Minutes of the Monthly Meeting held on June 10, 2024, at Committee Room No 2, City Hall, hybrid meeting via Zoom and in person.

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

Agenda of the day:

• Welcome Remarks by the chair.
• Minutes of the previous meeting
• Presentation by Heritage Canada
• Presentation by Meetu Madahar, Communications Manager, United Way of Greater Toronto
• President’s Report/Discussions
• New Members/New Business
• Adjournment

 

 

Welcome Remarks by the Chair:

Mohammed Tajdolati chaired the hybrid meeting of June 10, 2024, and declared the meeting open. Manan Gupta moved a motion to approve the agenda. Pooyan Tabatabaei seconded it. The motion was carried unanimously.

 

Minutes of the previous meeting:

Arif Ahmed moved a motion to approve the minutes of the previous monthly meeting and Dimitri Papadopoulous 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 June 10, 2024.  He hoped the coming months will be great for everyone.  He also reminded members to pay their annual membership fees to continue to get the benefits and privileges as a member of NEPMCC. He mentioned that those who applied for media passes can collect it.
• President Thomas Saras thanked Maria Saras Voutsinas and members in the committee who worked towards the “Freedom of Press” Celebration at City Hall. The event was a huge success.

 

• President Thomas Saras welcomed a delegation of officers from Canadian Heritage  to the monthly meeting of June 10, 2024.

• 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.

• President Thomas Saras mentioned the NEPMCC will be participating at the CNE this year. There will be a reception during the opening ceremony of the NEPMCC booth at CNE.
• Motion: Miniter of Heritage demanded a coordinator to be a liaison between the federally run LJI and Student Internship programs and NEPMCC. The name of Maria Saras Voutsinas was suggested as the coordinator of the Federally run programs. George Guzmas moved the motion supporting Maria Saras as the coordinator of the Federally run programs funded by the Ministry of Canadian Heritage. Shahidul Islam Mintu seconded it. The motion was unanimously carried.

• 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 logistics.
• 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 writing 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.
• 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.
• President Thomas Saras thanked Hon Joe Volpe and all other members who generously donated to NEPMCC. Although the industry and members of NEPMCC are struggling financially, he encouraged everyone that can do so to donate. He also reminded the members for renewing their membership by paying their annual membership fees.
• 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 Heritage Canada PCH – Canada Periodical Fund

The Chair invited the delegation to make their presentation.

The delegation included

France Fortier, Director, Periodical Publishing Policy and Programs,

Karine Morin, Manager, Aid to Publishers, Canada Periodical Fund

Andrea Simms-Karp, Manager Collective Initiatives, LJI, CPF

Sridaya Srivastan, Policy Analyst Magazines Policy

Brigette Fontille, Program Officer, LJI

Cynthia D’Amours, Senior Program Officer, LJI, SMJ

Canada  Periodical Fund (CPF):

Overview of CPF components

Special Measures for Journalism (SMJ):

The SMJ component provides funds to Canadian magazines and community newspapers. The SMJ component will provide funds for the 2024-2025 fiscal year to publishers that have a free circulation model or low levels of paid circulation, or are published in digital format. Funding is distributed proportionally according to the total of eligible editorial expenses of each recipient.

Aid to Publishers (ATP):

The Aid to Publishers component is designed to provide eligible Canadian publishers of print magazines, print community newspapers (non-daily) and digital periodicals with the financial support they need to produce and distribute high-quality, Canadian editorial content for Canadian readers.Funding is distributed proportionally according to the number of eligible copies distributed by each recipient; eligible editorial expenditures of each recipient for print magazines and community newspapers. For digital-only periodicals, funding is distributed proportionally according to eligible editorial expenditures.

Business Innovation (BI):

The Business Innovation component offers support for projects to eligible small and mid-sized print and digital magazines, and print and digital non-daily community newspapers. BI is designed to fund projects that have clear objectives and measurable results. Your application will be evaluated based on the criteria below. It will be compared and prioritized with other applications in relation to the funds available. Funding will be disbursed as a grant or as a contribution.

