the ministry of Heritage in Montreal.
- 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.
- He also 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.
- The President 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.
- President Thomas Saras thanked Susana Donan for her generous donation of $12,000, Hon Joe Volpe for his generous donation of $3000, Dimitri Papadopolous for his generous donation of $2000, Hon Basilio Giordano for his donation of $2000. Kathy Lin for her generous donation of $5000. President Thomas Saras also thanked all other members who generously donated to NEPMCC. He also reminded the members for renewing their membership by paying their annual membership fees. 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.
- The President mentioned also the Annual Get- Together will be held on December 20 at the Hungarian Canadian Cultural Centre. As per previous meeting the ticket cost for the Annual Get-Together was set at $70 per person by a motion. Members were encouraged to attend this event with their families.
- 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
New Business/New Members
Echo Liu -Author, Skyky Cultural Publishers. Skyky Cultural Publishers is dedicated in providing a diverse range of genres, offering ambitious authors a platform to express their emotions and beliefs to readers worldwide. Our imprints cover a wide spectrum, including fiction, non-fiction, children’s literature, educational works, arts, and poetry. Skyky Foundation would present the fifth Skyky Youth Charity Concert at the prestigious Roy Thomson Hall on November 10th, 2024. This grand event aims to support SickKids Hospital, showcasing exceptional talents and fostering a platform for young musicians to shine.
Jeremey Grimaldi Jeremy Grimaldi, a former journalist at Metroland, has made a significant transition from crime reporter to award-winning author executive director, of the highly popular Netflix documentary titled “What Jennifer Did.” Grimaldi’s book, “A Daughter’s Deadly Deception: The Jennifer Pan Story,” published in 2016, earned him the prestigious 2017 Arthur Ellis non-fiction award. Netflix took notice of the book and decided to adapt it into a documentary in 2021. As the book’s author, Grimaldi was appointed as the executive director of the film.
Finaly, 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.
Adjournment: Hon Joe Volpe moved a motion to adjourn the meeting and Roberto Hausman 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, November 11 ,2024, via Zoom.
The above notes from the minutes of October 21, 2024, were prepared by Secretary General and Senior VP of the NEPMCC, Neel Nanda.