Collective Initiatives (CI):

The Collective Initiatives component funds projects for organizations designed to increase the overall sustainability of the Canadian magazine and community newspaper (non-daily) industries. CI is designed to fund projects that have clear objectives and measurable results. Your application will be evaluated based on the evaluation criteria below. It will be compared and prioritized with other applications in relation to the funds available.

Intake periods for current and upcoming funding cycles

SMJ 2024-2025

This component is currently receiving applications (opened May 31, 2024). The

deadline to apply is July 12, 2024. Following the deadline date, there is a 30-week

service standard to issue funding decisions.

BI 2024-2025

This component is currently receiving applications (opened June 10, 2024). The

deadline date to apply is July 12, 2024. Following the deadline date, there is a 20-

week service standard to issue funding decisions.

CI 2024-2025

This component is currently receiving applications (opened June 10, 2024). The

deadline date to apply is August 30, 2024. Following the deadline date, there is a

20-week service standard to issue funding decisions.

ATP 2025-2026

This component will launch the next funding cycle in October 2024 with a

deadline date to apply of end of November 2024. Following the deadline date,

there is a 30-week service standard to issue funding decisions.

Frequently recurring issues

Reproduced content

Content previously published on other platforms or in other publications.

The Program requires periodicals to contain at least 51% of original

content that has not been published elsewhere previously.

Unoriginal translated content

Translated content that was previously published on other platforms or in

other publications. Translation of previously published content does not

constitute original content. Translations of previously published content

may constitute up to a maximum of 49% of applicant’s submitted

content in an application.

Paid copies reported on forms

For subscription copies sold, a subscribers list may be requested to

confirm numbers reported on the form. For single-copy/newsstand sales,

points of sale reports showing each individual transactions may be

requested to confirm numbers reported on form.

Following the presentation, the chair Dr. Tajdolati opned the floor for questions and answers to members present in person and members attending all over Canada via Zoom.

Kathy Geskalis, Dimitri Papadopoulous, Manan Gupta, Hon Joe Volpe, Pooyan Tabatabaei, Margaret P. Bonikowska, Lisa, Manan Gupta, Shai l,Olga Kileev , Sean Pickard, Mareck Goldyn, Zuhair Alshaeer, Logan Logendranalingam, George Guzmas, Mila Garcia and others asked relevant questions to the delegation.

Presentation of plaques to the delegation fron from Heritage Canada

President Thomas Saras presented plaques to the delegation in appreciation of their time and guidance to the members of NEPMCC

 

.

.

Toronto

New Business/New Members

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Adjournment:  Shahidul Islam Mintu moved a motion to adjourn the meeting and George Guzmas 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, July 08, 2024, via Zoom.

The above notes from the minutes of June 10, 2024, were prepared by Secretary General and Senior VP of the NEPMCC, Neel Nanda.

Minutes of the Monthly Meeting held on May 13, 2024, at City Hall, hybrid meeting via Zoom and in person.

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

Agenda of the day:

• Welcome Remarks by the chair.
• Minutes of the previous meeting
• Presentation by Kate Gardner Co founder and CEO of myRESET
• Presentation by Meetu Madahar, Communications Manager, United Way of Greater Toronto
• President’s Report/Discussions
• New Members/New Business
• Adjournment

 

 

Welcome Remarks by the Chair:

Mohammed Tajdolati chaired the hybrid meeting of May 13, 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:

Olga Kileev moved a motion to approve the minutes of the previous monthly meeting and Dimitri Papadopoulous seconded it. Minutes of the previous monthly meeting were approved unanimously.

 President’s Report/Discussions:

• President Thomas Saras welcomed everyone to the online monthly meeting of May 13, 2024. He hoped the coming months will be great for everyone.  He also reminded members to pay their annual membership fees to continue to get the benefits and privileges as a member of NEPMCC.
• President Thomas Saras thanked Maria Saras Voutsinas and members in the committee who worked towards the “Freedom of Press” Celebration at City Hall. The event was a huge success.

 

• President Thomas Saras mentioned that a delegation of officers from Canadian Heritage will be coming to the monthly meeting of June 10, 2024.He encouraged everyone to attend the meeting, including members who are from different provinces.

• 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.

• President Thomas Saras mentioned the NEPMCC will be participating at the CNE this year. There will be a reception during the opening ceremony of the NEPMCC booth at CNE.
• Motion: Miniter of Heritage demanded a coordinator to be a liaison between the federally run LJI and Student Internship programs and NEPMCC. The name of Maria Saras Voutsinas was suggested as the coordinator of the Federally run programs. George Guzmas moved the motion supporting Maria Saras as the coordinator of the Federally run programs funded by the Ministry of Canadian Heritage. Shahidul Islam Mintu seconded it. The motion was unanimously carried.
• President Thomas Saras suggested that the Freedom of Press Festival be held on May 10 at City Hall. The suggestion was unanimously carried. There will be a reception at the City Hall.

• 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 logistics.
• 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 writing 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.
• 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.
• President Thomas Saras thanked Hon Joe Volpe and all other members who generously donated to NEPMCC. Although the industry and members of NEPMCC are struggling financially, he encouraged everyone that can do so to donate. He also reminded the members for renewing their membership by paying their annual membership fees.
• 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 Kate Gardner Co founder and CEO of myRESET

The Chair invited Kate Gardner to make her presentation

myRESET Journey, was designed with a deep understanding of the traumatic, barrier-filled life experiences of Black, Indigenous, and racialized Canadians who have been impacted by the criminal justice system. While many organizations deliver various reintegration services, there is no singular organization that delivers a program as comprehensive, supportive, and culturally sensitive as the myRESET Journey. Instead of “reinventing the wheel,” myRESET is reimagining the criminal justice system by delivering a program in partnership with “best-in-class” existing service providers while seeking active participation from the funding partners. As Canada faces a historic labour crisis, myRESET is challenging policymakers and leaders across all sectors to re-evaluate the purpose of incarceration through a creative, inclusive, and “homegrown” talent solution, which will ultimately cultivate safer, more prosperous communities. As Canadian taxpayers face huge financial costs associated with high incarceration rates and the overrepresentation of racialized Canadians in the justice system, individuals – and their families and communities – who are in possession of a criminal record face debilitating systemic barriers. There is also extensive research demonstrating that more time in jail results in more crime rather than reducing crime. In alignment with existing government policies and funding programs aiming to support new Canadians with integrating into the workforce, the myRESET journey is a creative and cost-effective pathway to support 4 million Canadians in possession of a criminal record as they reintegrate into the workforce. In contrast with the cost of federal incarceration per inmate (over $100,000/year) and provincial incarceration (over $60,000/year), the cost of the myRESET Journey is only about $30,000 per participant. Over time, we are confident that myRESET will contribute to a reduction in governments spending taxpayer dollars on law enforcement and social programming as more justice-impacted Canadians are able to pursue and thrive in meaningful careers.

Presentation by Meetu Madahar, Communications Manager, United Way of Greater Toronto.

United Way Greater Toronto is interested in collaborating with the National Ethnic Press and Media Council of Canada to connect with community/ethnic journalists in the GTA, and in Ontario at a Neighbourhood Walk this September.

UWGT would select the neighbourhood, which would include a tour of their agencies and the research work that they are involved with, as well as talks about the histories of the chosen neighbourhood. Members of NEPMCC are invited to then join for a lovely lunch where they will have the opportunity for one-on-one media interviews, and/or chats with the President and CEO, Daniele Zanotti.

Toronto

New Business/New Members

Maria Saras Voutsinas emphasized that members from the GTA need to be present during the monthly meeting of June as a delegation from Canadian Heritage will there to know the issues facing the ethnic media industry and to answer questions on Canada Periodical Fund and other grants available for members of the ethnic media industry. She stressed the need to be in numbers to show the strength of NEPMCC for its voices to be heard.

Adjournment:  Dimitri Papadopolous moved a motion to adjourn the meeting and George Guzmas 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 10, 2024, via Zoom.

The above notes from the minutes of May 13, 2024, were prepared by Secretary General and Senior VP of the NEPMCC, Neel Nanda.